The Week of the Italian Language in the World has been inaugurated

Last Monday saw the inauguration of the XXII ‘Settimana della lingua italiana nel mondo’ (Week of the Italian Language in the World), which, in keeping with the theme of the 2022 European Year of Young People, is entitled ‘L’italiano e i giovani. Come Scusa? Non ti followo’. 

The Italian Consulate General in Melbourne organised an event for the occasion, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Melbourne, Co.As.It. Melbourne, Com.It.Es Victoria and Tasmania, the Dante Alighieri Society Melbourne and VATI - Victorian Association of Teachers of Italian.

Paolo Baracchi, vice-president of the Dante Alighieri Society of Melbourne and director of cultural programs at Co.As.It. Melbourne, welcomed the participants:

“The aim of this week is to explore how languages evolve in the everyday communication of the digitally native generations. We look at Italian and Italy as a language and a country strongly connected to the past, but at the same time, it is also dynamic and innovative, creative in the present and projecting into the future.”

Baracchi continued by highlighting how this year's theme strengthens the natural connection between the Week of the Italian Language in the World and the education sector, placing the emphasis on students and the teaching of Italian in Victoria.

The floor was then passed to Consul General Hanna Pappalardo, who recalled how this week is fundamental in shining a spotlight on Italian language and culture around the world, thanks to a series of initiatives:

“Doing it in Melbourne is particularly gratifying, thanks to the presence of a very lively Italian community,” she added.

The Consul went on to emphasise that the week doesn’t only provide the opportunity to participate in interesting events, but also to take stock of the situation regarding the teaching of the Italian language in Victoria.

Eva Bambagiotti, director of the Education and Culture Office at the Italian Embassy in Australia, then took to the podium to present the data collected on the study of the language of the Bel Paese:

"There are about 360,000 students of Italian in Australia, a number that confirms the attractiveness of our country's language and culture, but also the excellent work of teaching and promotion by the Italian Embassy, the consular network, the Cultural Institutes and the Dante Alighieri Society in Australia.”

Victoria continues to be the state with the highest concentration of Italian students, with a total of over 163,000 students.

Professor from the Italian Department at the University of Sydney, Antonia Rubino, spoke to present the book L'italiano in Australia, prospettive e tendenze nell'insegnamento della lingua e della cultura (Italian in Australia, perspectives and trends in teaching language and culture), written in collaboration with John Hajek and Annarita Tamponi.

Rubino explained the decision to publish the text bilingually, in Italian and English, to make it accessible to readers outside Australia, offering them the direct insights and experiences of the teachers.

The book, whose main purpose is to give an overview of landscape of Italian teaching in Australia ― being the country with the largest number of students of Italian in the world ―, dwells on the critical issue, which has already emerged in the past: the decline in interest, and lack of continuity, in the study of languages when moving from primary to secondary school, and then to university.

Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Melbourne, John Hajek, spoke to present the results of the study commissioned by Consul Pappalardo, L’insegnamento dell’italiano nelle scuole del Victoria: un successo globale (Teaching Italian in Victoria's Schools: a Global Success.)

He detailed challenges, opportunities and recommendations for a stronger future. He emphasised, on the one hand, the difficulty of teaching a foreign language in English-speaking countries; on the other, how in Australia - and in Victoria in particular - a very good job is being done, with a growth trend in the number of students recorded at 13 per cent over the last ten years.

This figure, though positive, is low compared with that of other languages, particularly Mandarin.

If Australia is the country in the world with the largest number of students of Italian, the state of Victoria alone would rank fifth on a global scale for the teaching of our language in primary and secondary schools.

“The success is mainly due to a long campaign that took place between the 1970s and 1980s by many entities: the schools – Catholic, in particular, the Italian government, Co.As.It., Dante Alighieri and the Italian community in Victoria,” Hajek commented.

Italian Consul General in Melbourne Hanna Pappalardo, during her speech. 

“The first Italian class in a school in Victoria took place in 1971 and was started thanks to the contributions of the Dante Alighieri Society, in collaboration with the Italian government.”

The fact that there are still so many children opting for Italian is also an achievement because, as the teacher pointed out, students now have the choice of 72 different languages.

It should also be noted that Victoria is home to two of Australia's four bilingual schools: the Brunswick South Primary School and the newer Footscray Primary School.

The situation of Italian language teaching in Australia, and in Victoria particularly, is therefore a positive one, although action needs to be taken to ensure that students continue studying Italian in high school and university, especially to guarantee the sustainability of teaching in tertiary education, which is increasingly at risk.