Italian

All Victorian schools are required by legislation under the Education and Training Reform Act, 2006, to provide instruction in a language other than English.

The Italian program at Spensley Street Primary School is a 50-minute weekly lesson. Students participate in comprehension and communication of the language. Students are encouraged to use visual cues to gain meaning from written and spoken Italian.

The language is introduced through a general theme and reinforced through songs, games repetition of teacher-modelled language and a range of aural, oral and written tasks.

The goals of the Italian program are to develop:

• A positive attitude towards language learning.
• Italian language skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening.
• Knowledge about Italian culture.
• Understandings about the nature of language and the processes of communication.
• An understanding of how culture shapes and extends learners’ understanding of themselves, their own heritage, values, beliefs, culture and identity.