The Department of Italian is committed to the promotion of Italian language and culture in primary and secondary schools. We run a number of activities, several of which are funded by PPLI (PPLI).

Please contact us if you are interested in having Italian classes in your school.

School Liaison Committee:

Sara Lis Ventura – sara.ventura@ucc.ie

Mark Chu – m.chu@ucc.ie 

UPSKILLING FOR TEACHERS

The Department of Italian runs different initiatives to assist teachers who wish to upskill in the areas of Italian language and culture.

Language: teachers are availing of the online delivery of our Evening Classes in Upper-Intermediate and Advanced Italian Language this year, the cost of which has been supported by PPLI funding. Subject to funding and staffing, we hope to be able to offer similar opportunities in 2021-2022. The Department of Italian is also a registered testing centre for the CILS and DITALS exams, which provide official recognition of language competency.

Culture: teachers can avail of Flexi-Options to upskill in Italian Culture by taking our current second- and final-year undergraduate modules which cover a wide range of topics and texts, including Dante, crime fiction, women writers, migrant writers or ‘New Italians’, contemporary Italy and film, Food and Italian identity, among others. Modules will be offered either in-person, or in blended or online mode. Check the UCC Book of Modules for more information on IT-coded offerings. Information on Flexi-Options is available here: https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/undergrad/flexioptions/

Exciting news in this regard is that PPLI have announced a fund for MFL teachers seeking to upskill which covers modules of up to 15 credits. For more details see:  https://ppli.ie/news/ppli-funding-scheme-for-mfl-teachers/

We welcome applications for Flexi-Options modules for the 2021-2022 academic year. Should you require more information please contact Italian@ucc.ie.

THE ITALIAN WAVE

Despite the undoubtable importance of Italy, a G8 country, in Europe and beyond, and the growing impact of the Italian community in Ireland, unlike other European Languages, such as French, German and Spanish, that are quite well established in the Irish education system, Italian is less commonly taught as a curricular subject in schools. The Italian Wave project aims at bridging the gap between the widespread interest in Italian in the Cork region and the need to develop its presence in the school curriculum. The 2020 project initiated this process by giving primary and secondary schools the opportunity and the necessary support to extend the choice of languages available to their students by including Italian language and culture. The project received an enthusiastic response from local primary and secondary schools and clearly showed the high level of interest in Italian in the city of Cork and surrounding areas. The 2021 project constitutes an expansion and enhancement of the 2020 initiative. The objective is to increase the impact of the previous action by extending the number of involved schools and widening the area of operation, both online and in face-to-face delivery.

Click here to visit the Italian Wave webpage

Coordinators of the Project: 

Sara Lis Ventura 
e-mail:  sara.ventura@ucc.ie 

EXAMPLES OF OTHER EVENTS FOR SCHOOLS:

Taste of Italian Christmas, UCC

Kindly supported by Post-Primary Languages Ireland (PPLI).

Attended by transition year students from Bishopstown Community School; St. Aloysius College Carrigtwohill; Douglas Community School; Carrigtwohill Community College; Kinsale Community School.

From 10 a.m. to 2.30 p.m.

• 10am - An interactive, fun sample language lecture (Did you know that the majority of our students are absolute beginners in first year?). 
• 11am - A guided tour of the UCC campus.
• 12pm - Italian themed lunch.
• 1 pm  - Interactive Italian session covering topics such as:
  • ‘Christmas in Italy’ (you’ll leave the lecture theatre and be able to sing a Christmas carol in Italian!);
  • Enjoy a game of Italian Tombola (great fun!)
  • Ever wondered what Italian popular music sounds like?