Humanising Language Teaching
Year 4; Issue 2; March 02

Italian for Humanistic Students (UK)

Or being naughty in Italian
Or liberation in Italian

G. Fazio, UK

Why do people learn Italian? Or perhaps the question should be why do people want to learn Italian? Why do people come out on a black, bitterly cold winter's night in Glasgow to sit for 2 hours in a miserable classroom with other people who equally have had a rotten day in the office to listen to another Glaswegian talk at them in Italian? IT MUST BE LOVE.

Surely it isn't a practical choice? As one parent asked me at public relations events all linguists are called upon to participate in these days - a Languages Information Session or whatever it's called in your part of the world. Taking a deep breath and resisting the temptation to slap her, I proceeded to reel off my prepared speech. AH BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT….

1). Italian is spoken by one in five of the population in Europe. AND NOT LET'S FORGET LATIN AMERICA.Argentina, Brazil, North Africa even

2). One in four European Companies is Italian.

AND

3). The Uk is the 3rd largest supplier of goods to Italy with annual exports of 76 billion

4). Italy is the 6th richest country in the world.

She's getting ready for a counter attack now:
Yes I'm sure that's all true. But wouldn't it be better for Chloe to continue her French and take it to a higher standard?

She's still not convinced will have to try another tack. I know good parenting

Yes but you see employers these days are demanding a minimum and I mean a minimum of 2 languages. Didn't you see the article in the Guardian Education? Oh yes just look at all the latest figures on graduate recruitment and employability. To stand out in today's market you have to have as many languages as possible and Italian is the perfect progression for someone who has at school probably already studied 2 other European languages. It completes the EMPLOYMENT profile.
GOT HER NOW I SAID WITH A BROAD SMILE

It doesn't do much for one's self confidence or credibility as a dedicated language professional when in such a cavalier fashion, people knock the language one has dedicated one's life to. A couple of years back I had to prepare a marketing report for my University as part of the review process to consider whether a new degree in Italian was a viable option. Given the financial situation in Higher Education generally, this was a serious competitive bid. I did exhaustive research, marshalled my evidence but even I was surprised to find out that the facts, the evidence in favour of Italian was actually overwhelming. The proof for what I had always instinctively known was there for any number cruncher to feast upon. My beautiful tables entitled Trends in Gcse and A level results were absolutely irresistible.

But after the hard sell, in the rare reflective moments, I remind myself why I actually enjoy teaching Italian, it's because it is different from the other 3. And in a kind of subversive way I like that. Don't ask me, ask my students. Students of Italian are a passionate lot. They get very protective and defensive about why they study Italian.

The over 55's, or the wrinklies as we rather uncharitably referred to them, they've been there done it got the t shirt and then some – why do they want to sit in a class and put up with a disgustingly enthusiastic bright bushy tailed 20 something teaching them the verb to be. Italian gives them access to a world of the senses. Or as one lady said, at this stage of my life, I'm ready to be Italian. The seniors embraced Italian with a passion. Classes were big anyway but in just a couple of years numbers had trebled. It seems to be a pool which infuses all their other interests, visual, literary, musical. Without ever having gone there, most of them, they were among the most Italianized people I could imagine. Above all that generation in particular gravitated towards the anarchy of the culture. They took an almost childlike delight in being naughty, I can't tell you to what level some of the dialogue role-plays disintegrated. I just wish I'd recorded more. And in that collective naughtiness, it was as if the language the culture gave them licence to be someone else, their Italian self, indeed Italian almost demanded it as part of the initiation. You couldn't be straight laced and be in an Italian class. It was anti – Italian.

And the Adults? The poor overworked, overtaxed soldier ants who still turned up at 6pm on a Monday night. These were the people who loved food, good wine, quality clothes, good music and Italian made them feel good about themselves. There was always one who at the end of the first lesson, I'm sure most teachers of Adult Education have a similar story, who would come up at the end and start almost always with, Now I'm no good at languages but……And then the story would come out about how they had been written off at school by a languages teacher and since then always harboured a deep lack of confidence about their abilities to learn one. They had kept this inside all those years and yet with an act of extreme courage came to a beginners class. This student always became my star. It was wonderful to watch the liberating process of learning especially Italian which is so easy to pronounce and very quickly gives you confidence and then gradually what can only be described as a nuclear explosion of Italian took place, as they gobbled up everything you gave them, easily outstripped everybody in the class, went home and did 10 times more. My star student in the Seniors, believe it or not, was seized by the desire to write in this language he adores, in his words, wanted to see who he would become, not at all existential just downright curious he began writing and is now totally addicted to writing quite beautiful poetry in Italian. So there all these terribly respectable, responsible people all over the UK who meet in conclaves in anonymous buildings after working hours, harbouring the most secret intimate passions about Italy, Italians and Italian.