Written by May, Year 9
Over the past year, our Year 9 Italian class has covered a wide range of useful vocabulary and topics. We’ve learned how to introduce ourselves, describe our families, talk about school and hobbies and even how to order food or ask for help in different situations. Alongside the language, we’ve also explored Italian culture, learning about traditions, food and daily life in Italy.
To put our learning into practice, we had the opportunity to visit La Smorfia Oxford, a family-owned pizzeria, on Friday 4th July. The aim of the trip was to give us the opportunity to speak Italian in a real-life situation, instead of in the classroom or in an exam, and the bonus was the authentic Italian pizza and cannoli!
For me, it was a great experience and an achievement. Even though I only spoke a little bit of Italian — just enough to order my food — it felt like a big achievement and made me realise the improvement we’ve made since the beginning of the year. Whilst it was nerve wracking using Italian with a native speaker, it has built up my confidence in speaking the language. It was also very nice to go out for lunch as a class, as a good end to the academic year. Additionally, the experience made me realise how useful even just the basics of the language can be, as despite only having started the Italian course this year I was able to communicate clearly enough to order a meal.
What I took away from the experience is that language learning is just as much about adapting and thinking on the spot as it is about memorising words. Even just knowing a little bit of any language can help you out in any situation, especially if you want to order some delicious food!