GREATER DC STRATEGIC PLAN TO PROMOTE THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE

On January 19th, the Italian Embassy hosted a meeting of the Greater Washington DC Observatory of the Italian language. The purpose of this meeting was to provide a progress report on the steps taken to promote the Italian language in the DC area since the last meeting in May of 2017. As the AMHS also has a lively interest in promoting Italian, the organizers of the event, Italian Embassy Minister-Counselor for Consular and Social Affairs Catherine Flumiani and Director of Education Maria Fusco, invited our Society to send a representative. The author had the privilege of attending on behalf of AMHS and, in what follows, reports on what the Embassy is doing to strengthen its initiatives promoting the Italian language and culture in the greater DC area.

By way of background, in May of 2017, Maria Fusco and Catherine Flumiani introduced the 2017 Strategic Plan for the Promotion of the Italian Language. The top priority was to increase the number of students taking the Advanced Placement (AP). The rationale is that a foreign language that has an associated AP course and exam is more attractive to students than one which does not, because passing the course and exam typically results in college credits. If Italian programs are to thrive in the greater DC area, high schools need greater numbers of students in Italian AP exams. In addition to increasing AP exam volumes, the development of beginning Italian courses at the elementary and secondary level is another important priority when it comes to promoting the Italian language in the greater DC area. Students who learn languages at an earlier age generally develop more native-like pronunciation. Moreover, students who enter high school already with a basic understanding of Italian can more easily reach the AP level, thus supporting the top priority of the Greater Washington DC Observatory of the Italian language. The third priority outlined in May of 2017 was fundraising, particularly for scholarships, which will promote the study of the Italian language at the university level and possibly encourage more young people to become Italian teachers.

At the start of the January 19th meeting, Dottoressa Fusco updated the attendees on the successes and remaining challenges regarding implementation of the strategic plan for the promotion of the Italian language. She first addressed the AP exam numbers from 2017, which remained the same in Montgomery County (41 AP exams) but unfortunately decreased in Virginia (22 AP exams down from 35) and DC (1 AP exam down from 2). Though the number of exams decreased, students who took the exams in 2017 earned high scores, with an average score of 3.76 (out of 5) in Maryland and 3.09 in Virginia. Looking ahead to the 2018 exams, the Italian Embassy will host a training session on February 24th to acquaint teachers in the surrounding area with the best practices and strategies for building proficiency at an advanced level and increasing students’ scores on this assessment.

Following the updates on the AP exam numbers and scores, the National Organization of Italian-American Women representative provided the most recent information about scholarship opportunities for young women interested in studying Italian at the university level. Both NIAF’s representative, Julia Streisfield, and the author spoke about the scholarship opportunities our respective organizations continue to offer each year to students who are of Italian background and are committed to studying Italian as a major or minor at their university. Such scholarships are especially valuable if they afford students the opportunity to study in Italy. The author stressed that if it had not been for the AMHS-NIAF scholarship, she would not have been able to study at the University of Perugia for Foreigners, an experience that turned her into a more knowledgeable Italian teacher, a more proficient speaker of Italian, and thus a more effective promoter of the Italian language. In the author’s view, it is also noteworthy that NIAF offers a scholarship to students who are passionate about the Italian language but are not of Italian origin. One of the author’s brightest and most enthusiastic students falls into this category.

Participants at the meeting also discussed significant resources, projects and future events that will hopefully generate interest in the Italian language and spark the interest of prospective Italian students. Interested AMHS members should mark their calendars for the third week of October, Italian Language Week, and keep an eye out for the daily events that occur that week in celebration of the Italian language and culture in Washington. In addition, AMHS parents whose children or grandchildren are studying Italian, or who themselves are interested in taking Italian courses, should check out the website “US Speaks Italian.” The website has information about studying abroad, scholarships online courses, and educational resources. The Italian embassy is very interested in your feedback about the website and any improvements that it can make. Thanks to feedback received in the last year, the Embassy has recently added a link to LIRA, a platform of the Università per Stranieri di Perugia that offers linguistic material to students and teachers. Comments or questions about the website may be directed to me or to AMHS President Ray LaVerghetta, both of whom will ensure that they get to Minister Counselor Flumiani and Professoressa Fusco.

Lastly, there was discussion about the many challenges that stakeholders face in promoting the Italian language in the DMV area. The author shared the challenges that she faces as the sole high school Italian teacher in Anne Arundel County. She cited the lack of resources, the lack of an established curriculum, and the lack of opportunities for professional collaboration. Dr. Joseph Lupo of Casa Italiana and Maria Grazia Cavallini of Walter Johnson High School expressed their concerns over continued cuts and detrimental scheduling issues in the Italian programs in Montgomery County and Prince George’s County. To follow up, Dottoressa Fusco and Ms. Cavallini visited Tilden Middle School and N. Bethesda Middle School on January 29th to encourage enrollment in the Italian program at Walter Johnson. In addition, a meeting was held on February 8 between Ente Gestore CILS and the authorities of Prince George County in order to increase the number of students of Italian and discuss the AP Italian exam.