Italian Embassy launches language course for Tondo young learners
THE Italian Embassy in Manila inaugurated its Italian language course at San Pablo Apostol Parish New Land, Tondo, on Feb. 1, 2024.
The course was one of its activities for its festival, “The Embassy of Italy Meets the Youth of Tondo,” along with other activities from November 2023 to July 2024.
The embassy partnered with the Canossa-Tondo Children Foundation Inc. (CTCFI), which provided the venue and the beneficiaries, and with the Philippine-Italian Association, which provided the program of the course and its teachers.
“The mission of this course is to teach the youth of Tondo about Italian culture and language and see if they are able to absorb the language,” Philippine-Italian Association General Manager Giunell Flores said.
The course sessions would be conducted every Saturday from February to August. The Philippine-Italian Association employed Roberto Benasciutti, a native Italian speaker, and Misael Nanit, a Filipino Italian teacher, for the course.
Benasciutti would teach Beginner A1 Italian from February to May, and Nanit would teach during the second half of the course.
Flores said it was possible to continue the course after six months, depending on the availability of the students and the teachers.
Italian Ambassador Marco Clemente said opportunities would open for students to use their knowledge in the Italian language, such as clinching scholarships.
“Definitely, we hope there will be another course. I do hope this course — and also the other ones — could be really the first step to continuation,” Clemente said.
CTCFI founder Giovanni Gentilin recalled when he had to learn Filipino because he wanted to go to Tondo. For him, to learn a new language was to be curious.
“Learning language is to enrich personal culture because your language is kultura (culture),” Gentilin said.
He advised the students to “learn very well to give attention, to listen, [to] understand and to practice.”
There were 29 students enrolled in the course, but CTCFI Managing Director Tess Carmelo said the numbers were expected to multiply.
“We also have our experimental number, including the children. This will surely continue. Not only for the six-month course but after, which we will be able to continue also. The Italian language is very important, especially for us,” Carmelo said.
The Philippine-Italian Association also made the Italian language more accessible to the general public.
Founded in 1962, the association was a nonprofit, nonstock organization meant to promote friendship and understanding between Italy and the Philippines through art, culture, language and education.
Since its creation, the association has started teaching the Italian language in-house. In 2022, the Philippine-Italian Association began to teach in universities such as the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
The association went on to provide customized programs that taught the Italian language.