An Italian Comenius language assistant's experience at Guzè Damato School

As part of the Comenius 2.2 project, the Italian Socrates agency sent Tiziana Casella to Malta as a Comenius language assistant. She stayed here for four months - from September last year till January.

Ms Casella talked to Patrick Decelis, teacher-librarian at Guzè Damato Boys' Secondary School, Paola, to where she was attached, about the objectives of this particular Socrates programme and the role and responsibility of the language assistant in and beyond the classroom, the assistant's integration in a particular school and in the local community, her impressions of Maltese students, the Maltese education system and our island.

Ms Casella explained that the Socrates Comenius 2.2 Programme is financed by the European Union; its main aim is to improve the learning and teaching of foreign languages. The first Socrates programme was launched in 1995 and ended in 1999, when it was renamed Socrates 2. The new programme was modified and through experience, it evolved into an improved version of the first.

The programme has two main objectives. The first is to give language assistants the opportunity to enhance their linguistic and cultural knowledge and their pedagogic competence. The second aim is to give the students of the host school the opportunity to meet a person who speaks another European language and who can help them improve their linguistic knowledge.

Such a programme encourages students to study languages, while arousing their interest in the language assistant's country of origin and culture. The programme also aims to introduce and reinforce a European dimension in the host school and the local community.

The language assistant is assigned to a school or adult education centre in a participating country for three to eight months. Eventually, he/she will teach one of the EU's official languages and may also perform duties in a country where the official language is one of the least used or taught.

Ms Casella had asked to work in an English-speaking country. The national Socrates agency, after a thorough selection process, offered her a post in Malta, which she accepted enthusiastically.

This was her first visit to Malta. At first, she said, she did not feel as if she was living on an island, adding that this was probably due to her living in Lija, away from the sea, or because Malta's urban look made her feel as if she were living in a city.

Ms Casella hails from Capo d'Orlando, a place by the sea, close to Messina in Sicily, which, she said, is a fishing village similar to Marsaxlokk, but with many more shops.

However, despite the obvious topographical differences, Ms Casella feels that culturally, Malta and Italy have many similarities, such as their typical Mediterranean hospitality.

Ms Casella has visited various places, including St John's Co-Cathedral, the Museum of Archaeology, Mdina, the temples at Hagar Qim and Mnajdra, Ghar Lapsi and the Blue Grotto at Wied iz-Zurrieq. She has also been to Gozo.

Ms Casella was favourably impressed by Guzè Damato Boys' Secondary School, noting that it is very well organised, although it needs some restructuring and refurbishing. She appreciated the various facilities offered by the school, such as the three science and two technology labs, an art room and a library, among other things.

She noted that there is a major difference between Malta and Italy in how schools are set up. In Italy, secondary schools are divided into lower and upper, the former lasting three years and catering for 11- to 13/14-year-olds and the latter five years and catering for 14-18-year-olds. Afterwards, students can go directly to university. Italian secondary schools are also co-educational. There is no streaming in classes, and students are grouped according to the foreign language they choose to study rather than according to ability.

Ms Casella notes that although some Maltese students are not motivated enough, most of them do their best. Many tried to communicate with her in Italian both during and outside lessons. They preferred to talk about sport in general and football in particular. Students were also eager to tell her about their holidays in Italy.

Ms Casella is happy to note that Maltese teachers of Italian are very hardworking and they do their utmost to elicit the best out of their students. She adds that there is perfect teamwork between the teachers of Italian at Guzè Damato, who are really up-to-date and who use a variety of teaching materials to increase students' interest in the Italian language.

However, Ms Casella participated in other lessons besides Italian. She worked with teachers of Crafts, Art, Home Economics, Maths, PSD and English. Her role was to participate in lessons and to stimulate students to speak in Italian as much as possible. She seems to have reached her goal, since students were normally happy to see her there and communicate with her in Italian.

In general, she has found her stay in Malta stimulating, especially culturally, adding that she had attended two performances at the Manoel Theatre, Swan Lake and the MADC pantomime. She has also made new friends, especially with her host family, and also with many colleagues, with whom she visited various places of interest all over the island.