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Online information session 12th May 2026. Please RSVP. HereApplication Form. Please complete by 10th June 2026. Here
Dear students and families,
We are very excited to be launching an innovative program at our Barkly Campus, which will bring lots of benefits and growth to our students!
It is widely acknowledged that the most effective way to learn a new language is to be surrounded by it. This kind of learning has also been shown to be highly effective for the content being taught. As part of our Italian language program, students have the opportunity to enter into our Year 7 Italian Immersion class in which Humanities and Performing Arts classes will be delivered through a CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) methodology. During these classes, students will be immersed in the Italian language in a variety of ways.
Students will remain in this class as a form group for all of their subjects from Year 7 to Year 9 and continue to engage with the mainstream program as normal. They will also have access to all of the same elective subjects as any Year 7 to 9 student.
If you have any questions please contact me via
max.tosi@education.vic.gov.au
Max Tosi
Head of Languages
Footscray High School
Year 7 Italian Immersion class 2027
Student and parent information sheet / FAQ
Q: Do I need to have an Italian background to be a part of it?
A: No, we at FHS taught many students who, throughout their secondary school studies, went from zero to being fluent in Italian. Only a minimal percentage of our students are exposed to Italian at home.
Q: Do I need to have studied Italian before?
A: No, while having studied Italian before can be an initial advantage, the program would begin with strong foundational Italian delivered at an appropriate pace, moving quickly where possible while ensuring students remain confident and supported.
Q: What is language immersion teaching?
A: Immersion teaching, also known as Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), is a dual-focused educational approach in which an additional language is used for the learning and teaching of both content and language. That is, in the teaching and learning process, there is a focus on both content and language. Each is interwoven, even if the emphasis is greater on one or the other at any given time.
Q: How is the Year 7 program structured?
A: The ‘core’ subjects remain the same and are taught in English. Students complete 3 periods per week of Italian classes. On top of that, their 3 periods per week of Humanities are taught by an experienced Italian teacher who is also trained in that subject and can deliver it via a CLIL methodology. Students will also complete a term of Drama delivered in Italian, adding 3 periods per week for that term. We also care about the well-being aspect of a student, so the class main teacher will also do Pastoral care once a week.
Q: What are the benefits?
A: There are many known benefits of CLIL programs. These are often distilled into the 5 Cs:
Context – globalisation, preparing students for life beyond school
Content – enhanced skills and knowledge in History, Geography, and Business & Civics delivered in Italian
Communication– improved Italian language competence
Cognition – increased learner motivation, retention of content, attention span
Culture – intercultural knowledge through interdisciplinary learning
Q: Will my child miss out on important humanities skills?
A: No, we will cover the same content and focus on the same skills. Depending on the level of complexity of the topics we will deliver some units in Italian and some others in English. Many students have gone on to study senior Humanities in the past from our program and even accelerated into VCE Humanities in Year 10 without any issues.
Q: How many classes will there be?
A: One class.
Q Will there be an information session?
A: We will run an information session online on Tuesday 12th May from 6:30 to 7:00pm.
Link: https://eduvic.webex.com/meet/tosi.massimiliano.m
Q: How do we get in?
A: On the morning of Saturday 13 June, students will participate in an Italian session based on content they have not previously studied. At the conclusion of the session, teachers will assess students’ ability to retain and apply new information. This will be followed by a short writing task in English to assess each student’s literacy level. We will also collect students’ Year 5 NAPLAN results and rank applicants based on the average of these three measures. In addition, families will be asked to nominate a primary school teacher who knows their child well, so that we may contact them if required.
Q: What support can you offer if students struggle with Immersion style learning?
A: Within Immersion classes the teacher will organise cooperative learning in which students share information and help each other. Students may ask questions in English to the teacher and during tests the Italian questions will be translated into English as well. In recent years, we have been consistently able to source Italian language assistants, who are of great value to students who need extra support.
Q: What if my child decided to withdraw from the program?
A: Typically, we will endeavour to run fun and engaging classes to raise students’ enthusiasm. If after receiving all lines of support available a student decides that Immersion is not for them, then we will need to find a student of a mainstream class who is happy to replace that child.
Q: Will the school provide opportunities to travel to Italy and connect with the Italian community?
A: Yes, absolutely! FHS has a sister school, Liceo Malpighi, Bologna, Italy. One of their classes will visit us in odd years and we’ll go in even years. The trip will comprise a tailored Italian course for our students, a home stay and visiting many amazing places!
Expression of Interest in the Italian Immersion Program Form
https://forms.gle/mSRQEwYYHqJayQPe9
Application for the Italian Immersion Program Form
https://forms.gle/GtxiGDXQPxzurbjb9