Isabella Giocosa Wins Bronze in Italian Speaking Competition

Faith Student Isabella Giacosa, Year 9, won Bronze in the Region 1 Italian Language Competition representing Faith Christian School. Congratulazioni!

The online competition, through the Italian Language Centre, included entries from candidates across three regions. Isabella received 3rd place for her age group in the South Brisbane and Gold Coast region.

Says Isabella, “I have been learning/speaking Italian since I was in Year 5. I learnt it through my last 2 years at Primary school and I continued to learn it after I was in High School. I have been doing Italian with Faith for the last year and I have thoroughly enjoyed learning this subject.”

I entered this competition because I wanted to show my Italian language in a different way other than just speaking it with my Tutor. I filmed the speech and uploaded it to the website. My speech was about where I live, my family, hobbies and what living in Stanthorpe means to me. This is my 1st time entering a competition.

“Isabella was first known to me, as a student, at Stanthorpe State High School, prior to the Covid19 pandemic impacting schooling,” says Selina Venier, Isabella’s Italian Tutor, “Within her distance education in 2022, she has continued to develop her love of the language and capacity at expressing it. Isabella is particularly interested in discovering more of her heritage in her dad’s family coming from Piemonte and Sicily. She has also learnt more grammatical concepts and put them into her written and spoken dialogue.”

Isabella’s strength in learning Italian lies in her ability to understand the general meaning of texts that are well beyond her
age and excelled in the recent speaking competition as well as speaking in front of an Italian crowd at a local dinner.

Prof Selina Venier, Isabella’s Italian Tutor

Says Isabella, “I enjoy learning/speaking Italian because I have a chance to speak with other who are learning that language and I can also do something different. I could also travel to Italy when I am older and will be able to speak Italian with ease. My great grandparents came from Catania in Sicily and from Piedmont. My father’s side is Italian, and my Mum’s side is from England. I have done a few Italian speeches for some Italian dinners in Stanthorpe. These dinners were to celebrate the Poet Dante Alighieri and his works, and the other was to celebrate the 150th celebration of Stanthorpe. Stanthorpe has many Italian residents.”

Plans for the Future

Isabella is excited about continuing to learn Italian and immersing herself in Italian culture.

My future considerations are continuing to learn Italian, to travel around Italy and visit all the famous landmarks, to see
where my great grandparents grew up and to get a job working for an Italian restaurant or creating a small shop where I can
make coffee and sell homemade Italian biscuits and sweets.