Dear Parent(s) or Guardian(s),
Benvenuti! Welcome to Italian! I am looking forward to teaching your child a
language and culture rich in history and tradition. My passion for the
Italian language and culture and my dedication to its proliferation will
greatly benefit your child. I have an exciting year planned and hope your
child will learn as well as enjoy their experience with the Italian
language. My objective is to facilitate real life communication in Italian
using materials from daily Italian life.
I want your child to flourish in our classroom environment, therefore, I
would like to encourage communication. If you have any questions or concerns
regarding your child please contact me during school hours. If these times
are inconvenient, please send a note along with your child when and where
you can be reached and I will contact you as soon as possible.
Many parents ask me how they can help their children at home if they do not
know the language. Below I have listed some useful tips that you can use to
encourage and help your child without knowing the language. Some parents
use this as an opportunity to learn Italian!
Working together, we can make this year a prosperous one. Thank you in
advance for your support.
Regards,
Signora Lisa D'Angelo-Bonelli
Italian: How parents can help at home
- Schedule a daily study routine for your child to follow.
- Ask daily about homework assignments and new things learned in class:
"Teach me or your little brother a new Italian word."
"Recite the alphabet, days, months, numbers, etc."
- Ask about upcoming quizzes or oral conversations; check your
child's agenda and/or teacher web page.
- Encourage your child to practice vocabulary by helping to create
Italian flash cards. Practice with them.
- Have your child study and practice daily and in advance of quizzes
and oral conversations.
- Encourage your child to ask for extra help if they are experiencing
any difficulties.
- Provide opportunities for your child to learn about and understand
the Italian culture. Offer to take your child to cultural
fairs, plays, concerts, art exhibits or Italian restaurants. Cook an
Italian meal at home or listen to Italian music together.
***** Encourage your child to experiment with different learning
strategies to determine what works best. Here are some options to
try to help remember vocabulary:
- Say new vocabulary words out loud as you study them.
- Write the words over and over again.
- Tape record words and their definitions; then listen to the tape
several times.
- Underline or highlight words that cause you the most trouble so you
can give them extra attention. You can also post these somewhere
visible in the house so that you will be more likely to remember
them.
- Group words by subject matter - for example: school supplies,
sports, months, etc. and study them as a group.
- Study the words and definitions in isolation; then study them in the
context of sentences.
- Associate words with pictures.
