Ecco! Italian Language Learning Resources

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The Ecco! Senior Student Book is a hybrid textbook and workbook, with a variety of updated texts for viewing, reading, listening, and multimodal practice. The topic texts present grammar and vocabulary in context along with writing and speaking practice and support.

Each chapter also provides revised supportive grammar explanations with check-in tasks and a cumulative grammar practice page. Updated exam-style questions, skill-building guidance and annotated samples for written and oral exams wrap it all up for efficient exam preparation.

Throughout the book students practise their intercultural, inquiry, reflection, multimodal and viewing skills while building on meaningful and personalised language and cultural skills in context.

Ecco! Senior Student Book overview:

• A hybrid textbook and workbook for learners of Italian in Years 11 and 12
• Aligned to state senior curriculum and exams requirements
• Current topics
• Up-to-date, authentic texts for viewing, reading, listening and multimodal practice
• Speaking and writing practice and support
• Clear, supportive grammar explanations accompanied with check-in tasks and chapter cumulative tasks
• Exam-style questions
• Skill-building and exam preparation guidance
• Annotated speaking and writing samples

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With Ecco! Senior Student eBook, students can access the student book and audio, take notes, save bookmarks and more – anywhere, anytime, online and offline.

The new digital resources include a bonus state-specific exam preparation chapter for Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia. Through the eBook, students can extend their learning through additional grammar, listening and reading worksheets and new digitally tracked activities with instant feedback in Pearson Places.

Ecco! Senior Student eBook overview:

• Access all Student Book pages and audio online and offline
• Add notes, save bookmarks and more
• New bonus state-specific exam preparation chapters Grammar explainer animations
• New digital tracked prior learning and reflection, grammar, viewing and reading, and speaking activities with instant feedback in the Assessment resources
• Chapter vocabulary lists and worksheets

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The Ecco! Senior Teacher eBook with audio download + Classes dashboard and Assessment provides teachers with access to all student eBook content including the new bonus state-specific exam preparation chapters, as well as updated answers, audio scripts and downloadable audio files.

The teacher eBook resources also include new state-specific practice exams with audio and their relevant marking guides and audio scripts, providing more ways for teachers to engage and prepare students for exam success.

It further supports teachers with updated curriculum mapping, scope and sequence documents and other teaching guidance documentation.

Teachers now also have access to the teacher Classes and Assessment tasks allocation and dashboard to help them formatively assess students learning and progress, and assign work.

Ecco! Senior Teacher eBook with audio download + Assessment overview:

• All Student eBook content, including the new bonus state-specific exam preparation chapters
• All answers, audio scripts and downloadable audio files
• New state-specific practice exams with audio, relevant marking guides and audio scripts
• Latest state-specific curriculum mapping
• Scope and sequence documents and other teaching guidance documentation
• New Teacher dashboard to formatively assess class and student learning, and allocate work in the Classes tab

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Learn more about how Ecco! Senior was developed with this video from the expert author team including:

• Gabriella Bertolissi
• Adriana Blazincic
• Carla Catanzariti
• Maria Gaudioso
• Maria Lo Presti.

Listen to the full overview (16 mins)

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Ecco! Uno and Ecco! Due, 2nd Edition student books integrate the intercultural language learning approach at their core and have been revised based on teacher and student feedback. They now better-support students with their learning of Italian and their development of language, intercultural, creative and critical thinking skills. They include:

• updated prompts (including viewing, intercultural and higher order thinking)
• updated, current visuals
• relevant real-life contexts and texts
• revised, more supportive grammar sections
• extension opportunities and extra support for personalised learning
• chapter vocabulary lists and updated projects.

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The eBook version of the student book provides students with access to a range of materials that can be used offline and online on any device, including:

• on-level audio tracks recorded by native speakers
• chapter vocab lists
• editable worksheets
• grammar explanation animations
• pronunciation modelling videos
• interactive games and cartoon stories
• authentic, fun gestures videos in Uno
• authentic topical interviews in Due.

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The activity books cater for a variety of learning styles, with updated engaging activities that enrich key skills. They support:

• consolidation and practice, following the student book progression
• differentiated learning opportunities
• flexible learning with use in the classroom or as homework
• accessible audio for students from the relevant eBook.

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The Teacher resources for Ecco! uno and Ecco! due, 2nd Edition include:

• a Teacher Companion book which includes implementation guidance, cultural notes, additional intercultural learning prompts, ideas for extension, consolidation, and kinesthetic activities, answers to student book prompts;
• a Teacher eBook, which includes all of the Student eBook content and media, as well as teaching resources to help make lesson planning a breeze, including:
  • curriculum grids
  • editable chapter tests, and relevant audio and answers
  • projectable activity book answers
  • worksheets answers
  • a download pack of all audio files.

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Co-author of Ecco! Senior, Adriana Blazincic has taught years 7–12 Italian in Victoria for the past 9 years. Adriana has been creating her own resources since starting her career as a secondary teacher in order to provide her students with a current, relevant and engaging curriculum. Her goal as a leader and as a teacher is to ignite an interest and a passion in Languages Education by modelling best practice and providing a highly engaging and stimulating teaching and learning environment. As Head of the Languages department at a high achieving government school in Victoria, Adriana oversees the curriculum development of 3 languages including Italian and continues to be an advocate for Languages education.

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Carla Catanzariti has been involved in the teaching of Italian in a number of schools for over 30 years. Her roles have included teacher of Italian at Years 7-12, Italian coordinator and Languages coordinator. She is regularly involved in student coaching, course writing, curriculum material development, tests and exams. Carla has also been an assessor for VCE oral and written examinations, and has presented at the VATI congress. She currently teaches Italian at Avila College in Melbourne. Carla has co-authored the Ecco! Due 2nd Edition Activity Book and tests, and Ecco! Senior.

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Co-author of Ecco! Senior, Maria Gaudioso has been actively involved in Italian Education for over 15 years. She has taught students in both primary and secondary education, as well as in adult education. She has been involved extensively with NESA as an HSC marker, HSC examiner and curriculum writer, and regularly shares her professional knowledge at conferences. Maria has successfully led Italian Language and Culture Tours and is highly involved in Teacher Accreditation.

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Co-author of Ecco! Senior, Maria Lo Presti is an Italian teacher with over 30 years’ experience. She is currently Head of Languages at Aquinas College in Western Australia. Maria has collaborated with the School Curriculum and Standards Authority in various assessment and resource creation ventures like the Judging Standard Project. She is a member of the Western Australian Association for Teachers of Italian (WAATI) and has served as Vice President, Treasurer and committee member. Over the years Maria has presented Professional Learning for her colleagues through Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) and WAATI. In 2019, she was awarded the Outstanding Professional Service Award by the Professional Teaching Council of Western Australia. Maria enjoys mentoring students and networking with teachers from all sectors.

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Nancy Posterino has many years’ experience as a secondary teacher of Italian. She was the author of Forza! Tre (2001), a contributing author to the 1st Edition of the Ecco! Uno and Due series and a consultant on the 2nd Edition. Since 2004, she has worked on design and content for the digital learning resources at Languages Online (DET). She is currently a course writer and editor at the Victorian School of Languages. In 2017, she received a Certificate of Merit from the Modern Language Teachers’ Association of Victoria for her contribution to language teaching in Victoria. Nancy came onboard the Ecco! Senior resources as co-author in 2019-2020.

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A co-author of the 1st Edition of Ecco! Uno and Ecco! Due, and co-author of the Uno 2nd Edition Student Book and Activity Book, Liana Trevisan has been teaching Italian in secondary schools for over 25 years. She is the Languages coordinator at Loreto Kirribilli and has been active in the Italian teaching community in NSW, contributing to and organising a variety of resources and events for students of Italian.

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Lidia Nuzzolese is a native-speaker teacher of Italian and Latin with more than 20 years’ experience teaching in secondary schools in Italy and Australia. Her expertise includes curriculum development, VCE assessment and examination preparation and resource management. She brings in a rich background in classic studies, including Latin, Greek, and History, and has a passion for scriptwriting. Lidia is a co-author of Ecco! Uno and Due 2nd Edition Student Books, Activity Books and the gestures videos. She contributed to the authoring of Ecco! Senior.

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Matthew Absalom has been teaching Italian at tertiary level since the early 1990s and is currently in the Italian Studies Program at The University of Melbourne. He is a published author, educator and researcher, as well as having held significant roles in the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (AFMLTA). Matthew has consulted on and provided professional learning about the Australian Curriculum: Languages. He is also an experienced writer of teaching and learning materials for Italian. Matthew worked on the Ecco! Uno and Due 2nd Edition Student Books, Teacher Companions and fonetica videos, and reviewed Ecco! Senior.

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Giovanni Piccolo moved from Italy to Australia in 2009. He has worked as a secondary teacher of Italian and Latin in Victorian schools for many years and has taught both languages across all year levels, including VCE. He is a member of the Classical Association of Victoria and has worked as an assessor for the VCE Latin written examination. Giovanni co-authored the 2nd Edition of Ecco! Due Student Book and Activity Book, scope and sequence documents and interview videos.

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Marisa Tarascio-Spiller taught Italian for many years in various schools in Victoria. She was a co-author of the 1st Edition Ecco! Uno and Due series, and co-authored the Uno 2nd Edition Activity Book. She dedicates that work to Jonathon Tarascio.

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Elisabetta Ferrari has worked in tertiary education in Australia for the past two decades in various capacities. Following university studies in languages and literature at the Università degli Studi di Parma she completed a BA with Honours at Monash University and a Master of Arts in Cinema Management at the University of Melbourne. She is currently working as a lecturer in Italian Studies at the University of Melbourne. She has also consulted on and offered professional learning opportunities to secondary school teachers of Italian in Victoria along the years. She co-authored the Ecco! 2nd Edition Uno tests and Uno and Due Teacher Companions.

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In addition to the above list of authors, we would like to acknowledge the authors of the eBook assets (tests, worksheets, videos, games, animations, scope and sequence and curriculum mapping): Carla Catanzariti, Daniela Russo, Eleonora Pessina, Elisabetta Ferrari, Giovanni Piccolo, Laura Lori, Lidia Nuzzolese, Matthew Absalom, Teresa De Fazio and Valentina Castaldo.

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Esther Blood is a passionate secondary Italian teacher with over 15 years of experience in Western Australian state schools. She has worked as a classroom teacher and Head of Languages. Esther has presented workshops for professional associations and has led teacher networks to promote collaboration and best practice in languages education. Esther was a reviewer on Ecco! Senior.

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After working in primary and secondary schools in Italy, Silvia Campanella taught Italian in Australia for nearly ten years. For five years she was also a vetter for the Italian VCE written exams and an examiner for both written and oral Italian VCAA exams. She taught Italian at Hoppers Crossing Secondary College until 2016 and was responsible for co-creating and coordinating their sister school program to enhance students’ engagement with Italian language and culture. Temporarily back to Italy she has been working in primary and secondary school, also with students with special needs. Silvia was a reviewer on the 2nd Edition of Ecco! Uno and Due and on Ecco! Senior.

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Angela Porro is a secondary school teacher in Sydney who has a passion for languages. She completed a double major in both Italian and English at the University of Sydney. Following her graduation, she also worked in adult education as an English teacher to newly arrived Italian migrants. Angela has been a Language teacher at All Saints Catholic College Liverpool, where she was also the teacher in charge, and more recently at De La Salle Catholic College, Caringbah. Since 2015, she has been the president of the Italian Language Teachers' Association of New South Wales, and is involved in the writing of the Trial Italian HSC Paper for both beginners and continuers. Angela was a reviewer on Ecco! Senior.

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Annarita Bardeggia is a secondary school Italian teacher with a passion for languages and has lived and worked in many countries around the world. She has worked as a language teacher at Melbourne Girls Grammar School since 2005. She is also a VCE oral and written examinations assessor and a presenter at the VATI Conference. Since 2014, she has been working as an oral assessor for the CELI Italian language qualification from the University of Perugia. Annarita was a reviewer of the 2nd Edition Ecco! Uno and Due Activity Books.

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Dr. Teresa De Fazio has been actively involved in teacher education for over 20 years, after starting out as both a primary and secondary level teacher. She has worked in the area of multiculturalism and social cohesion for several years alongside Government and received recognition awards from both Victoria University and the Modern Language Teachers Association of Victoria for her contributions to education. She is also a Love of Languages Ambassador. She has various publications and continues to write in the area of education. She acted as Intercultural Learning Consultant on the Ecco! Uno and Due 2nd Edition series.