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It’s a case of celebrazione for two UWA Italian Studies student competition winners who are now getting the chance to ‘practise with the locals’ on Italian soil.

Emma Lathbury and Charlotte Bradbury took out the top prizes in a challenge organised by the Italian Consulate in Perth which asked contestants to make a short video on ‘Why I’m studying Italian’.

First year student Emma, who is majoring in Engineering Science and Italian Studies through a Bachelor of Philosophy, won a return airfare to Milan and a month’s tuition at the Italian University for Foreigners as first place winner, and says studying Italian has already led to ‘many wonderful experiences’.

“I first took it up in Year 2 and then in secondary school at Penrhos College and as well as learning how to communicate in a second language, I liked the exposure to a different culture and way of life,” she says.

Runner-up Charlotte also won a return airfare to Milan and a scholarship to study in Perugia.

Charlotte is in her second year of Italian, after taking up the language as a beginner last year.

The Medical Science major and former Methodist Ladies College student describes learning a language as ‘addictive’ and says she hopes to keep it up.

“I plan to study postgraduate medicine but hope that I can use my knowledge of Italian in the future, even if it’s just with travelling,” she says.

UWA Chair of European Languages and Studies, Professor John Kinder, says learning a language is for everyone.

“Whether you have done it before or are a beginner, whether you have another language in your background or are trying to break out of the monolingual mindset; it’s the best way to experience a different way of being in the world,” he says.

The winners of the competition, sponsored by Etihad Airways and the Italian University for Foreigners in Perugia, were announced by Consul David Balloni at the Italian National Day celebrations in Fremantle’s Maritime Museum.

Check out Emma and Charlotte’s prize-winning videos on the UWA Italian Studies Facebook page .