While Australia's Greek community - according to the 2016 census - accounts for 1.8 percent of the total Australian population, fewer than 15,000 speak Greek at home.
Asimina Karanicolas, a 25-year-old school teacher of Greek background, is hoping to bump up that number by using social media to instill her love for Greek language and music to the next generation.
"I have fused my passion for Greek language, teaching and music to create educational songs for children learning Greek as a second language in Australia," Ms Karanicolas explained.
Asimina Karanicola (L) with her family Source: Supplied/Asimina Karanicola
The young teacher from Prospect Primary School in Adelaide who is writing her thesis on Greek education, uses the "flipped classroom" learning strategy to try and improve student engagement.
"The teaching methods we use to teach Greek are old-fashioned. We need to invent new methods and make kids feel enthusiasm towards their native language," she said.
Using the melody of popular songs, Ms Karanicolas substitutes the English lyrics with Greek words to help students learn and engage better.
Featured in her videos available on YouTube and Facebook are two characters, Yiayia (grandma) Asimo and Thio (uncle) that she "invented" to give the Greek lesson a dose of comedy.
"Kids are showing enthusiasm. They already know the rhythm so it's easier for them to learn the lyrics in Greek. I encourage them to watch the videos before they come to the classroom and teach them to their siblings and parents," Ms Karanicolas said.
The primary teacher further explained that if kids are enthusiastic towards learning their native tongue they will transfer the enthusiasm to their parents.
"I truly believe in maintaining our Greek culture," Asimina said (in Greek).
The federal government recently announced a funding expansion of the Early Learning Languages Australia program of almost $12 million to get Australian kids speaking new languages.
The program, available in some schools in Greek and other languages, was originally developed in 2015 in response to a decline in the number of students studying foreign languages in the higher levels of schooling.
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- So, how many Greeks live in Australia? Click here for The Census Explorer. An interactive tool that lets you go behind the statistics to uncover a rich, visual portrait of who we are, where we live and where we come from.
