Languages

Year 11 Student Indonesian Independence Day, Embassy Competition

Congratulations to Year 11 student, Helena R, who was successful in her application to attend Indonesian Independence Day celebrations at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra this year. To achieve this, Helena submitted an essay written in Indonesian and was interviewed at the Indonesian Consulate in Melbourne.  This was a tremendous honour for Helena who was selected as one of only six students chosen Australia wide and a recognition of her tremendous talent in Indonesian Language learning.

Selamat jalan Kariso dan Tabitha! (Farewell to Kariso and Tabitha!)

Students in Year 11 recently bid farewell to Tabitha and Kariso, short-term exchange students from Satya Wacana Christian College in Salatiga, Indonesia. For four weeks, Tabitha and Kariso attended classes in the Senior School blending in well with the other students. On the odd occasion, they visited some Dunhelen classes where they talked to the students about their country and cultural background. It was also great to have Tabitha and Kariso attending VCE Indonesian lessons where they provided opportunities for our students to practice their Indonesian speaking skills, including the Year 12 class who are preparing for their oral examination.

During their stay, Kariso and Tabitha found the weather to be the most challenging aspect of their stay in Melbourne, with temperatures in single-figure digits compared to Indonesia’s tropical average of 28-32 degrees. Aitken College has a longstanding relationship with students from Salatiga with student visits occurring several times in the past. Hopefully, there will be an opportunity for our students to visit Salatiga in the future. In the meantime, they will surely stay in touch with our students electronically.

Mr Steven Rogers

Year 11 VCE Indonesian teacher

Ayo ke kota! (Let’s go to the City!); Year 10 Language and Culture Excursion

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of accompanying our Year 10 Indonesian class on an excursion into the City.  While in the City the students participated in three activities intended to complement their language studies. Firstly, we viewed a recently released Indonesian movie, Keluarga Cemara (The Cemera Family), about a young family who need to adjust to the difficult circumstances they find themselves in.  We then walked to a well-known Indonesian restaurant in Little Bourke Street, Blok M. The students were very adventurous and ordered tasty traditional Indonesian dishes using their Bahasa skills. A few of the braver souls sampled the notoriously spicy Beef Rendang.  Mmmm, enak sekali!

Afterwards, we visited an Indonesian supermarket in the QV Building where students completed a language task requiring them to identify various products and ingredients in Indonesian language.  I would like to commend the students for their excellent behaviour and enthusiasm on the day.

Mr Simon Adams

Head of Faculty Languages