Staff in Focus

A Lasting Love of Languages

Mrs Danielle De Witt was already fluent in Indonesian and Japanese when she began to teach Mandarin to Year 7 students while learning the language herself. Now she is set to embark on an adventure to rural China to take her love of languages further ...

I started learning Japanese when I was in Year 8 at high school and I loved it from day one. Combining this passion with my ambition to become a teacher was an easy decision for me and today teaching continues to be a career that I love.

I commenced by teaching journey at Murdoch College as a baby-faced 23-year-old in 2000 as the youngest member of the academic staff. When the school became St George’s Anglican Grammar School, moving into the city in 2015, I moved across as a foundation staff member, taking the train into the city with the 200 Murdoch College students who enthusiastically swapped their green blazers for red ones.

Fast forward to 2019 and St George’s made the decision to introduce Chinese (Mandarin) as a language within the school due to our increasing number of Chinese international students. So, without hesitation I began learning Chinese whilst also teaching it to beginners in Year 7. Having majored in Japanese and studied Indonesian at university, the thought of learning another language at the age of 43 was both exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time - however I was buoyed on by my love and passion for languages. 

Learning and teaching Mandarin has certainly had its challenges; however, I think learning another language a little later in life has forced me to become a better teacher and it has also reminded me of how much effort is required to be able to master a second language. There is so much memorising and practicing involved in learning a language. For this reason, classes need to be full of fun so that students can learn and develop their language skills with joy.

My first Year 7 class is now heading into Year 12, and it has been a delight to see them continue to learn Mandarin with me. My next step of my Mastering Mandarin journey to study in China during my long-service leave, which I am taking in Term One, 2024. 

In 2019 I was the recipient of the Sangora Education Foundation Languages Award and while this trip was delayed because of COVID, in February 2024 I will undertake six weeks of one-on-one intensive language tuition while also living in homestay accommodation in China. It will be a wonderfully adventurous part of my linguistic language journey and support me in supporting our students.

With more than 500 students now at St George’s Anglican Grammar School, I will return reinvigorated and refreshed to teach both Mandarin and Japanese throughout Year 7 to 12, from Term Two 2024. At the end of 2024, my first Year 12 Mandarin students will graduate, and this will be such an exciting milestone for me.

Mrs Danielle De Witt

Japanese and Mandarin Teacher