French Model UN Conference

On Tuesday, 25th July three Year 12 students, Sally Arnold, Stella Feary and Tess Palamara participated in the French Model UN Conference organised jointly by the AFTV (Association of French Teachers Victoria) and the United Nations Association of Victoria and sponsored by the Languages Unit, DET. Held at the Treasury Theatre in East Melbourne the conference was a creative simulation of the UN General Assembly. Each participating school was allocated a French-speaking member state; the MGC students were acting as representatives of Monaco! The purpose of the Model UN Conference is to give students the opportunity to learn about the UN system, discuss global issues and practice diplomacy and negotiating skills in an authentic and dynamic environment. The added challenge of the French Model UN is that all this has to be done IN FRENCH! The topic of the resolution being debated was Asylum Seekers and Refugees and the MCG team developed a very comprehensive Position Statement which Sally delivered very expertly to the assembly. During the caucus the students were able to debate with representatives from other schools/countries. It was a fantastic opportunity to use French learnt in the classroom for such an authentic, and important, communicative purpose.

“On Tuesday 25th of July, three of us participated in the Mock French UN representing the country of Monaco. It was a full day event and many VCE students across Victoria attended. We were asked to address the refugee crisis in Europe and create a plan for our designated country. I found the day an extremely valuable experience and the many different levels of French was very useful and also boosted my confidence because I was able to keep up and fully comprehend other students. I also liked how everyone got involved and expressed their own opinions and their country's views. I recommend this program to upcoming French students, and I wish I could do it again ! "

Tess Palamara

YEAR 10 French Trivia Evening

An event organised for the second year running by the AFTV and held last Friday night at Fintona Girls’ School in Balwyn. The purpose of the event is for students from different schools studying French in Year 10 to get together in a relaxed environment to share their knowledge of French language and culture. Each team of four students is placed on a table with four students from a different school. MGC students shared tables with students from PLC and Sandringham Secondary College. It was great fun! If you do French next Year, in either Year 9 or 10, keep an out for this event being advertised if you would like to take part.

"The French Trivia night was really fun. It was such a great experience to practice French in a relaxed environment along with students from other schools and delicious food. The great variety of trivia categories and games allowed us all to have a go and play to our strengths."

Alliance Française Berthe Mouchette Competition

Every year the Alliance Française holds this competition which is open to students studying French from around Victoria and gives them the opportunity to test their French skills against an externally set bench mark. This year thirteen Year 10 students completed the Written Paper, which assesses their reading and listening comprehension skills as well as their knowledge of grammar. All of the students were deemed to be ‘Excellent’, ‘Très Bien’ or ‘Bien’ and four students are going through to the finals to be held on 20th August. In addition, the two Year 10 students who participated in the Poetry recitation have also been selected as finalists.

Thirty-six Year 11 and 12 students have just participated in the Senior competition which involves an Oral Interview as well as a Written Paper. This offers them a valuable foretaste of what they will experience in the VCE French exam.

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