LANGUAGES

GERMAN FILM FESTIVAL 2019

The Palace Cinemas are currently offering 31 of latest and valuable German film productions from Tuesday 21 May to Wednesday 12 June.

The Kino for Kids will provide a six-film feast for young audiences. This section particularly invites students and parents to attend the Festival to engage with German culture and learn the language.

For more information please visit https://germanfilmfestival.com.au

Andrea Fowler

Head of Languages

VET CERTIFICATE II

As part of the Year 10 Languages subjects, students undertake a Victorian Education and Training (VET) Certificate II in Applied Languages. This is a nationally accredited Certificate that demonstrates that the students have a measurable level of language competency. In an increasingly globalised world where over 60% of the world's population speak at least two languages, a workplace level language competency is particularly beneficial.

There are two units (Social Language and Workplace Language) where students are assessed on their ability to have a basic conversation and read and write basic texts in both social and workplace settings. Unlike Learning Tasks, students are assessed as either 'Competent' or 'Not Yet Competent'. If deemed 'Not Yet Competent', they can revise and practise and then undertake the assessment again as many times as necessary until they are 'Competent'. There is less of a focus on grammatical accuracy and more focus on the ability to understand and communicate appropriately, using a variety of resources and strategies as support.

Last year's cohort will receive their certificates and recognition at General Assembly on Wednesday 29 May. This year's cohorts have begun the Social Language unit. For the French classes, this is particularly well-timed as we are about to welcome our French Exchange students to McKinnon. What better way to see if students can have a basic social conversation in French than having a basic conversation with a French teenager?

Next year, in addition to the French and German Certificate II courses, there is the possibility of a Year 10 Spanish Certificate II course as well as a Year 11 French and German Certificate III.  

Ms Dickson

Assistant Languages KLA Manager

YEAR 7 FRENCH

As hump week is almost behind us, some Year 7 French students are excited to be using their knowledge from this semester in pair power points about their ideal zoo! Students have worked hard learning new verbs and sentence structure to express themselves in proper sentences and become personal with their French studies. They are excited to show that they know how to form their own sentences and opinions from scratch and immerse themselves in their learning instead of being reliant on outside information. I look forward to their presentations next week.

Congratulations to all Year 7s working hard on another language!  

Ms Koehne

Teacher of Year 7 French

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE BERTHE MOUCHETTE FRENCH POETRY COMPETITION - MAY 2019

Several weeks of diligent preparation for another Berthe Mouchette Poetry Competition at McKinnon Secondary College are finally coming to an end. All of us, French students as much as their teachers, were impatiently anticipating the pinnacle of this onerous yet unique task, always enjoyed by many.

This year again, all Year 9 and 10 French students were given an opportunity to display their talent in a more arty fashion and learn a French poem that they selected together with their teachers. A month later they have performed and recited their selected verses in front of an authentic French jury – representative from Alliance Française.  

The learning and reciting of poems takes a reasonable amount of dedication and effort. Students were able to listen to recordings in class and alone at home, learning verses and stanzas gradually. Once those were mastered, we could start working and perfecting expression, tone and emphasis. Some of the poems this year, just like every year, were accompanied by classic song versions, which certainly helped kids to memorise them and at the same time enjoy and appreciate them.

The Year 9s students revelled in reciting either ‘Toi qui a froid’ by Pierre Gammarra  or ‘Tourner les serviettes’ by Patrick Sebastian. Although ‘L’oiseau’ by Dali or even Raymond Queneau’s poem’ Men at work’ were very popular.

The Year 10s most popular poem was a song Une Chanson: ‘C’est la fête’ by Howard Ashman et Alan Menken.

Altogether, there were almost 100 students participating in this unique event and every candidate will receive a certificate for their performance.

This incomparable literary experience was rewarding for the students and it gave them an insight into French literature and its importance in French culture. I would like to congratulate all participants on their great efforts, enthusiasm and commitment. I also thank their French teachers Miss Dickson, Ms Jimenez and Miss Koehne for their assistance in this exceptional undertaking.

Félicitations tout le monde!

Bravo!

Ludmila Antal

Teacher of French