Languages News
Model United Nations: A Japanese Language Challenge
On Friday 24 July, many Japanese students across all year levels had the opportunity to participate in the annual Model United Nations conference. Students had the chance to represent a country of their choice, ranging from third world and under-represented countries such as Kyrgyzstan, to economic powerhouses of the modern age such as the United States of America, debating space exploration and oftentimes the climate crisis that came with it.
The beginning was nerve wrecking. Students from schools across Victoria, teamed up as their representative countries, delivering opening speeches on what clauses their countries represent. We all frantically wrote down notes, straining our ears to understand what was being said by other teams, listening out for specific vocabulary that we have been exposed to in class, and keeping track on which countries to befriend and which countries to avoid.
When the time came to debate certain clauses, the hall was almost silent. We were desperately trying to find the right words for the occasion, not wanting to sound too informal, whilst also trying not to sound too solemn. Soon, one by one, many countries started raising their flags, indicating their wish to speak. Meaningful conversations were taking place, immersing us in a flow state of debating the relevance of certain clauses.
Soon, voting on the proposed clause changes took place. Although none of the votes were unanimous, the result encompassed the wishes of a majority of the nations involved.
While the event was slightly stressful (having to listen to and understand so much space jargon), we were able to absorb ourselves with a once in a lifetime experience, debating in a language that most of us had only started learning recently.
Bella Liu
Year 12 Japanese student
Languages Diversity Day
Cultural Liaison Leaders are selected each year from the Unit 3/4 French and Japanese classes. Their role is to organise a range of language and cultural activities throughout the year, with their biggest responsibility being the planning and coordination of Nossal's annual Languages Diversity Day, including the whole-school assembly.
After beginning preparations earlier in the year and working closely with the supporting leaders from the Unit 1/2 language classes, Smriti Viswanath and Lisa Nakao did an outstanding job organising and delivering this year’s Languages Diversity Day.
Here are reflections from both leaders.
Languages Diversity Day is a day to celebrate the various languages spoken both within our community and across the world. This day is especially exciting in Nossal High School, where we have a diverse range of languages and cultures spoken and shared by our students. The celebration of culture strengthens community within the students and builds personal identity, and one great way to explore this is through the sharing of languages. Language shapes the way a person perceives and interacts with the world, which means that sharing languages allows us to share our perspectives and expands the horizons of understanding. Through sharing languages, we can foster an understanding within the community, and grow together, united in our diversity.
Throughout the day, students had the opportunity to experience this diversity through our special LDD assembly and a range of student-led cultural activities. The Japanese activities included a Kendo demonstration, manga drawing, and traditional games whilst the French activities included trivia, art, and pétanque alongside both language domains holding a scavenger hunt and karaoke! Together, these workshops created an environment where students could celebrate different cultures, discover something new and appreciate the diversity within our school community!
A Word from Lisa
I found being a Cultural Liaison Leader to be a very new but fulfilling experience, despite how nerve wracking it was to lead an entire assembly. I was lucky to have many people supporting me, with vice-liaison leaders Anojii and Divya working hard behind the scenes and Kamimura Sensei and Madame Hau coordinating the technicalities.
Hours of practice also went into the VCE students’ singing performance, and the assembly took much preparation, from recording the video, to organising lyric sheets for each of the classes. But it was so incredible to see everything come together on the day, to see Year 9 students enjoying the activities led by their seniors and k-dance and Bollywood perform at the assembly, and it truly made me glow with pride to hear students commenting on how fun the day was afterwards. I believe I was very lucky to have had this experience, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who may consider this role in the future.
A Word from Smriti
As a Cultural Liaison Leader, I was fortunate to be involved in planning and coordinating the day from the beginning. This involved working closely with students, teachers and other leaders, organising activities, helping prepare the assembly and making sure everything came together on the day. One of the most rewarding parts was seeing students actively participate and genuinely engage with cultures and languages they may not have experienced before.
It was incredibly meaningful to see all our preparation come to life and to watch the school community come together in celebration. We would like to thank all the students, teachers and staff who contributed their time, energy and enthusiasm to making Languages Diversity Day such a memorable and successful event!