Languages Faculty News
Lucie Dickens, Academic Dean of Languages
Year 7 Cultural Day
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Bryan Huang, Year 7 Japanese
The Year 7 Cultural Day was a fascinating and enjoyable experience for my peers and me.
We began the day with a traditional Japanese dance (おどり). Everyone was engaged and followed the instructions given by the Japanese teachers. To my surprise, I even recognised some of the instructions because they have a Cantonese version! This experience was a lot of fun.
After lunch, we had a Japanese drum session (たいこ), where we played with both the big and small Taikos. We even had an ensemble together at the end, and I felt satisfied with the harmony the drums created.
After the drumming session, we had a calligraphy (しょどう) session. I felt fortunate to have an artist from Japan teaching us. While it was a unique experience for most of my classmates, it wasn't entirely new to me as I had done calligraphy weekly during my time in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, I still learned many new things during that session. For example, I hadn't known that the vertical stroke had a rest on top.
Overall, I learned that understanding other cultures is more important than simply speaking a language fluently, and I believe Cultural Day was a unique and memorable experience for everyone.
FRENCH LANGUAGE
Kieran Yen, Year 7 French
During the Cultural Day on Thursday 9 May, Year 7 students explored various cultural aspects related to our chosen language. We engaged in fun activities such as crepe-making and calligraphy.
Additionally, we attended a special Languages assembly led by Years 11 and 12 languages students. They highlighted the benefits of learning another language, emphasising that half of the world's population is bilingual! They also conducted an interview in Japanese and French, showcasing how proficient you can become after six years of learning the language.
We had fun watching music videos from Manie Musicale, a French music competition. The artists hailed from various French-speaking countries such as Canada, France, Africa, and Vietnam, among others.
We also celebrated the Paris Olympic Games 'les jeux olympiques', and learnt a lot about different sports, the medals, the Olympic rings and the flame.
Lastly, saving the best for last, we had a crepe-making lesson with Madame Dickens. Light, sweet and fluffy, the crepes were a perfect way to end the day!
Thank you to our Languages teachers for putting on an exciting day.
Education Perfect Languages Championship 2024
Congratulations to everyone who participated in the 2024 Education Perfect Languages Championship (EPLC)!
Education Perfect Languages is an online language learning platform, and the EPLC is a free event where students can compete at their own ability level.
Kilvington ranked 3rd for French and 10th for Japanese in Victoria for our category (250-500 users). Our students did extremely well once again this year, receiving a total of 10 awards: two Elite, one Emerald, one Silver, two Bronze and four Credits.
Well done to the following students:
Year 7 French
- Ben Franzi - Credit
Year 8 French
- Sarah O'Neill - Bronze
- Ashleigh Harran - Bronze
- Jack Dundon - Credit
- Georgia Thompson - Credit
Year 9 French
- Ashley Braganza - Elite
- Oscar Le - Emerald
Year 10 French
- Cassie Yeo - Silver
- Simon Huang - Credit
Year 11 French
- Anna Zolotareva - Elite
Global Connections Program
If you're interested in hosting a student for two weeks only in Term 3, please contact AIIU staff Ruth Vallejo at ruth_valle@hotmail.com or Lucie Dickens at dickensl@kilvington.vic.edu.au. We might still need a few extra families. Thank you.
