Languages News
Languages Diversity Day returns to Nossal HS
2022 has been the first time we’ve been able to celebrate Languages Diversity Day in-person since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While not everything was able to be put into place, all Nossal students currently studying French or Japanese had an exciting morning leading up to the assembly; filled with a series of activities and performances exploring various aspects of French or Japanese culture.
Grâce à (thanks to) the Melbourne French Theatre Company, students of French were treated to a spellbinding performance of Saint-Exupery's “The Little Prince”. Since their inception in 1977, the theatre have provided live performances of French-language plays to the general public and to schools across Melbourne. The set transformed into scenes of foreign planets, asteroids, wheatfields and the Sahara Desert, gifted with curious personalities, where the story of a little Prince flashed for not longer than the blink of a star…
Meanwhile, the Japanese students began the day by learning all about Rakugo (a traditional form of comedic storytelling by one performer) from Showko-san, a Rakugo-ka (Rakugo story-teller) who shares her unique and hilarious stories across Australia, and has even taken the stage at Australia’s Got Talent. Showko-san taught us the about the history of the art form, and even had some volunteers act out a bunch of interesting actions with only their body language and a few simple props, before performing her own short Rakugo stories which had the most unpredictable punchlines!
Rakugo with Showko-san was followed by a kendo demonstration. The students were taught about the point-system and ideas central to the sport, and volunteers even had the opportunity to strike with shinai (a bamboo sword used in kendo).
After a short break from all the excitement, Year 9 and 10 language students split off to participate in a range of activities and workshops; each organised and lead entirely by VCE French and Japanese students.
The French students would break into two large groups, one participating in a Jeopardy-style trivia in the Jean-Russell Centre and the other a treasure hunt across the school; thank you to the VCE French students for running these activities for the day. While vastly dissimilar in the mode of activity, we made sure the students trained their culinary, historical and cultural knowledge of France, all while answering questions or running about!
The Japanese students were able to choose from a range of activities such as kendo/karate workshop, calligraphy, Japanese games/toys, manga drawing, and karaoke – and while we couldn’t be at all workshops all at once, I think it’s safe to assume the students had a great time trying a new skill, showing off an existing one, or learning something new about the culture.
However, the highlight of the day was the whole-school assembly in Period 4, where we were able to showcase the remarkable linguistic and cultural diversity of Nossal. After a speech from former student Arni on continuing his Japanese studies in university, we were treated to dance acts from the K-pop and Bollywood clubs as well as enchanting vocal and instrumental performances.
Among the other activities for the day, we were gifted with a wide variety of delicious culinary morsels. The language students received coupons to redeem for crêpes or sushi, while students from Food Tech prepared an international food tasting stall abundant with sweet goods. If you were unsatisfied by the day’s previous events, you would be sure to enjoy the food, at the very least!
Minuki Satharasinghe - Year 12
Harvey Lam & Esther Sarvananthan - Year 11
Unit 3/4 Japanese Exam Preparation Workshop
The 3/4 Japanese students headed to Docklands at Library at the Dock to meet with students and teachers from different schools around Victoria for our Japanese exam preparation workshop.
We also had a special guest present, past Japanese teacher Mr Delaney! He was able to join us and catch up with his Japanese students from last year. (I also ran into my year 7 Japanese teacher whom I hadn't seen in 5 years!)
To kick off the workshop we had all students present the discussion topics they chose for the oral part of the exam. We had a range of topics from Traditional Japanese Theatre to anime such as Attack On Titan.
We were then split into 3 groups that each focused on a section of the exam, the listening and reading, essay and oral discussion. Our own Kamimura sensei ran the oral discussion where students had fun engaging in role-play scenarios and having a go at a debate in Japanese.
Halfway through the day, we got to head to Dohtonbori at the Docklands and try Japanese dishes which we could cook ourselves on the hotplate such as okonomiyaki, takoyaki and more. Everyone had a great time getting to eat tasty food and get hands-on experience with cooking them, while also learning more about Japanese food culture.
Without getting lost on the trams, we all headed back to finish the last session of the workshop, and wrap up for the day. It was an excellent opportunity for all students to share their experience of VCE Japanese, make new friends across schools and also get prepared for our end-of-year exam.
We would specially like to thank our teachers Kamimura sensei and Kaori sensei for organising and providing us with this opportunity. We are immensely grateful for the wonderful memories and skills gained from it!
どうもありがとうございました。
Prathiksha Ashok Raj Kumar
School Captain
