EAL and
International students
Year 7 EAL and Year 10 EAL Literacy Buddies Program
by Stacey Kyriakou, Year 7 EAL Teacher, and Nicole De Garis, Year 10 EAL teacher
During the course of the year the Year 7 and Year 10 EAL classes have been involved in a Literacy Buddies letter exchange that is run through the Ardoch Foundation. This program matches Big Buddies (workplace volunteers) with Little Buddies (school children) to write 4-7 letters and students had the opportunity to visit their big buddies at their workplace at Maribyrnong City Council. The aim of Literacy Buddies is to provide pathways for students to use their educational skills (reading and writing) in the real-world, often outside their daily experience and give students a bigger perspective on the opportunities and value that education can provide. It’s a fun and rewarding program that’s success is largely due to the simple act of making a new friend.
Student reviews
“From the start of term 3, students in year 10 EAL and year 7 EAL started swapping letters to our big buddies in Maribyrnong council. Some of us were struggling with reading their buddy’s hand writing, because we normally only read novels, articles or subtitles and it was hard to figure out what to write on the letter back to the buddy. However, this was a really good opportunity and good practice for us to know how to write a letter. At the start, most of us had no idea how to start the letter but we shared a lot of stories with our buddies as we go. The time in the council was great! Writing letters were fun and interesting but it was great to talk face to face. I think this experience helped us a lot with English, and it also can help us in the future.”
– Miu Imaya, Year 10
“In term three, our teachers told us that the year 7 and the year 10 EAL classes were going to write letters back and forth to our buddies at the Maribyrnong City Council. I found it really interesting. It’s also really helpful as well, because it helps us improve our English. At the end of the term, we went to the Maribyrnong City Council to meet our big buddies. Everybody was really happy and excited for that. Some people, including me, didn’t get to see our big buddies but we get to know more about it. It was really fun”
– Jessica Ha, Year 7
Past FCC International student becomes Australian citizen
by Maureen O'flaherty, International Students coordinator
I recently met with an ex-international student Lin Gan Sha, who commenced his studies at FCC in 2002. After graduating year 12 he studied and worked in the hospitality industry and then worked for 10 years at Cross Keys Strathmore Hotel. He is now a Chef at Sailors Rest Restaurant in Geelong, married to Ariel (a nurse) and has two sons, Raymond aged 3 and Marin 6 months. Lin Gan became an Australian citizen last year and lives with his family, including his mother Yu Zhi and father Yun Wen, in Belmont, Geelong. It was wonderful to meet with his family and Lin Gan tells me he is “happy every day”. As one of my first international students, I am very proud of the success he has made settling with his family in Australia.
