LANGUAGES

BERTHE MOUCHETTE COMPETITION

Our Years 7 to 10 Berthe Mouchette poetry competition participants are working on memorising and rehearsing their poems. They will be recorded reciting their poems during week 7, ready for submission to the Alliance Francaise.

YEAR 9 FRENCH AND GERMAN STUDENTS

Our Year 9 students are preparing projects about the world of speakers of their languages for an expo to take place in week 2 of Term 3 at East campus.

LANGUAGES SOCIETY UPDATE 

The Languages Society is busy planning activities for Term 3. We welcome any interested students to come along and contribute their ideas. 

 

We also now have an instagram page @languages_society

UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST TO OUR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

STUDENT LANGUAGES LEADER

The student languages leader of the fortnight: Aaron Cohen

Aaron Cohen
Aaron Cohen

Hello readers,

 

My name is Aaron Cohen. I am part of the KLA Languages Society, hoping to show that learning a language is entertaining and can help to communicate with other speakers around the world. I've been learning French for two years and it has been more fun by the second. I want to make a difference in people's attitudes toward languages. 

 

Thank you.

LANGUAGE TEACHER OF THE FORTNIGHT

The language teacher of the fortnight: Jenny Lynd

Jenny Lynd
Jenny Lynd

What is your first language?

English

 

Where did you learn a language or languages other than your first language?

I learned French at high school in Devonport, then at university in Hobart. I later attended university in France to do a teaching qualification. 

 

I studied Italian at the Eurocentro in Florence a long time ago. I learned some Indonesian that I have mainly forgotten at night classes. I did a year of Japanese at University and, sadly, I have forgotten it all. I picked up some Czech from living in Prague and a little bit of Cantonese from living in Hong Kong. I learned a tiny bit of Russian from a lovely lady in Kyiv when I was teaching English there. She would come to our apartment once a week and shout at us enthusiastically in Russian. I had started learning Spanish in 2019 but Covid paused that. In fact, I am a bit of a language junkie, and I also did a masters in applied linguistics because languages fascinate me.

 

Why did you learn that or those particular languages?

French, because at my school it was either that or German, and my sisters had all studied French. Italian, because on my first trip to Europe I fell in love with Italy, and especially Florence, and I love the way Italians will try to converse with you no matter how badly you speak their language. Indonesian because I had to teach it, Czech and Cantonese (and a tiny bit of Russian) because I was surrounded by them. Spanish because one of my best friends is a Spanish French teacher and when I next visit her, I would like to be able to have a proper conversation with her husband!

 

What advice would you give to students wanting to improve their ability in the language(s) they are studying?

Revise, memorise and practise talking to yourself (even if your family thinks you are crazy). Label your house. Including your pets. And your brothers and sisters. Put verb conjugations on the back of the toilet door. Listen to music and podcasts in the target language. Don’t be embarrassed and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. Revel in the opportunity to adopt a different persona. And remember, someone would much rather talk to someone who is positive and engaging and grammatically incorrect than someone who is dull and perfect!

 

Why do you think it is important to study a language?

Language learning teaches you to engage with the world. It helps you to become a global citizen and adds depth and dimension to your personality. Learning to understand that not everyone sees the world the way you do is a very important thing - every language you learn gives you another way of seeing and understanding others and yourself. Given current events in the world, understanding each other and the different ways we view life is extremely important.

 

Why did you choose to become a language teacher?

Originally, because when I went to University you could get a studentship to train as a teacher, which was important for me as I had to move from a small town three hours away from where I was studying. I chose French and English because I enjoyed them. My high school French teacher, Mrs Bienefelt, was also very cool and we all loved the way she dressed - she was never boring.

 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

There is a famous quote attributed to King Charlemagne of the Franks - ‘To know two languages is to possess a second soul’. I love knowing that I have that extra soul or two just in case.

 

Jenny Lynd

Languages Learning Area Manager