ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTRE

The English Language Centre (ELC) has entered its tenth year at Kew High School.

In July, we welcomed our nineteenth cohort of international students to the ELC, with the arrival of fourteen Year 10 students from China, Vietnam and Thailand.  Our new students are being looked after in local homestays, many of whom have long-standing relationships with Kew High School.  We are grateful for their help in orientating our new arrivals and the ongoing care our homestay families provide. Two more students will be joining this dynamic group in Term 4.

Students in the ELC follow an Intensive English Language Program for 21 weeks.  These young 15-17 year-olds are highly supported to rapidly improve their English reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, and develop their understanding of the language of Mathematics, Information Technology, Science and Physical Education, in readiness for VCE. Our ELC students readily embrace the values of Kew High School to Aspire, Strive and Achieve and despite their initial language challenges, the majority of ELC graduates go on to achieve high ATAR scores and carry on studying at universities here in Victoria.

As we move towards celebrating one decade of our own ELC supporting fee-paying newly arrived international students, we recognise the dedication of our International Student Coordinators, Ms Junling Yang and Ms Daveen Valentine, who guide these young and courageous students through the hardship of leaving their home-countries, family and friends and the challenges of cultural assimilation and integration.  We also thank our passionate and caring ELC teachers who patiently work through the language and cultural challenges experienced by ELC learners during this initial transition period.

Catherine Reid

ELC Coordinator