Teacher Profile   

Teacher Profile - Languages 

Marie-Helene Badoche - Head of Languages and French specialist 

Where are you originally from?

I grew up in Alsace-Lorraine, two regions in the North-East of France, just on the border of Germany and Switzerland. 

I left France to come to Australia at 16 years old, nearly 11 years ago now. 

When did you start teaching at Wheelers Hill?

I started working at Wheelers Hill Secondary College in 2019.

Prior to moving to Melbourne and working WHSC, I studied a Bachelor of Arts, focusing on Drama, Literature and French. Then I completed my Diploma of Secondary Education with LOTE and EAL/TESOL. In 2019, I finished a Master of Special Education.

Seeing my Year 7s from 5 years ago becoming Year 11s next year is heart-warming to me and I am delighted to see them becoming such amazing and diverse young individuals.

What do you love most about teaching your subject?

One of the many highlights of teaching, to me, is being able to connect with my students, getting to know them, interact with them, and most importantly getting to see them being curious about France, French Speaking countries and their culture. Them being able to use and re-use what they have learned in our various units throughout the years, makes me very proud of what they have achieved as learners, and what we the Language Domain and Wheelers Hill Secondary College have achieved. 

What is the best thing about teaching your subject?

At Wheelers Hill Secondary College, to learn a Second Language is to learn to communicate with an intercultural understanding. We aim for our students to be internationally minded and to be global citizens. We prepare our students to be a part of an interdependent and interconnected world, as we know that in todays' world, countries and communities are relying on each other and communicating with one another to share experiences and cultures. 

In the French class, we ensure our students are exposed to face-to-face authentic learning experiences, are using their language skills through a variety of exercises, games and situations, are watching traditional French speaking movies and are reading authentic French texts such as comic books, novels and articles. 

We push our students to develop their curiosity by presenting information on France and its territories, monuments, peoples and also its art. They use their IT skills to create magazines, presentations and videos to help their peers learn what they have discovered. 

It is wonderful to see what our students are achieving and to see them develop their international and global awareness.

Learning a second language opens many doors. You gain new experiences, new understandings and develop deep connections.

Why is learning a language so important nowadays?

Growing up, I knew the importance of knowing language, because my family and I would often travel to Germany to go shopping and to go to school. Knowing German was crucial to be able to communicate with shop owners, our classmates and German people in general. 

At school I learned both German and English, and similarly to some students here at school, I would sometimes think, that what we were learning was challenging, or was wondering "why are we learning about this particular topic", but once I did my exchange to Australia at 15 years old, I finally understood that our English teachers went through all these effort to teach us a broad range of topics and communication skills, so that we could do just that, communicate with others. When I spoke for the first time with an Australian, hearing their accent, having to focus hard to be able to understand what they were saying and FINALLY understanding them and being able to talk back to them I was so proud and excited! I want that for my students. 

When you are at school, it can be difficult to see ahead what you may do with your life, but as teachers, that is  what we do, we prepare you for the future you may not yet envision.

If when I was 12 years old, someone would have told me I would be living and working in Australia I probably said "mais oui bien sur" (yeah right).... but look at me now.

Michelle Bian - Mandarin Teacher 

Where are you originally from? 

I was born and raised in China and came to Australia to study in 2012.

When did you start teaching at Wheelers Hill? 

I joined WHSC in 2020 as the first Chinese teacher at our school.

What is the best thing about teaching your subject? 

There are so many great things about teaching languages, but my favourite part is seeing students being able to use the language in real life. Earlier this year I took the Year 9 students on an excursion to Chinatown, where students talked to shop owners in Chinese to ask for information. I also have students telling me they’ve been able to make friends with their Chinese neighbours and order food at Chinese restaurants by using their language skills. It’s examples like these that make me feel very proud of being a language teacher.

How important will it be to know a second language in the future?  

We’re living in such a connected world nowadays, and it is inevitable for us to be living or working with people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, so learning a second language (even a third) should really be a no-brainer! In fact, the majority of the world population are bilingual or multilingual speakers, so Australians really need to catch up on our language game! Apart from the obvious benefits such as better employment opportunities in the future, learning a second language is also a great exercise for the brain that would make you better at learning other knowledge and skills. More importantly, people who know an additional language are more likely to be open-minded towards different cultures and develop better communication skills.