LANGUAGES
STARTING TO LEARN A LANGUAGE AT YEAR 7
For most students at Year 7, the Language lessons in French and German are quite different to what they experienced at primary school. In three lessons per week the students have already made great progress and enjoyed the ‘fresh start’. Many of them comment that they have already learned a lot in just one term and that they are looking forward to learning more. They will continue to improve by revising new words and phrases with Language Perfect homework, which is competitive and fun, providing regular revision.
Although many parents might have had mixed experiences in Language learning during their school time, we need the parents’ support to reinforce a positive attitude towards learning another language. Students also need all resources necessary to study, such as the online textbook to support their learning. Take the opportunity to start studying the language with your child. It is fun and rewarding. Research also tells us that everyone can do it at any age!
A second language is not only an extension of the student’s communication skills; research tells us that it also enhances literacy skills. As students need to constantly switch between two codes, the brain becomes more flexible and students also learn to see concepts from different cultural perspectives.
More than simply communicative and linguistic skills, learning languages will offer your child more opportunities in the future and benefits when travelling to other countries or applying for employment and further education.
With more than half of the world’s population being bilingual, every student in Europe even trilingual, the new Australian/Victorian curriculum has acknowledged the neglect of language acquisition amongst students and has recognized Languages as a core subject.
If you are interested in reading more about the benefits of Language learning, please visit the following article:
If you have any further questions please contact Frau Fowler (KLA Manager Languages)
or your child’s language teacher.
Andrew Fowler
Head of Languages
ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE GOETHE NEWSLETTER:
GOETHE-INSTITUT/AGTV YEAR 10 AWARD
Application closing date 31 May
The Goethe-Institut in collaboration with the AGTV invites Victorian students of German in Year 10 to apply for a 3-week German course at a Goethe-Institut in Germany in January 2017. Two further prizes are an intensive holiday course each at the Goethe-Institut in Melbourne.
https://www.goethe.de/ins/au/en/spr/unt/ver.html
YEAR 8 FRENCH - CULTURAL PROJECT
The Year 8 classes have recently submitted their projects on schools in France. The project comprised of two sections: a research section completed individually and a creative group task.
For the research component, the students needed to investigate the structure of French schools and the history behind school in France. They learnt that in 1880, the Minister of Education, Jules Ferry, decided to separate education from religion, make it compulsory and free of charge. These three values (laique, obligatoire, gratuite) form the basis of the current French education system. The students then identified the differences between French and Australian schools and evaluated the benefits and disadvantages.
For the creative task, students worked in groups of three to produce a short video advertisement for our school to be hypothetically shown to schools in France. Most students used the google Chrome app ‘WeVideo’. Their task was to demonstrate what an Australian school is like for French students interested in visiting our school. Topics they covered included uniform (including PE), lockers, typical classrooms, starting and finishing times and subjects studied.
The final videos were excellent and showcased both the students' French skills and their creativity.
Miss Kellie Dickson
French Teacher