Published on September 11, 2018
“Learning to speak another’s language means taking one’s place in the human community. It means reaching out to others across cultural and linguistic boundaries…” Savignon (1983)
The introduction of Chinese (Mandarin) language lessons broadens students’ direct experience of another culture and enhances cultural diversity as global citizens. Knowledge of another language provides opportunities for students to study or work in other countries and cultures. In 2018 the course was introduced to Year 7 and will grow to include Years 7-10 going forward.
Mandarin is the mother tongue of more than 873 million people, making it the most widely spoken first language in the world. China is Australia’s biggest trading partner and the second largest economy in the world. It’s also one of the world’s oldest and richest continuous cultures.
Mandarin is an interesting language for students to learn. This is evidenced in the commitment of students to their learning in the classroom, and the testimonials received from parents of Year 7 students studying Mandarin.
Here’s what some of our Year 7 parents had to say about the course:
“My son hasn’t stopped raving about how much he likes his Chinese Language class. He is fascinated to now learn Chinese. He’s been reading out his Chinese words to us every night. We are so happy about this.”
“My daughter especially enjoys her Language class. We are surprised, as she never displayed an interest in learning another language before and we wondered how she would go. She tells us constantly this is her favourite class.”