CLC Year 8 2023 Languages Information Book

Language study is exciting and challenging! It opens up another world to you. It allows you to communicate and interact with people from other countries and you are able to understand and immerse yourself in their cultures in a totally different way. This new intercultural awareness can help to a make you a more confident, effective global citizen.

Learning another language involves learning new vocabulary, how the language works, new sounds and a different way of seeing things. Research has shown that this can also help you understand your own language better and to use it more effectively.

Language learning also develops your brain in a new way, challenging you to become a better problem solver and to think creatively.

Being a language learner is an asset to you. It shows people you are willing to take on a challenge and that you are open to new things. In the longer term, this will impress employers. It can also enhance your travel experiences and enable you to make friends and connections all over the world, even if you never leave Australia.

All students study a language to the end of Year 9 and can then elect to continue their studies through to Year 12.

Students have the opportunity to participate in a range of cultural activities, competitions and national language testing. Interaction with young people from Indonesian and Italian speaking countries and with other learners of the languages is facilitated in language classes and beyond, through contact with schools in those countries and using the internet. The chance to take part in study tours to Indonesia and Italy is also offered periodically to students in Years 10 to 12.

The emphasis continues to be on Indonesian or Italian for communication. Listening, speaking, reading and writing skills are developed. Topics are relevant to the lives of young people both in Australia and in Indonesian and Italian speaking communities.

Students will be encouraged to gain an understanding and appreciation of the cultural similarities and differences in these communities.

Written work ranges from simple vocabulary-based and grammatical exercises to the writing of short emails, letters, descriptive texts, comments, profiles and dialogues.

Students are encouraged to participate actively in oral questioning and practice in class. Role-plays promote co-operative learning and give students confidence in expressing themselves and interacting orally. Listening skills are enhanced through music, media and films, and reading skills through a variety of magazines and exposure to other authentic texts. In all areas of the course, students are encouraged to think independently, creatively and analytically.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays an important role in enhancing and improving students’ language learning. ICT will be integrated into many aspects of Language courses. It can provide a medium for authentic interaction, as well as for learning vocabulary, improving pronunciation and independent learning.

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When deciding which language to select, you should consider which: • language(s) you are enjoying • language(s) you are achieving well in • culture(s) you would like to know more about Some facts to consider:

Indonesian

Italian

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Indonesian is the national language of the Republic of Indonesia. It is closely related to Malaysian which is the national language of Malaysia. Indonesian and Malaysian are spoken by more than 250 million people in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand.

Australia has a growing Indonesian community, including more than 35,000 Indonesian and Malaysian students. The Australian government promotes greater understanding between the two countries by supporting the AustralianIndonesia Institute.

Australia and Indonesia are close neighbors enjoying many links including political, security, commercial, cultural and people-to-people connections. In fact, agreements on education, defence, development, counter-terrorism and economic cooperation have been signed.

It is interesting to know that Indonesian and Malaysian are a little easier for English speakers to learn than some other Asian languages. They use the Latin script and are non-tonal languages so English speakers can pick them up quickly.

There are also a lot of English words which have been adopted and adapted into the Indonesian language.

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Italian is spoken by more than 80 million people as their first language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, the Vatican City, Croatia, Slovenia and Malta. It is estimated that Italian is spoken by more than 200 million people in the world.

The Italian language is the third most spoken language in Australia after English and Mandarin (ABS Census 2011) More than 275, 000 Melbournians reported Italian heritage in the 2011 Census. Throughout Victoria the Italian community is supported by such organisations as CO.AS.IT who offer courses, exhibitions, scholarships and manage the Italian museum, and il Globo newspaper, an Italian language newspaper published in Melbourne twice a week.

Italian is the language of music, art, fashion and gastronomy. According to UNESCO, over 60% of the world’s art treasures are found in Italy.

Italy ranks among Australia’s top international trading partners. Italy remains a strong buyer of Australian primary products, while Australia has been a consistent buyer of Italian technology and design. A significant number of Italian companies have branches in Australia.

Italian and English both come from Latin. In fact, an estimated 60% of English vocabulary comes from Latin roots.

If you enjoy and are doing equally well in both languages and do not have a preference for the one you would like to continue, then tick the either/or box.

Homework: Students are expected to complete homework regularly, to the best of their ability and in a timely manner. Homework will involve tasks, which aim to consolidate work introduced in class and in some cases, to provide opportunities for extension.

Homework will include tasks to practise the skills of writing, speaking, reading and listening. It is also essential that students set aside regular time for learning new vocabulary and grammatical items.

Should you have any queries regarding the study of Languages at Catholic Ladies’ College, please contact: Ms Pauline Khoo, Languages KLA Team Leader Email pkhoo@clc.vic.edu.au or Telephone 9439 4077

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Students will receive an email entitled “noreply@selectmysubjects” with a subject line “CLC Subject Selection”. Please do not delete this email, you will need it to make your Language selection for 2023.

When you are asked to make your Language selection you will need to logon to a computer with an internet connection (using Firefox or Google Chrome) and a printer.

Open your email and click on the link “Click here to open Web Preferences” this will take you directly to the first page of your preference selection (you will need to use your Student Access Code and Password if you are using a computer that you cannot access your emails from).

Check that your name appears at the top of the screen under “Web Preferences Student Portal – Home Page” Click on the “Add New Preferences” green button in the middle of the screen.

Read and follow the instructions in the instruction box.

Make your selections in the boxes on the middle of the screen.

Click on the “Proceed” button when it turns green. If the button is greyed out please go back to the instruction box and ensure you have made a selection in the ‘Preference’ box and the ‘Reserve’ box and check that you have not selected the same language twice.

A new screen will be shown listing your ‘Preference’ and ‘Reserve’; if all is correct click on the “Submit Valid Preferences” button. If you have any messages in red on this screen click the back button and correct any errors before proceeding.

The next screen shows your confirmed choices, click on the “Open Print View” button.

On the next screen, click the “Print (Download) Receipt” button. Sign the receipt electronically and forward to your parent to sign electronically. Once your parent submits the form it will be uploaded to the CLC Web Preferences site.

Please complete by 4:00 pm on Tuesday, 30 August 2022.

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