Languages

MS LISA MILLER head of languages

MS SOPHIE BOISSERY coordinator of french

CHINESE

TEN YEARS OF ASIA LITERACY In 2008, The Southport School embarked on an adventurous program to enhance the teaching and learning of languages, particularly Chinese, through the Living Language and Culture program.

As a result, we now have a record number of boys choosing to learn Chinese, many of them continuing right through to senior. This qualifies them to be among the elite number of Australians who speak, read and write some Mandarin Chinese, and will surely be an asset in their future careers.

THE GREAT WALL EXPEDITION 2018

Experiential learning at TSS through the IDEALS program is based on the principles of Kurt Hahn, founder of Outward Bound. Hahn believed that there is more to us than we know, and that students extend themselves best in situations with some element of risk, guided by teachers. Unique settings are also an effective way to encourage the boys to try new skills. As part of our languages curriculum in Year 7, students of French and Chinese go out into the community, to a patisserie or a dumpling restaurant, to order their own meal and practise what they have learned in class. In Year 8, students visit a restaurant and order their meal again, reinforcing the material they have learned in a situation likely to be repeated throughout their lives in cities around the world, such as Paris or Shanghai.

ORDERING THEIR OWN MEAL IN YEAR 9

In Year 9 Chinese, students travel to Surfers Paradise on buses and trams to interview Chinese people about weather, transport and activities. In Semester Two students study The Legend of Monkey Magic, perform a puppet show and learn Lion Dance and stick fighting. What a great activity, boys, let’s get that Lion Dance Troupe started again!

YEAR 8 BANQUET LUNCH, JASMINE ROOM

For students who choose Chinese in Year 10, the Great Wall Expedition is offered as an alternative to the Outward Bound camp in northern NSW. Students have four days in Beijing City, and four days hiking on the wild Great Wall at Jiankou guided by the Beijing Hikers. This remarkable program provides students with opportunities to practise speaking Chinese when buying tickets to scenic sites, such as the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven, and purchasing meals, and shopping.

YEAR 9 MONKEY MAGIC PUPPET SHOW

As Year 11 comes to a close this year, students are preparing CVs for mock job interviews with Ray White Surfers Paradise. They are practising speaking Chinese to visitors at Q1 and in the streets around real estate agents, while they research the potential for future careers.

Mr Kuo and I would like to wish health and happiness to our Year 12 Chinese students as they head out into the world of work and study, and hope their Chinese continues to improve. Congratulations to Matty Robinson for achieving the Hunt Prize for 2018, awarded to the top non-Chinese background student in the graduating class.

VISITORS FROM CHENGDU

I would like to thank the Languages Team of Ms Sophie Boissery, Mrs Kristen Bannister, Mr Jerry Kuo, Mr Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden and Mr Chris Marcellin for their outstanding hard work this year. It is a rare privilege to work with such professional educators.

FRENCH

It’s been another great year in the French classroom, with students enjoying lots of opportunities to learn and use new vocabulary and grammar. Students always enjoy having the chance to experience the culture of France in and out of the normal classroom environment. This year we held several celebrations in the classroom, as well as many cultural activities, and excursions to local restaurants.

YEAR 9 FRENCH CLASS GROUP PHOTO AT LE CAFE GOURMAND WITH MONIEUR, MADEMOISELLE ET LE CHEF

FRENCH LANGUAGE ASSISTANT 2018 French Languages Assistant, Monsieur Honoré Dupieu. Monsieur Dupieu is originally from Bordeaux, in France. While at school at Le Lyçée Gustave Eiffel in his hometown in 2016, he had a unique chance to participate in this amazing life changing experience, which is the exchange. Monsieur Dupieu received the honour to be selected and sent to The Southport School, for a period of six weeks. This is where he met his host family and brother, Oscar Churchill (Walker House), who in return also attended the prestigious French high school for the same amount of time. Since then Monsieur has developed a love of languages, which explains his decision to come back to Australia as a Language Assistant. During his time at TSS, Monsieur Dupieu was a real inspiration to many of the French students, contributing a great deal to the French language and cultural program, as well as working closely with Year 7 students in the French classroom and at Rogers House.

8B FRENCH CLASS - RESTAURANT EXCURSION EDUCATION PERFECT AND HONOURS PROJECTS On the academic front, students enrolled in the French language program at TSS get many opportunities to challenge themselves and be compared with other High Schools offering French on the Gold Coast. For instance, boys in all year levels are competing on and using Education Perfect (Language Perfect), which is a popular online language learning resource used by more than 1,000 schools around the world.

Students enrolled in Years 8 to 10 French have the opportunity to engage in differentiated projects and activities in the target language. These activities stimulate their critical and creative thinking abilities, while helping their level of French mastery and join the leading minds of TSS.

LE CAFE GOURMAND YEAR 9 AVEC MADEMOISELLE

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES/RESTAURANT EXCURSIONS In order to further practice their language skills, French students from all year levels were fortunate to go on cultural and linguistic excursions throughout the year in the local community. Years 7 and 8 students visited the Pastry Emporium Shop, while the Junior and Senior students attended Le Café Gourmand. Here students were able to order their meals in the target language and try some of the delightful and authentic French dishes, such as croissants, crepes, croque-monsieur, brioche, macaroons, gateaux, and many more!