Berthe Mouchette Success

On 4 August, Year 8 students Jo-Jo Patterson and Catherine Karas recited their French poem, Pour les Enfants et pour les Raffinés, at the Finals of the Alliance Française Berthe Mouchette Competition. This significant competition has over 10,000 competitors across Victoria and provides students in Years 3 to 12 with an opportunity to practise their French language skills by competing in a competition.

Our best wishes to the following Year 9 students who will also be participating in the Finals in the upcoming weeks: Jasmine Pierides, Emilia Searby, Ruby Wake, Lan-Tian Yen-West and Angela Yu. We are awaiting notification of the date on which they will be participating.

We also congratulate Year 10 students Lucy Keilar and Georgina Vote, and Year 9 student Valérie Plastow (accelerating Year 10 French) who also participated in the Finals. Students in VCE participated in the competition on 29 July. Rather than reciting a poem, they undertook a 10 minute oral exchange with the examiner, consisting of general conversation, followed by discussion on a prepared topic. We look forward to receiving the results of their endeavours.

Hosting a Cours Fénélon Student

Currently, we have two students on exchange at St Catherine’s from our Sister School, Cours Fénélon in Toulon. Georgina Vote (Year 10) reflects upon its value for her:

The French Exchange program has been something I was looking forward to since Year 8 when my older sister did it and so far it has been a fantastic experience for me as well! I know that my French will improve immensely when I stay in France for six weeks, but so far just having Fiona here has been really beneficial. We have spoken a bit in English but I still learn over 10 new French words each day, and when she does not understand something, I am challenged to try and translate it into French! I am not at all nervous about travelling to France in December as I know my exchange family will look after me, and that this experience will be one that I remember forever!

French Exchange Students Camille Fayet, Mathilde Martin and Fiona Ferrero.

Alexandra Shergold (Year 11) and French Exchange student Camille Fayet.

Olive Tree Hosts Needed

Our newest Sister School, the Olive Tree International Academy, Hangzhou, is very keen to send students to St Catherine’s in October. Unfortunately, no student of Chinese has signed up for Exchange in 2019. Nevertheless, we would like to offer to families the opportunity to host a student. As you can see from Georgina’s comments above, the experience is both powerful and richly rewarding, so we are keen for students of Chinese to consider this option for 2020 and beyond.

Julia Thompson (Year 11) hosted in 2018 and in 2019 will undertake an immersion in France this Christmas. In explaining her bond with exchange sister Alicia Gérard, she said: “You can make new friends for life from another part of the world.”

Year 11 St Catherine’s student Julia Thompson (R) hosted French Exchange student Alicia Gérard (L) in 2018.

Subject Selection and the Languages Challenge

In Second Languages and Australian Schooling, Joseph Lo Bianco, Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, notes that children come into the world with a universal potential for acquiring language, any language to which they are exposed and with which they interact. His view is that a “life lived monolingually misses out on something that is essentially human”. He notes, however, some key tensions with which Australia wrestles. Whether we undertake language learning for economic goals or for personal satisfaction; the way in which second language acquisition competes with the primacy of English language competency; and the competing claims of languages from the Asian region and other languages (such as European and Indigenous). These tensions about the place of second language learning are reflected in our low level of VCE participation relative to European or Chinese participation, which is approximately 20 per cent in Australia (Sydney Morning Herald, June 2019). While successive government policy statements and parents affirm the value of language learning, the reality for students can be different. I am reminded of a conversation I had this week with a current Year 10 student and her parent who are in the process of making subject choices for 2020. She finds her Language study interesting, rewarding and valuable for her future. She acknowledged how challenging the grammar is and how hard it is to apply her knowledge in writing and listening tasks. Nevertheless, she showed impressive resilience in deciding to commit to her language into Year 11, 2020.

I welcome these conversations and the opportunity to speak with you personally about your daughter’s options. As a community, I encourage us to have the conversation: why is it important for your daughter to study a language?

Immersion Opportunities

If a Language Immersion interests you and you would like more information about hosting or an Exchange to China, Japan or France, please come to the Tours and Exchanges Information Evening which will take place on Tuesday 13 August at 6.00pm in the Sherren House Ballroom. All the Exchange offerings will be explained, with the Languages options presented first at 6.00pm. Immersion Exchange is offered to students in Years 10 and 11; however, if your daughter is in Years 8 or 9, you are welcome to attend if you are considering future options. I look forward to meeting you there to discuss your daughter’s language-learning opportunities.