Languages: So what’s the point?

• It boosts your memory
• Links to literacy
• Increased analytical skills
• You become better at multi -tasking and decision making
• More cognitive flexibility- Grey matter
• Increased attention
• Improve your ENGLISH and all macro skills- reading, writing, speaking & listening
• Brain growth
• Become interculturally competent
• Staying connected- ½ of the world’s population speak 2 or more languages

 Other advantages

• Languages are a life skill
• Languages teach you communication skills and adaptability
• Cultural awareness
• A social skill
• Studies show that a person with another language makes 20% more money than someone who does not know another language
• Greater opportunities to travel and work overseas
• Languages and cultural knowledge links to all subjects
• Employers are seeking the “bi-cultural” worker

Lets think about languages, culture and life!

Language influences culture, so learning a language helps you to understand how other people think, and it also helps you to get a general understanding of our world and the many people and cultures that inhabit it.

To better understand the rest of humankind (from Philip Lightfoot)

Language is an aspect of humanity and learning what a fellow human speaks teaches you more about humankind as a whole. The more languages you know, the more you understand our species, and that is beneficial no matter what the situation is…

Improved Career Prospects through languages (Certificate II and III Language Students)

Studying languages and their cultures will provide you with important job-related knowledge and skills that can give you a competitive edge. Certificate II and III students of Italian, Japanese and Indonesian learn real-life skills that will enable them to communicate verbally and non -verbally in a variety of social and workplace settings. Other skills that our language students develop include the ability to solve problems and to think analytically and creatively, to communicate effectively and confidently in writing and in person, and to act with versatility and flexibility.

Linguistic and cultural knowledge is essential to meeting these challenges. Because you can communicate and connect with people of other cultures and nationalities, you will be able to establish and maintain personal and professional contacts. In business, any cross-cultural effort for cooperation, sales, or negotiation will benefit t from your experience of other languages and their communities. To be an effective professional, such as a doctor, lawyer, educator, artist, or scientist, communicating and investigating new knowledge in other languages as well as in English are essential in the increasingly international workplace.

The International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032

The United Nations has agreed that more work is needed to protect, revitalise, preserve and promote Indigenous languages.

It has designated the period between 2022 and 2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.

In a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December last year, the UN calls upon the world to ‘take urgent steps at the national and international levels’.

The resolution came at the close of the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages over which the UN presided and recognised that one year was not enough time to put in place the necessary programs and processes to ensure success.

The Decade provides an important platform to celebrate the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ languages for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. 

Did you know that many First Languages do not translate into the written word? This means that Community Elders and linguists need to collaborate and agree on the most appropriate translation that is contextual, relevant and appropriate.  

Welcome to our new Language Assistants for 2022!

As a Lead Language school, the Languages Department seek authentic and relevant learning experiences for all of our students at Kalamunda SHS. This will be the fifth consecutive year of being successful with the Language Assistant Program applications. This opportunity not only allows our students to gain more linguistic and cultural knowledge about Italy, Japan and Indonesia but also strengthens our collaboration and partnerships with surrounding primary schools. It is with great pleasure, we welcome Ibu Stevvanie, Ibu Miska and Mai Sensei to Kalamunda SHS. Cooking, conversation groups, one-one tutorials and conversation, dance and cultural presentations are just some of the wonderful opportunities that are students will experience.

Konnichiwa!

My name is Mai (means “Dancing” in Kanji. Also, same sound as “My”). I am a Japanese language assistant for this year.

I was born in Japan and my hometown is in Yamagata. It is a countryside located in a North part of main island, and take 1h from Tokyo by Aeroplane or 5hours by Shinkansen (Bullet train) to get there. As a rural area, the town is surrounded by abundant nature (a bit like Kalamunda!) and beautiful ocean were blessed with delicious ingredients, such as fresh seafoods, rice, fruits, and meats, too. It snows a lot in winter, so it is famous as one of the popular ski resorts in Japan.

As much as skiing, I like windsurfing at Swan River and Kyudo (Japanese Archery). I also like wearing Kimono as well as watching anime! It would be my great pleasure to share the Japanese culture and give the opportunities to students to enjoy the experiences as well as learning language.

I have been working for Japanese community language school for 7 years and doing home tutor. Looking forward to meeting all of you and go through this journey together!

Do zo yo ro shi ku.

Miska Duri Suryanita (Ibu Miska)

Halo! Apa kabar semua?

My Name is Miska Duri Suryanita.  You can call me IBU MISKA. I’ve just joined in The Languages program as an Indonesia Language Assistant.  I come from Java and Lombok Island, Indonesia. I have been in Australia almost 16 Years. I love dancing and music. I hope in this year I can teach some dance and music traditional. If you are interesting in learning more about Indonesia, please come to see me in the Languages Office. If you see a new face around. Well , that’s me J . I am will be on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.  See you around at KSH TERIMA KASIH (THANK YOU)J

Hi everyone,

Salam kenal (nice to meet you).

My name is Stevannie Santosa. I will assist Ibu Kaler in her Indonesian class this year. I was born and raised in Central Java and moved to Australia 20 years ago as a student. Australia was the first foreign country I visited. I was at year 7 at that time and I was very impressed with the country that I told myself that I would be back here. A few years later, I called Australia my home.

As its name suggests, Central Java is located in the middle of Java Island, about 1.5 hours flight from Bali. It prides itself as the centre of Javanese culture. The province is blessed with beautiful landmarks, such as Dieng Plateau, Merapi Volcano, Borobudur Temple, Karimunjawa Island, and many more. So, do not forget to include Central Java to your travel itinerary to Indonesia.

Bahasa Indonesia is fun to learn. My kids are learning the language too! Knowing some phrases will be handy when you visit the country and the locals will love you more. I cannot wait to share with you my culture that I grew up with.

Sampai jumpa di kelas.

Ibu Stevannie

Welcome to Prof Moreno-Diaz!

Amanda Moreno-Diaz is Kalamunda SHS’s new Career Practitioner. During Week 3, she visited our Certificate II and III Language students to discuss her role within the school. Prof Moreno-Diaz’s role includes working with students to help them imagine and connect with their future career aspirations as well as provide them with direction and tertiary pathways in order to obtain their desired career. Prof Moreno Diaz will be able to liaise with and share information easily with students, staff, parents, training providers, employers and industry.

Prof Moreno-Diaz originates from Spain and is multilingual. She shared her own learning experiences about working in different roles and countries and emphasised the importance of having cultural understanding in the workplace. She encouraged students to live a “multilingual” life and explained the many different types of job roles a person can endeavour with linguistic and cultural knowledge. Some of these included

• Customs
• Immigration officer
• Interpreter
• Translator
• Archaeologist
• Tour guide
• Museum curator
• Flight attendant
• Exporter/importer
• Historian
• Advertising

Students really enjoyed hearing Prof Moreno-Diaz speak Spanish throughout the lesson and listen to her read Don Quijote de la Mancha, a 500 year old Spanish story. The Languages Department looks forward to collaborating with Prof Moreno-Diaz all things language and culture!

DID YOU KNOW:

Product Localization Manager

Did you know that McDonald’s, the world’s biggest seller of burgers, doesn’t even have a Big Mac on their menu in India? They instead have the Maharaja Mac, a beef-less variation. This is because cows are venerated in India and the company doesn’t want to insult the religious beliefs of the people they serve.

It may not be obvious, but even a highly standardized company like McDonald’s specializes their products according to location. Israel has had the McShawarma and Japan the Mega Teriyaki Mac, for example.

A localization manager is needed in order to roll out these products correctly—which includes product research and development, labelling and marketing. A bilingual who not only speaks the language but also intimately understands the sensibilities of the people in a particular country can be excellent at this job.

Product localization managers ensure that the good intentions of the company are properly translated, lest the whole thing look over-patronizing and backfire.

How to be a successful language student: Tips!

Check Connect Library and Content three times a week to check for updates and refer to lessons and resources

1. Repetition and rehearsal strengthen memories
2. Utilise Languagenut for basic online revision
3. Record a small paragraph about yourself or a telephone conversation. Collate recordings of your voice!
4. Change the language on your favourite Netflix show. Use subtitles to enhance reading and analytical skills or audio for listening skills
5. Use sticky notes- go crazy! Learn new vocabulary or phrases. Stick the notes in places that you go regularly eg the fridge
6. Create Pinterest boards about different topics
7. After each lesson, when you get home, roll out butchers paper and write down what you remember in class using coloured pens
8. Online newspapers in the target language- read one article a week out aloud and in your head. Highlight words that you recognise.
9. Watch VLOGS and podcasts. See your teacher for a list of great ones!
10. Quiz yourself! This enhances your memory. Muscle memories become stronger and are more efficiently retrieved when you rehearse a skill
11. Use plenty of strong retrieval cues! the right cue can trigger your memory Eg: a gesture, a clapping beat for verb conjugations, a rhyming word
12. Invest in a cheap whiteboard to make a checklist of your language goals
13. Check out the books in other languages in our own or local library. Read these out aloud. Dr Seuss books are an excellent way to perfect your pronunciation and intonation.
14. Add music to your playlist from Italy’s/Japan’s/Indonesia’s Top 40 Music Chart

Benvenuta alla Professoressa Koren Bryan!

I would like to welcome Prof Bryan who will be teaching Year 7 and 8 Italian classes. Prof is very enthusiastic and passionate about the Italian language and culture and is really excited to be part of the Kalamunda SHS community. If you see Prof Bryan, please make her feel welcome and say ciao and come sta?

My name is Koren Bryan and I am new to Kalamunda SHS this year. I currently teach Italian and English, having come from Eastern Hills
SHS where I taught HaSS. I am a secondary trained Languages teacher who has previously taught as a Specialist Languages teacher in Primary. I have been teaching for ten or so years in predominately government schools. I am enjoying being part of the Kalamunda SHS community. I live with my Italian background husband (Nunzio), two school aged children, Zara (14yo) and Orlando (8yo), where we speak Italian a casa (at home).

Maria Pennington
Teacher in Charge of Languages