Kalamunda SHS welcomes our new language assistants

As a Lead Language school, it is imperative that we continue to celebrate cultural diversity and other languages through a variety of learning experiences and professional opportunities. We have been successful four years consecutively with our application for the Languages Assistant Program. We would like to welcome Davide Gottardi (Italy), Yu Sato (Japan) and Illham Akbar(Indonesia). It is exciting for students to have language assistants in the classroom to experience the language and learn about that country’s culture, current events from a primary source. Students are also provided with more opportunities to apply their speaking skills with face to face time with the language assistant. This is a great way to boost confidence in public speaking and the ability to speak more naturally and spontaneously in another language. The language assistants also collaborate with the language teachers when designing meaningful and rigorous tasks and also be part of lunch time language clubs, cooking activities, role plays and study groups. Participating in this program also strengthens our partnerships with our feeder primary schools.

Buongiorno a tutti!

My name is Davide and I am from “il Bel Paese!” – the Beautiful Country! – l’Italia. This year I am at Kalamunda S.H.S to teach the Italian language and share my culture, and I want to thank the Principal, Helen Deacon, and the Italian teacher, Maria Pennington, for this exciting opportunity.

What can I say about me? Well, I come from Brescia, a city nearby Verona and Milan, in Northern Italy. Brescia is known for its manufacturing, the 1000 Miglia car race, “Casoncelli” pasta, Franciacorta wine and much more. I am married, my wife is Chilean and I speak Spanish as well. We have 3 children and we like to spend the afternoons in some of the lovely parks here on the hills.

Since the first week of school, it has been rewarding to see so many students from nearby primary schools that still remember me and greet me with a smile! This is a great encouragement for me to do more! For example, on Thursdays at lunchtime Prof. Pennington and I hold the Italian Club, a chance for students to make friends and discover more about Italian. Everyone is invited and welcome!

Un saluto e a presto!

Davide

Nice to meet you! My name is Yu Sato. I’m a Japanese language assistant. I’m twenty years old, and I major in English at my university. My hobby is listening to music like Vocaloid. I like soccer and volleyball. I have played soccer for 10 years, So I want to play soccer with you guys! I also like K-pop such as twice, itzy and stray kids. I wish I had someone to talk about this. So far, I love Perth because it has a lot of nature as where I lived in Japan. I want to enjoy this year in Kalamunda Senior High School, and hope you get familiar with Japanese.

 Yu Sato

Welcome Illham Akbar. Illham enjoys swimming, fishing and cooking. He lives in Batam, the largest city of Riau Islands. It is Illham’s first time in Australia and he looks forward to seeing many kangaroos, emus and koalas. Illham looks forward to teaching our students wonderful things about Indonesia and helping them with conversation.

Benritornati ai nostri studenti dall’Italia- Welcome back to our Italian students from their Italian exchange!

I am proud to announce that Elvie Taylor, Claire Martin and Joshua Hool successfully participated in the Italian Exchange Program in collaboration with the Western Australian Italian Association. Our students departed last year late November for an 8 week adventure in Italy. Each student was allocated a city or town with a family to match. Here are their stories……

My name is Josh. I have studied Italian for 8 years and in late November last year I went on exchange to Italy. I stayed in Rome with my host family who showed me all around Rome and small towns outside of Rome. I went to school in Rome and on my first day I saw a protest at my school. I saw lots of things in Rome like the Colosseum, the Pantheon and my favourite, the Vatican. I went on exchange because I had always wanted to go to Italy to see all of the old buildings and experience the history. I had an amazing time in Rome with my host family and I felt that it was the greatest experience of my life. When I left, I felt like I was leaving another family and I was sad to leave all the brilliant food behind in Italy. I highly recommend to anybody to go on the exchange if they can because you create new friends and family and to experience a different culture is an amazing experience.

Josh Hool -Year 11 student

My name is Claire, I’ve studied Italian since year three; so this is my ninth year. I chose to go on the exchange program to Italy because I’ve always had a desire to visit Italy and it was a perfect opportunity to experience what life is like in another county. I was placed in the city, Lecce, which is a smallish city in the Puglia region. The closest main city was Bari about an hours drive away. My favourite part of the experience was visiting different parts of Puglia and trying new food. I am now hooked on rusticò and Italian coffee. If I had the chance to go again I would, it was an amazing experience and I made many new friends and have a second family.

Claire Martin - Year 11 student

My Italian Experience 

My name is Elvie Taylor, and I studied Italian with Prof Pennington.I was in Acireale in Sicily for two months with the Monaca family; mum Giovanna, dad Aldo, sister Roberta and brother Riccardo.

This experience was the best of my life. Now, I have more friends from Italy, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, France, the USA, Germany, Brazil, Switzerland Portugal and Australia, and a new perspective on everything in my life.

I miss my class at Gulli E Pennisi classical school, because they are the best class in the school, and I miss the other exchange students, especially those from Argentina and France. The Argentinian people were stayed in Italy for two months like me, but the French girl, Pauline, is there for eight months, and I'm jealous because I want more time in Italy. Two months is not enough time to speak Italian well.

Elvie Taylor - Year 11 student

How will students at Kalamunda SHS lead with languages?

The truth is, in today’s increasingly interconnected and interdependent world, proficiency in other languages is a vital skill that gives you the opportunity to engage with the world in a more immediate and meaningful way—whether in your neighbourhood or thousands of miles away—while better preparing you to compete and succeed in the global economy.

Here Are Our Top Ten Benefits of Learning Languages:

1. Connect!
   

   One of the most rewarding aspects of the human experience is our ability to connect with others. Being able to communicate with someone in his or her language is an incredible gift. Bilinguals have the unique opportunity to communicate with a wider range of people in their personal and professional lives. Knowing the language makes you a local no matter where you are, opening up your world literally and figuratively. You will be shaped by communities. You will be humbled by the kindness of strangers. You will build lifelong friendships. And for these reasons alone, you will see the reward of learning languages for many years to come.

2. Advance Your Career
   

   Language skills can be a significant competitive advantage that sets you apart from your monolingual peers. They are among the top eight skills required of all occupations—no matter your sector or skill level—and the demand for bilingual professionals is rising exponentially. Employers are seeking professionals who can communicate seamlessly with customers in new and expanding overseas markets, as well as serve and sell to a large foreign-born population here at home. As an added incentive, in many instances, language skills also lead to hiring bonuses and increased salaries. Whatever your career aspiration—with language skills added to the mix, you’re ahead of the crowd!

3. Feed Your Brain
   

   The many cognitive benefits of learning languages are undeniable. People who speak more than one language have improved memory, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, enhanced concentration, ability to multitask, and better listening skills. They switch between competing tasks and monitor changes in their environment more easily than monolinguals, as well as display signs of greater creativity and flexibility. If that weren’t enough, as we age, being bilingual or multilingual also helps to stave off mental aging and cognitive decline.

4. Deepen Your Connection to Other Cultures
   
   Language is the most direct connection to other cultures. Being able to communicate in another language exposes us to and fosters an appreciation for the traditions, religions, arts, and history of the people associated with that language. Greater understanding, in turn, promotes greater tolerance, empathy, and acceptance of others—with studies showing that children who have studied another language are more open toward and express more positive attitudes toward the culture associated with that language.
   
   
5. See the World
   
   Traveling as a speaker of the local language can revolutionize a trip abroad. While monolingual travellers are capable of visiting the same places, travellers who know more than one language are more easily able to navigate outside the tourist bubble and to connect and interact with the place and its people in a way that is often inaccessible to those without the language. Learning a second language also opens additional doors to opportunities for studying or working abroad.
   
   
6. Go to the Source
   

   In a world of more than 6,000 spoken languages, we sometimes require translation, but speaking at least one additional language empowers us to access information that would otherwise be off-limits. For example, individuals proficient in other languages are able to navigate the Internet as genuine global citizens—consuming and assessing foreign media and entertainment.

7. Become a Polyglot
   

   Not only does learning a second language improve communication skills and multiply vocabulary in your first language—yes, really!—but research shows that it makes picking up additional languages a much easier, especially among children. That’s because when you learn a new language, you develop new brain networks that are primed and ready when you embark on learning a third language.

8. Boost Your Confidence
   

   Any language learner can attest to making his or her share of mistakes while discovering a new language—often in front of an audience. It’s a necessary part of the learning process! Learning a language means putting yourself out there and moving out of your comfort zone. The upside is the amazing sense of accomplishment you’ll feel when conversing with someone in their native language.

9. Strenghten Your Decision Making
   

   Studies show that decisions made in your second language are more reason-driven than those made in your native language. Contrary to popular assumptions, when we deliberate in a second or third language, we actually distance ourselves from the emotional responses and biases deeply associated with our mother tongue. The result? Systematic and clear-headed decisions based on just the facts.

10. Gain Perspective
    

    As we explore a new language and culture, we naturally draw comparisons to what is most familiar. Learning about another culture sheds light on aspects of our own culture—both positive and negative—we may not have previously considered. You may find a greater appreciation for what you have, or you may decide to shake things up!

Study tips for learning foreign languages

• Check CONNCECT library for resources and presentations and spend 10 minutes reviewing.
• Rehearse phrases, alphabet, expressions and conjugation of verbs out aloud at home to Mum, Dad and younger siblings.
• Check out SBS on Demand. There are excellent foreign films!
• Watch the news or the weather forecast in the target language. Find out what time the Japanese, Italian or Indonesian news is broadcasted on SBS.
• Set small goals for the week. Write them down eg Say 5 things about myself in Italian and record my voice.
• Use Languagenut platform. It is competitive and topic based. It focuses on all the macro skills; Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.
• Use sticky notes and write new words on different colours. Place these sticky notes where you walk by the most eg: The fridge, pantry or bedroom door.
• Use gestures to connect to new language eg: personal pronouns (Italian students know what I am talking about!).
• Add the subtitles in Italian/Indonesian/Japanese if possible to your favourite NETFLIX show.
• Write words and sentences BIG, BOLD and COLOURFUL.
• Purchase a roll of butchers paper from KMART and each night roll it out and write down as much as you can remember from your previous language class.
• Liquid chalk or whiteboard markers for conjugation of verbs on your bedroom mirror or window (if you are allowed!.)
• Palm cards- write 10 questions about personal information in the target language and rehearse these out aloud.
• Make a chatterbox and each tab can be a topic in the target language.
• Take a deck of normal playing cards and practice the numbers out aloud.
• Label items (eg food, cutlery, clothing, furniture, electronics, school supplies) with small sticky notes in Italian around the home over the weekend or say them out aloud eg: As you set the table, say each item in the target language
• Create an Italian/Indonesian/Japanese playlist.
• Listen to podcasts in the target language.
• Take out a book from the foreign language section in our school library and read it to your parents or your pet. Record your story telling!
• Rehearse a simple poem or expression in the target language (eg Trenta giorni ha novembre: Thirty days has November) and pay attention to tone, pronunciation and expression. By the end of the week you will have memorised it. This is called the Shadowing technique.
• Make a time with the language assistant to practice general conversation and review grammar.

Maria Pennington
Teacher in Charge of Languages