Languages Week

The festival of Languages has continued into this week, following our kick-off with our Year 7 students studying Japanese, who participated in a Japanese drumming excursion last week.

This week, students had the opportunity to try some Japanese games of Kendama (cup and ball) and Tama-ire (throwing bean bags into a hoop attached to a stick) during lunchtime and recess. We had a good group of students challenge themselves to build the Eiffel tower out of popsicle sticks. There are some outstanding results!

Our Languages quiz for both staff and students is well underway, along with our postcard competition, which is seeing some amazing entries for both Japan and France. We have been celebrating the diversity of Sacred Heart by having a map in the library where both students and staff can place a star on the location of their family's heritage.

On Monday, our Year 11 French students represented the College so well, and did an outstanding job at the Model United Nations conference, in which the entire day was held in French.

Today, we saw our Year 12s participate in the annual Berth Mouchette Poetry competition, which will complement their preparations for their final French Oral Exam at the end of the year. 

Next week, our Year 8 Japanese students will complement their studies on martial arts with a Kendo incursion, whilst our Year 8 & 9 French students will participate in a Djembe incursion, gaining an understanding of the French culture and language in Africa.

Benefits of Learning a Language

There has been a buzz with the Subject Selection Expo, and discussions around Languages pathways and the advantages of pursuing your language to VCE and beyond. Learning a language develops communication skills, confidence, cultural understanding, problem-solving, memory, concentration, and flexible thinking. These cognitive benefits support learning across all subject areas and strengthen students' first language. Speaking another language also opens future career opportunities, as employers across industries increasingly value people who can communicate across cultures.

Since Semester 2, 2025, our Year 7 and 8 Japanese and French teachers have been implementing the Extensive Processing Instruction (EPI) method of teaching a language. Using sentence builders, students learn language patterns as a whole, reducing cognitive load and building confidence through repeated listening, speaking, and meaningful communication. It has been wonderful to see students using Japanese and French more naturally and confidently with their teachers and classmates.