victorian school of languages · 2014-09-15 · victorian school of languages family & staff...

VICTORIAN SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES

Family & Staff Bulletin 6 June 2014

As we come to the end of Semester 1, I would like to remind parents to take advantage of the mid-year student parent and teacher conference which for most Centres will be held on June 28. This is an opportunity to talk to the teacher(s) about your child’s prog-

ress, goals and outcomes. The next Distance Education parent/teacher Interview Day will be on 16 September.

With the arrival of winter it is important to ensure that the students continue to attend classes regularly, regardless of whether it is cold or wet. Missing out on one session means missing out on one week’s work. If a student is ill then he/she should make arrangements to find out what work was done and to catch up. We all want our children to get great results and a key building block is regular attendance. As well as our teaching responsibilities, our senior staff continue to be involved in training activities. Recent examples include VCE data analysis, Cybersmart training, and organising Centre Co-ordinators meetings and RMIT Language methodology courses. Our curriculum development continues unabated with new recent publications completed for Chinese, Amharic, Macedonian and Hebrew while others are underway for German, Hindi, Indonesian and Turkish.Our state-wide contribution to Education Department projects include:

Some of these projects are detailed in this Bulletin.In our weekly visits to our Centre classes the Assistant Principals and myself continue to be impressed by the excellent work being done by our classroom teachers and the range of cultural activities that they undertake.Finally thank you again to the parents for your support and to the teachers for your professionalism. Frank Merlino Principal

One of the highlights of our 2014 VCE Top Scorers Evening was the presentation of two inaugural awards made by the Dean of the Victorian Consular Corps, Mr Diego Velasco-von Pilgrimm.

Since the VSL Top Scorers Evening was established in 1997 individual Consuls-General have attended to support and encourage the VCE students. Last year the Consular Corps established an annual prize to encourage cross cultural understanding by awarding two prizes to Languages students who were not background speakers.

Message from the Principal Victorian Consular Corps inaugural awards to VCE students of the VSL

Kathleen Fitzpatrick Theatre, University of Melbourne

Hon Inga Peulich MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Education

Mr Diego Velasco-von Pilgrimm with with Andrea Ng Ilad (German) and Daniel Tashlik (Japanese 2nd Language)

•participation in a number of Networks and Committees•the first year for implementation of our vocational education project VET in Schools for Languages•a pilot project to teach EAL to a small number of students in country Victoria •the continued management of the “Languages Online” website for the Department •assistance to two new languages from Myanmar (Burma) to obtain VCE accreditation.

Quality language programs since 1935

PAGE 2 FAMILY & STAFF BULLETIN 6 June 2014

The two inaugural winners were Andrea Ng Ilad (Ger-man) and Daniel Tashlik (Japanese Second Language.)

The two main guest speakers were Ms Inga Peulich MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Education, and Dr David Howes, Executive Director Curriculum at the VCAA.

Ms Peulich congratulated the students who completed a VCE language course at the VSL in 2013 as well as the 165 students who were classed as “top achievers” by obtaining scores between 40-50 and in particular the 19 students that topped the state in their respec-tive languages. “This is an outstanding achievement” said Ms Peulich. She went on to say that “the linguistic skills and cultural understanding that our students of languages are developing will not only enrich their personal and professional lives, but will directly benefit Victoria and Australia’s future social and economic development.”

Dr Howes offered his congratulations from everyone at the VCAA and said that “a night like this showcases the quality of young people and the breadth of offer-ings of Languages in Victoria…you are ambassadors not only for your school but for your generation.” Dr Howes also added that “we are very proud that we offer more languages than in any other state or territory, actually anywhere else in the world.” He went on to say that “the breadth of languages not only provides those whose first language is English with the opportunity to learn an additional language but also gives young people whose first language is not English the chance to maintain their home language and also flourish in its legacy.”

Dr Howes was followed by two of the VCE students who received a perfect score, Isabella Mezzetti (Italian) and Tushar Goyal (Hindi). They shared their experiences of their languages studies at the VSL.

The Top Achievers then came to the stage and received their Certificates and prizes from Ms Peulich and the Consuls-General in attendance. Attending for the first time were Mr Michael Pearce (Germany), Mr Hidenobu Sobashima (Japan), Ms Manika Jain (India), Ms Erika Kimpton-Etter (Switzerland) and, of course, Mr Velasco von-Pilgrimm. The Dean then presented the Consular Corps Awards with an inspiring introduction.

The evening was rounded off by a vibrant dance per-formance, “Spring Rites”, performed by current and former VSL students, members of the Biser Macedo-nian Dance Group from Geelong. Finally the students, parents, teachers and guests mingled over snacks and drinks and took lots of photographs. The School Council President, Associate Professor Bruno Mascitelli, congratulated everyone involved with the organisation

of the function. “It is important that we take time to cel-ebrate our student success, especially in the vital field of languages education.” he said. “It is also good to see that we have in attendance every year either the Minis-ter for Education or the Parliamentary Secretary. This is the second time Ms Peulich has attended and I wish to thank her. I would also like to thank Dr Howes and the VCAA for the way they encourage the Languages cur-riculum and I’m aware of the current excellent work that they are doing to accredit new VCE languages,” he said.

Members of the Consular Corps

Top students in the State in their respective languages

Spring Rite dance

Dr David Howes addressing the audience



VCE students of the Victorian School of Languages once again excelled at the annual VCE Premier’s Awards function held on April 29. The Awards were held at the Melbourne Convention Centre in front of a large audience of students, teachers and parents, with the main presenters being the Minister for Education, Hon Martin Dixon, and the Governor of Victoria, The Hon Alex Chernov. As one of our Area Managers pointed out “It was great to hear the name of our school called out repeatedly and also see it on the big screen.”

Eleven of last year’s VCE students received a Premier’s Award, namely:

The students are to be commended for their hard work and achievement. Of course their VCE teachers, and indeed the teachers of their previous years, are also to be congratulated for their guidance and preparation. The awards were a marvellous outcome for the students, their respective teachers, and their proud parents.

2014 VCE Premier’s Awards – Eleven VSL students receive Awards

Ms. Connie Bramble with 4 of her 5 winners Anna Gonzales with her Spanish teacher Ms. Flora Osorio

Arriving at the Melbourne Convention Centre

Delaram Mahabadi, with Persian teacher Ms Khani-Esfandabadi, Mr Tony Kyoong and parents

Isabella Mezzetti, with Ms. Vanda Matruglio & proud parents

•Nadine Toufali (Arabic) - Roxburgh Centre •Nana Utsugi (Japanese) - Glen Waverley Centre •Isabella Mezzetti (Italian) - Brunswick Centre •Ana Garcia Gonzales (Spanish) – Distance Education •Atibhav Chaudhry (Hindi) – Glen Waverley Centre •Delaram Ansari Mahabadi (Persian) – Box Hill Centre •Edina Omerovic (Bosnian) – Carwatha Centre •Tushar Goyal (Hindi) – Glen Waverley Centre •Tonja Mlinar (Croatian) – Keilor Downs Centre •Larissa Moga (Serbian) – Dandenong Centre •Pauline Kimberley (Indonesian First Language) – Glen Waverley Centre



The Victorian School of Languages has been working since 2007 with two groups from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) to teach the languages of Karen and Chin Hakha. In recent years it has also worked with the teachers, the respective community representatives and the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) to obtain VCE accreditation for the two languages. In 2013 the VCAA Board approved the development of a new VCE Study in Chin Hakha. The Board agreed that the study would be developed using the Collaborative Curriculum and Assessment Framework for Languages (CCAFL) template. A final draft of the VCE Study Design for Chin Hakha became available in May 2014 for consultation.

On the evening of 14 May our school hosted a meeting organised by the VCAA to examine the draft VCE Study Design for Chin Hakha. The VCAA delegation was head-ed by Ms Maree Dellora and Ms Gabriella Bertolissi. The Chin Hakha group was composed of seven teachers and representatives, and was led by the team of Mr Lian Ding Hmung, Mr Ca Lian Thang, and Mr Lai Len. The VSL was represented by Curriculum Assistant Principal Angela Natoli, Principal Frank Merlino and Area Managers Antonella Cicero and Lisa Eglezos. Experts who had also been consulted on the Study Design included Dr Kenneth VanBik of the San José State University in California. There was final agreement on the name of the language and the content of the Study Design was fine-tuned and subsequently ap-proved at the VCAA sub-committee the next day. It will now be presented for consideration at the next VCAA Board meeting in June. If the Study Design is endorsed then the language will be taught for the first time at the VCE Year 11 level at the start of the 2015 school year and at the Year 12 level in 2016. There is also a possibility that the Karen language will be fast tracked if the timelines can be met.

Mr Hmung, the main course writer, is delighted that after four years of research and collecting curriculum materials the reference group was able to complete the Study Design this year. “The accreditation of the language is particularly important for our young children”, he states, “It will assist those who wish to undertake tertiary studies as well as retaining the children’s home language and encourage pride in their heritage. I wish to thank the VCAA Officers for their assistance and I also want to acknowledge the work done by Ca Lieng Thang in chairing the VCE committee and Lai Len who liaised with the community both in Australia and Myanmar and collected materials and all of the other members of the

VCE Chin Hakha – on Track for Accreditationcommunity who assisted. Thank you also to the Victorian School of Languages for providing the classes.”

The Victorian School of Languages was the first in Australia to start teaching languages of Myanmar with Karen commencing in 2007 at its Werribee Centre and at Melba College in Croydon in 2012. Chin Hakha classes commenced at the Sunshine centre in 2010 and at the Croydon Centre in 2012.

The Principal Frank Merlino, said that the developments in Victoria are also being followed by parents in other States and he hoped that as the word spreads that other State jurisdictions would teach the languages. “Congratulations go to the teachers and community members who have contributed so far to the development of a VCE Chin Hakha course and we hope that everything goes well for the proposed implementation at the start of the 2015 school year.”

Chin Hakha Study Design Reference Group

Gabriella Bertolissi (forefront) chairing VCAA consultation

Consultation Group



First Korean Cultural Festival VSL students and teachers of Korean participated in the first Korea Festival which was held at Federation Square on Saturday 17 May. The festival was organised by the Korean Consulate, the Korean Business Council and the Korean community.

The Victorian School of Languages first started teaching Korean at its Blackburn Centre in 1993 and annual open days and concerts soon became regular events. In 2008 the VSL widened its open day at Blackburn by inviting other schools and Korean organisations to participate.

The VSL continued with its promotion and opened new classes at its McKinnon and Werribee centres in 2013 and 2012 respectively. Our Korean teachers also worked with the Korean Language Teachers Association of Victoria to organise Korean language and cultural competitions.

On 17 December 2012, the Korean Government opened its first Consulate in Melbourne to meet the growing importance of political, economic, cultural, and educa-tional ties between Korea and Victoria.

According to Mr Sung-sub Jung, the first Korean Consul-General to Victoria, “Korea has enjoyed strong relations with this vibrant state in many fields. Bilateral trade has been on a steady rise for the past four years with the average growth rate of 8 per cent. Korea is now Victoria’s eighth largest trading partner. Victoria welcomed nearly 50,000 Korean visitors in 2012, and about 25,000 Koreans including around 3,000 students and over 3,000 working holiday visa holders are currently residing in the state.”

Mr Sung-sub Jung, initiated the first Korea Festival at Federation Square which was attended by such guests as the Governor of Victoria, the VMC President Mr Chin Tan, other Consuls-General, Parliamentarians, and a broad range of community leaders.

The program included performances by the Korean Classical Orchestra, a Hanbok fashion show, a traditional wedding ceremony, a Hap Kido demonstration, and much more.

The VSL had eight classes attending, mainly from our Blackburn Centre but also from our McKinnon and Werribee (Suzanne Cory SC) Centres. The students participated in a range of activities such as a K-Pop performance, a traditional costume parade and traditional activities workshops.

Congratulations to our teachers and parents for the preparation of the polished student performances and the wonderful colourful costumes they wore.

According to the VSL Principal, Mr Frank Merlino, more Victorian schools should be teaching the Korean language. In the competition of Asian language choice Korean tends to come in at number four after Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian. At the year 12 VCE level there are two streams for Korean: First Language and Second Language. Last year at the Year 12 VCE level a

total of 90 students sat for the VCE examinations.

The VSL teaches Korean in the following Centres: Blackburn SC (Tel: 9840 0082), McKinnon SC (Tel: 9416 0641) and Suzanne Cory High School in Werribee (Tel: 5277 9833)

With the presence of the new Korean Consulate in Mel-bourne there will be greater opportunity to promote the Korean language and culture in Victoria.

Junior VSL Students enjoying their K-Pop performance

Consul-General Mr Sung-sub Jung

Mr Tony Kyoong and junior Korean students performing



It had only been a month after arriving in Australia and my parents had selected my primary school. It was much bigger than my one in India, yet I still preferred the old one. All my friends were there, all my teach-ers, my culture.

My parents had reassured me that I would make more friends. I knew I would, I wasn’t

worried about that. I just missed my traditions, my cus-toms, speaking in Hindi, playing native games like “kho-kho” and “kabadi”. I missed India. My family understood my concerns but I also understood the only option I had: to leave my Indian identity behind and adopt an Australian one. To leave my samosas be-hind and try sausage rolls, celebrate Christmas instead of Diwali, speak in English instead of Urdu, Hindi and my favourite language, Punjabi.

I did settle quickly. I made Australian friends, and a bunch of Asian ones too. I was hoping for some Indian friends too, but they had all forgotten their mother-tongue and were fully “Aussie”, as they called themselves. My sister and I had a different name for them: coconuts, brown on the outside but white on the inside.

Soon enough, I too became a coconut. My lunch no lon-ger consisted of chapatti rolls and my ability to read and write Hindi deteriorated heavily. Despite my sadness for losing my ethnic roots, I knew I had no choice.

Visiting India wasn’t fun any more either. Everyone talked in a language neither my sister nor I could understand. My grandmother could no longer play “seep”, “carrom” or “teen do paanch” with us, since we only knew “Snakes and Ladders” now.

A few days after returning, a close family friend came to visit us to ask about our trip. I had never met their children before, who were the same age as my sister and I, but we predicted they would be “coconuts” since they were born in Australia.

However, we were both shocked to see these kids. They did their “namastes” properly, touched the elders’ feet with grace and spoke in fluent Hindi. My curiosity could not hold me back so I asked them if they only have Indian friends at school.

“No, our school mostly has Australian kids. Most of my friends are Australian,” Priya replied. “So they don’t mind you being so…Indian?” I asked.

“Well I speak English with them and follow their cultural values or traditions when I’m with them”.“But then how do you get time to speak Hindi or under-stand the Indian traditions?” “Oh! I also go to Hindi Language School”.That was when I knew what I had to do. I asked my parents to enrol me as soon as possible. They were slightly confused about why I’d want to increase my educational workload, but I told them it was more to reconnect myself with my Indian roots. I wanted to cherish the “masala” in the samosa, I wanted to under-stand Indian traditions, but mostly, I wanted to speak Hindi again.

I entered the class slightly nervous but positive. I was excited to hear the chattering in Hindi of the students and the teacher yelling in Hindi to make us quiet. I walked in, said nameste to my teacher. She asked me simple questions about my age and name, and seated me down. The lesson began on “Indian transport”. I spoke loud and clear and recited what the teacher said. “Gadi (car)! Bus (bus)! Riksha (rickshaw)! Railgadi (train)!”

I felt I belonged here. After 5 years of being disconnected from something I loved, I had finally rediscovered my heritage in a foreign land. As weeks and months went by, I had created both an Australian and Indian identity. We visited India again, and this time, my grandmother was so excited to see us play “carrom” with her. I could tell if the shopkeeper was ripping me off and I could understand the gossip going around the housewives dur-ing the day. This time I felt like an Indian in India!

When we returned, my sister was completing her year twelve exams. She scored a perfect 99.95 and received top marks in Hindi. She often complained about studying quantum mechanics in physics, titrations in chemistry and integrals in maths. “I will never use this in life!” she would often say. However, she never said this about Hindi. When I was young, I wondered why she didn’t, but now I know. Language, culture and tradition aren’t skills you use here and there, they are embedded into your identity and personality.

Now that I myself have graduated from Hindi class, I can see I won’t miss maths, geography or science in the fu-ture. I will also never be thankful to maths, geography or science for giving me the opportunity of developing two identities in one world. Tushar Goyal

Last year Tushar studied VCE Hindi at the Glen Waverley Centre of the VSL and received the perfect score of 50 and subsequently a Premier’s Award. In the following essay he explains how the study of his language has had a

positive impact on his life.

Two Worlds in One



Teachers from the Victorian School of Languages were well represented in the 2014 Endeavour Language Teacher Fellowship (ELTF) program which took them to a number of overseas countries early this year.

This year the program was available to teachers of Arabic, German, French, Chinese, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Greek, Korean, and Spanish, The language study component was conducted in language training institutions and comprised of about 50 contact hours delivered over three weeks. In addition, teachers were expected to spend extra hours on homework, reflection and personal study. On their return the teachers were required to submit a program report and to share their experiences with other teachers.

Venetia Kefalianos reports that “It was the most fantastic and eye-opening educational experience I have ever had. It was extremely well organised, structured and engaging and we had excellent teachers leading the program at the Aristotelian University in Greece.” Her colleague Pashalia Eglezos shares the same enthusiasm for the program. “Even the cultural component was structured and satisfying with renowned experts taking us to such places as the Byzantium Museum, the Acropolis Museum, and the White Tower and providing insightful explanations. I look forward to reporting at the next conference of the Greek Teachers Association.” Ms Eglezos stated.

Khalaf Greis not only participated but also was appointed Team Leader of a group of ten teachers of Arabic. They went to the United Arab Emirates at the UAE University at Al Ain in Abou Dhabi. Two other VSL teachers in the group were Joseph Hennes and Mervet El Gawli from the VSL Brimbank Centre. According to Mr Greis, “The teachers updated their language skills and became familiar with the latest changes in the vocabulary and grammar of Modern Standard Arabic. The courses also covered the culture of the UAE, food, handwrit-ten script, assessment and reporting and the teaching of Arabic to non-native speakers. Teachers participated in a safari in the desert, visited a palm farm, a mud brick factory and museums in three of the Emirates.”

Two of our Korean teachers who were selected were Ms Young-soon Hong and Ms Subin Yeo and they travelled to South Korea. According to Ms Hong, “The intensive program offered us a wonderful opportunity to improve our language skills and cultural knowledge and allowed us to do a lot of networking which will assist us with our classroom teaching.”

It is hoped that more of our teachers apply for future Fellowship programs which are now open for next year.

Greek teachers Lisa Eglezos (second from left) & Venetia Kefalianos (fifth from left)

Khalaf Greis (4th from right) at the Al Ain Museum

Korean Techers Subin Yeo & Young-Soon Hung (left back row)

VSL Teachers participate in Endeavour Language Teacher Fellowship

School Updateswww.vsl.vic.edu.au

Term 2 & Term 3 Professional Development May 7 VCAA PD Analysing VSL VCE data – Area Managers May 13 DEECD Cybersmart PD for Area Managers and Distance Education Staff June 25 Centre Coordinator Meeting - VSL Thornbury June 16 RMIT Introductory Languages Methodology Course begins – Centre teachersJuly 16 “Using Smartboards in the Language Classroom” training, Area Managers

Projects currently underway include: • Macedonian Year 11 Text book• Hindi VELS Level 2 Workbook• German 12 Online Course• Indonesian 12 Online Course• Turkish Year 9 Textbook• Turkish Year 10 Textbook• Turkish Years 3-4 Textbook

New VSL Publications/Materials 2014 • Chinese Year 9 Distance Education course • Amharic Grades 5 and 6 Resources• Macedonian VCE Text Types• Hebrew VCE Guide

Key 2014 – Term 2 dates 22 April Term 2 begins 25 April Anzac Day holiday 26 April Centre classes commence for Term 2 14 May Chin Hakha – VCE Study design VCAA consultation meeting 7 June No classes (Queen’s Birthday Holiday) 27 June Term 1 concludes 28 June VCE Only Day (Centre classes) 28 June AusVELS Reporting conference interviews for Centre Classes 14 July Term 3 begins

Editorial Committee: Frank Merlino, Angela Natoli, Stefo Stojanovski, Cameron Waites

Top Vietnamese students with Ms Eglezos

Ms Peulich with VSL personalities

Mr Velasco-von Pilgrimm (right) with top Spanish students

Mr Gerry Schiller, Principal of Glen Waverley SC, (right) with two of his students and Ms Connie Bramble (left)

victorian school of languages · 2014-09-15 · victorian school of languages family & staff...

Documents