For Chinese and Italian 2022, we have combined classes with Years 10 and 11 Chinese and Years 11 and 12 Italian. Infact, our Italian VCE class has one very talented year 10 student also.
Although a challenge, combined classes are rich and diverse learning environments that create opportunities for students to work with a wide-range of individuals with different strengths, lived experiences and backgrounds.
Rita Bonne
Head of Languages
Here are some student perspectives so far.
Italian
Over the last couple weeks, I have enjoyed my Italian experience during head start. Despite being in a class with a variety of year groups, I believe it has allowed me to expose myself to a range of newer and extensive vocabulary. The workload has certainly increased, going from my year 10 Italian class to now, essentially, a year 12 VCE Italian class, however, the benefits certainly outweigh the struggles of the workload. Indeed, the first lesson was quite intimidating, when noticing the capabilities of the year 12 students. Although, I quickly realised their willingness to assist me and my fellow year 11 peers to catalyse my Italian progression. In addition, our teacher, Mrs Bonne, has been instrumental in providing this opportunity for us to grow and collaboratively work with each other despite the differences in proficiency.
Marcellino Baselyous (Year 11, Italian student) Daniel Amendola ( Year 12, Italian Student )
Chinese
I am very excited to be a part of the first ever VCE Chinese class. I have now been Mr 张’s student for four years now and have grown very close with him and my fellow students. Whilst we’re a small group, this has allowed us to help one another achieve our goals. The Chinese classroom is a flexible environment that caters for all learning styles. There is a strong onus on learning the content at home and then applying it in the classroom. Whilst this results in a heavy workload, you can utilise class time to touch up on the skills you cannot learn yourself. The year 10s will be joining our class next year and I am cannot wait to be in a classroom with so many like minded classmates. Chinese is a big commitment but I find so much satisfaction in watching my language skills improve.
Peter Holland (Year 11, Chinese student)
In year 10 Chinese I will be aiming to expand my vocabulary, as well as my main focus will be to improve my speaking and listening. By the end of the year I hope to be able to have full conversations in Chinese about things in class without preparation. I’m confident in my ability to fulfil this goal Mr Zhang as my teacher. Along with this I’m sure that we’ll have lots of fun.
Benjamin Brooks (Year 10, Chinese student)
