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Languages
Celebrating Kodomo no hi (Children's Day) at Shenton College
Welcome to the Languages area at Shenton College. Students may choose to learn French or Japanese in Year 8 either as beginners or continuing students. Students must continue studying the same language in Year 9. At the end of year 9 students then choose whether to continue their studies in Senior School. This choice is then repeated at the end of year 10, where both French and Japanese are offered as Courses of Study from 2009.
Students learn to communicate in Languages through a variety of means. Learning technologies are extensively used to enhance student understanding of French and Japanese culture and to expose students to authentic material in the Language.
During their Language program, students have the opportunity to participate in an exchange program with Japan and La Reunion, a French speaking country.
Courses Offered (filter by year/ age group)
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- Middle School
- Senior School
- Year:
- 8
- 9
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- 11
- 12
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French 2A & 2B
Senior School / Year 11 (2AFRE2BFRE)
The French course is designed for students who have learnt French as a foreign language, not background speakers. In the course, communication is the main focus. Students explore French-speaking communities and the changing world. Information communication technologies is a useful tool for learning contexts and the course has a practical focus to enhance students communication skills for use in the French world.
The French course has links to the world of work and university studies. Students are also able to participate in a school exchange programme that exists between Western Australia and the French speaking island of Réunion.
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French 3A & 3B
Senior School / Year 12 (3AFRE3BFRE)
The French course is designed for students who are learning French as a foreign language, not background speakers. In the course, communication is the main focus. Students explore French-speaking communities and the changing world. Information communication technologies is a useful tool for learning contexts and the course has a practical focus to enhance students communication skills for use in the French world. The French course has links to the world of work and university studies.
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Japanese 2A & 2B
Senior School / Year 11 (2AJSL2BJSL)
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Japanese 2A & 2B
Senior School / Year 12 (2AJSL2BJSL)
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Japanese 3A & 3B
Senior School / Year 12 (3AJSL3BJSL)
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Y10 French
Senior School / Year 10 (Y10Fre)
Students can choose to continue their French studies in year 10 and if they meet the required standard are encourage to do so. Learning a language is a wonderful life skill and so often older students regret giving up French in year 10, especially when they start to travel and realize the importance of understanding about other cultures and the ability to communicate with other the local people. There are around 55 countries in the world that speak French so there is plenty of opportunity to try out one’s French. There are also amazing opportunities for young adults to work and live in multicultural environments. Club Med for example, which has resorts throughout the world, only employs people who speak more than one language, French being one of them.
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Y10 Japanese
Senior School / Year 10 (Y10Jap)
Year 10 Japanese is a continuing Course from Year 9. Students will consolidate their learning from Middle School and actively use Japanese to communicate effectively in a variety of everyday situations. Year 10 Japanese incorporates many aspects of Japanese: Second Language course 1A & 1B. Students may choose to continue their studies in Year 11 and complete units 2A & 2B the following year and take the exam, or may wish to study the course as a non TEE subject and gain a cultural and linguistic ability in Japanese without any pressure to pass an end of year exam.
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Y8 French
Middle School / Year 8 (Y8Fre)
In Year 8 students enter the French programme from a variety of backgrounds and knowledge of the French language. The course is designed to cater for everyone and is based on communicating in French. At year 8 level the focus is initially on oral interaction. Learning a language is a wonderful skill for all students and learning French is of special importance in that around 55 countries in the world speak French and 50% of our own language is derived from French. In learning a language students gain a better understanding of the structure of their own language and often can spell words like beautiful which derive from the French beau more proficiently!
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Y9 French
Middle School / Year 9 (Y9Fre)
The year 9 course is continues on from year 8 focussing on communication skills and prepares students for the more in depth year 10 to 12 courses. More work is carried out on written French, enabling students to communicate through emails, letters articles, projects, etc. For students continuing into Year 10 and invitation is offered, to apply to participate in an exchange program with French students from La Réunion island. Students can stay with a French family for a month and then have the French student back to stay in the summer holidays. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to be immersed in the French language and culture, make new friends and have a great time.
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Year 8 Japanese
Middle School / Year 8 (Y8JAP)
Learning an additional language develops skills for the future! It promotes effective learning across all subject areas by providing students with the skills to analyse and use language better. These literacy skills are a key to understanding any subject, and they develop no matter which language is studied. Students learn to experiment with different ways of thinking and expressing their thoughts, and they are more likely to try a variety of solutions when solving problems. In addition, the skills of learning a language other than English last a lifetime and can be applied to any other language children may decide to learn to help their career, to interact socially with family and friends, to facilitate travel or just for fun.
So why choose Japanese?
By participating in the Japanese course students will gain a better understanding of the English language, enhance social communication skills, see the world from a different point of view and most importantly, have fun and gain enrichment. Some simple facts:
• Over 80 000 Australians have conversational fluency in Japanese
• Over 800 000 Japanese people visited Australia in 2003.
• Learning to pronounce Japanese is relatively easy for speakers of English.
• Some words of Japanese origin are commonly used in English, for example typhoon, sake, sushi, tempura, bonsai and karaoke.
• Many Japanese words for modern concepts and names have been borrowed from English , for example kompyuutaa, terebi and rajio.
• Written Japanese uses a combination of pictorial characters, kanji, and phonetic scripts called hiragana and katakana.
• In WA there are more registered participants of karate than tee-ball or cricket.
• Western Australia has a sister-state relationship with Hyogo Prefecture in Japan.
• Japan ranks first amongst Australia’s export partners and second for imports.
• Japanese automobile manufacturers provide employment for thousands of Australians.
• Japanese electrical goods and motorcycles dominate the Australian market.
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