Published on: 13 August 2020





Last week the School hosted a variety of activities and experiences for our Senior School boys studying languages as part of Languages Week.

Languages Week occurs in the second week of August every year and is designed to raise awareness of the benefits of languages and highlight the linguistic diversity in our community.

Head of Languages Vinko Shain describes the week of activities as “An opportunity for the boys to engage with their chosen language in a different way. Connecting with the culture is incredibly fun, but also vital for the boys to get a well-rounded understanding of the languages they are learning.”

The students studying French, Chinese and Japanese were treated to a number of highlights including;

  • A demonstration of the Japanese martial art Aikido and calligraphy for the Japanese classes
  • A demonstration of the martial art of Kung Fu for the Chinese classes
  • A session of Petanque/Boules for the French classes
  • An MLC/CCGS Languages quiz for Year 9s and 10s

In addition to these activities the boys were invited to attend a foreign movie night during which they watched a film that related to their chosen language.

Mr Vinko Shain described the lifelong benefits of learning a second language “From an educational standpoint, we want our boys to build a love of languages and develop this skill to take with them when they eventually graduate from Christ Church. We know that not only does learning a language have numerous cognitive benefits, we also know that being a proficient second language speaker is one of the most valued soft skills that employers are seeking in modern enterprise.”