Prep them well for VCE

Middle School Language

The Languages curriculum in Middle School aims to develop language proficiency in German, Indonesian and Mandarin through listening, speaking, reading and writing. It is expected that students will choose German, Indonesian or Mandarin for study in Year 7 and beyond. 

Studying a language other than English builds confidence and challenges students to acquire new knowledge, skills, and cultural understanding in order to achieve high academic standards and to become empowered and thoughtful global citizens. Overnewton’s language programs aim to develop a student’s proficiency in their chosen language to ensure that they can establish a pathway to studying language in VCE. Students will learn to:

  • Communicate in the language they are learning
  • Understand the relationship between language, culture and learning
  • Develop intercultural capabilities
  • Understand themselves as communicators

CLIL 

The Content and Language Integrated Learning Program (CLIL Program) from P-8 at Overnewton combines the teaching of content from a curriculum area with the explicit teaching of Mandarin. Engagement in the program creates opportunities for authentic and purposeful learning for the students in the curriculum content area in Mandarin and enables them to acquire second language understanding and proficiency. Curriculum and achievement standards for the content taught via the CLIL Program align with the ACARA Australian Curriculum as identified for each relevant learning area and year level.

From Year 5 students have Mandarin Language Literacy classes in addition to the CLIL class. Therefore, the student’s knowledge and skills are built upon frequently in both the curriculum content area and language literacy classes.

Year 5

Mandarin
Students develop their intercultural understanding, listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Mandarin through the study of the thematic language topics: asking for and providing basic personal information, greetings, numbers to 100, family, animals, countries, and colours. Intercultural elements include an introduction to the main Mandarin speaking countries.

CLIL Geography

Students develop geographical understanding through the study of geographical locations of countries on the globe. This includes the relative locations of some major cities in China and Australia, the 7 continents and the 5 oceans, the northern/southern/eastern/western hemisphere, the Equator and the cardinal directions, as well as, understanding of asking for and giving directions in real life situations. Students also develop understanding of place by focusing on the factors that shape the characteristics of places and the management of spaces within them.

 

Year 6

 

Mandarin

Students develop their intercultural understanding, listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Mandarin through the study of the thematic language topics: asking for and providing basic personal information, jobs/occupation, world languages, Western and Chinese food, public transport. Intercultural elements include an introduction to the main Mandarin speaking countries.

 

CLIL Humanities

Students develop economic understanding through the study of needs and wants and why we require to make choices and decisions about how limited resources are used. This includes influences on consumer choices and methods that can be used to help make informed personal consumer and financial choices. Students also develop understanding of the world’s cultural diversity, including indigenous people around the world, sustainable living, as well as the connections of Australia with other countries.

 

Year 7

German
Students develop and extend their intercultural understanding as well as their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in German through the study of the thematic language topics: daily activities and hobbies, school, telling the time, health and the body, food and fashion. Intercultural elements include school in Germany, the study of a current children's film, and fairy tales in German speaking countries (with a focus on Austria).

Indonesian
Students develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Indonesian through the study of the thematic language topics: the classroom, telling the time, family, housing, clothing, body parts and Indonesian-speaking nationalities and countries. Language is contextualised by the study of traditional Indonesian family structure, traditional clothing and the comparison of housing in Indonesia and Australia.

Mandarin

Students develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Mandarin through the study of the thematic language topics: greetings, asking for and providing basic personal information, numbers 1 to 100, time (days and dates), family, daily activities, extracurricular subjects, and the consolidation of  language studied previously. Language is contextualised by the study of traditional Chinese family structure, the study of schooling in China and Australia, and the introduction of Chinese festivals.

 

CLIL Mathematics

The students who elect to study CLIL Mandarin (Mathematics) will follow the ACARA Australian Curriculum Mathematics curriculum for Year 7 with the same content and sequence as all Year 7 students at Overnewton College. In Mathematics the proficiencies of understanding, fluency, problem-solving and reasoning are integral part to the areas of study.

Year 8

German
Students develop and extend their intercultural understanding as well as their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in German through the study of the thematic language topics: places in town, sports, transport, food and describing and buying clothes. Intercultural elements include a study of Bavaria, current films, the 'Oktoberfest' and other festivals in German speaking countries.

Indonesian
Students develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Indonesian through the study of the thematic language topics: food, animals, school, transport, directions, making arrangements and the consolidation of basic language items. Language is contextualised by the study of schooling and festivals in Indonesian and Australia.

Mandarin

Students develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Mandarin through the study of the thematic language topics: asking for and providing basic personal information, family and their occupation, animals, body parts colours, school, asking for and giving directions, making arrangements and the consolidation of language studied previously. Language is contextualised by traditional clothing and the comparison of housing in China and Australia.

 

CLIL Mathematics

The students who elect to study CLIL Mandarin (Mathematics) will follow the ACARA Australian Curriculum Mathematics curriculum for Year 8 with the same content and sequence as all Year 8 students at Overnewton College. In Mathematics the proficiencies of understanding, fluency, problem-solving and reasoning are integral part to the areas of study.