Why Learn Languages? Guest Speakers Share Their Journeys

On Monday 29 July,  Years 8 and 9 students had the opportunity to hear about the benefits and opportunities of learning languages. Three guest speakers came and shared their experiences as language learners.

The first speaker was Ms Dolly Gerges, Languages Consultant at the Catholic Education Sandhurst. She explained how learning a language strengthens your memory and ability to recall information, as well as enabling greater understanding of different cultures and the ability to engage with other nationalities more readily.

Our next speaker was Maddison Bray, a current Year 11 French student, who shared her recent exchange experience to northern France. She stayed with a large family for three months in winter. During her stay she attended school and managed to get to Paris. Maddison was enthusiastic in her encouragement of students to pursue languages, as it helps you to grow even more as a person.

Our final speaker was Mr Matthew McDonald, the 2018 Catherine McAuley College Bendigo Dux, who studied Indonesian from Year 7 through to Year 12. Matthew explained how good his six years learning Indonesian were and talked about the great CMCB trips he went on with students in Years 10 and 11, accompanied by Ibu Leversha and Ibu Coles. Matthew said it was amazing to see the culture and use the language in Indonesia.  He also won a scholarship from the school and he returned to Indonesia after finishing Year 12. He now works as a reporter for an Indonesian morning television show and will soon be returning to the Indonesian Island of Sumatera, to attend the university there and deliver some lessons in English.

All three speakers were very engaging and provided interesting perspectives on their language learning journeys. We thank them for taking the time to come and speak to our Coolock students.

Ms Geraldine Coles, Languages Facilitator