Primary
Primary levels are the best time to immerse students in all aspects of language. During their Primary years our students are encouraged to develop their bilingualism through not only just learning spelling and grammar, but by being exposed to real language, both oral and written.
Our primary school extends from Foundation to Grade 6, during which our bilingual teachers, guide students to explore a variety of fun and exciting themes such as mythology, cuisine and traditional festivities and customs. Students begin to learn the fundamentals of Greek Language and Culture with an emphasis on oral communication and correct expression in preparation for Secondary School.
Students also have many opportunities to show case and explore their learning more deeply by performing in performances for their parents, guardians and the school community creating meaning and context for their learning, and also by participating in cultural events and demonstration such as poetry recitals and Community Parades allowing them to develop a strong appreciation for their Australian-Greek heritage.
Secondary
In Secondary School, our students begin to more deeply apply the language they have learnt in response to culturally relevant materials. While our students continue to enhance their linguistic skills, more meaning is derived through interactions with real-life materials such as film and literature, which open pathways to a higher register of language and historic and cultural awareness.
Through a more vigorous incorporation of ITC, our teachers apply a flipped-classroom approach, encouraging students to lead their learning and explore aspects of language and heritage which interest them, as well as continuing to satisfy the standards of the Victorian Curriculum.
Notwithstanding the goal of eventually completing VCE and acknowledging that some desire to learn Greek out of love for their culture, our students encounter a range of cultural, academic and contemporary topics. Students explore such topics as Ancient philosophy and Orthodoxy through Plato and the cultural traditions associated with the Greek Church, Migration and Identity in the Australian-Greek context, and modern issues including as youth engagement and politics touching on events of recent history. These studies are undertaken concurrently with finessing student’s language skills preparing them for VCE and for day-to-day cultural competency and communication skills.
VCE
All our students are offered the opportunity to take Modern Greek as one of their VCE subjects. By doing so students continue to develop and finetune their language skills, while also contributing to their studies. Languages always value quite highly in the VCE, preparing students for a fulfilling and holistic tertiary education.
At this stage of Greek language education, our students begin to extend their skills by interacting and analysing a number of advanced materials. Students begin to encounter concepts such as dialects, and cultural phrases and expression through which they enhance their abilities to communicate new personal and impersonal concepts, form meaning between language and cultural contexts, and interpret and present ideas and thoughts in a sophisticated manner. All students are offered opportunities to take part in oral and conversation practise and intensive workshops covering grammar and exam preparation, to ensure that they all are well equipped to approach their final examinations.
Again, our students are encouraged to discover and engage with new and interesting materials through a flipped-classroom approach, and to direct their learning independently with the guidance of their teacher in preparation for their VCE exams, which they undertake with confidence in their mature comprehension of Greek language and culture.