Languages

Mentone Grammar’s interactive and diverse languages program enables students to become interculturally aware citizens as they are immersed in the related culture and history of the languages they are studying.

The ability to be proficient in multiple languages is an increasingly valuable skill as the world becomes truly interconnected. Through our program, students are provided with the tools, through comparison and reflection, to understand language, culture and humanity in a broad sense. By being exposed to a second language at an early age, students generally find it easier to learn and acquire further languages in later years.

From Foundation – Year 6, our students learn Chinese Mandarin through listening, speaking, reading and writing to broaden their comprehension as they progressively move through each year level. Cultural, geographic and historical aspects other than language are also studied to give our students appreciation of others in our world. Students are encouraged to take up the wonderful opportunities on offer to expand their experience and communication skills both in Chinese and English throughout the Early Years including cultural days, festivals and delicious cooking classes.

Language Choice

As students enter the Middle Years, they have the option to choose either Chinese or German as their language other than English. Our Chinese classes in Years 7 & 8 are streamed into Standard and Advanced classes, but both groups will learn the foundational knowledge required to continue to Chinese in Year 9 and onwards if they choose to do so. 

The German program is a beginners’ course, allowing all students to take part without having studied German previously. We also love seeing our students take part in activities such as the German Poetry Competition which provides students with the opportunity to embrace and experience the German language in a creative way.

Expanding Horizons

From Year 9, students may decide to continue with Chinese or German, or even add a second or third language to their program! We are able to offer students the opportunity to study a language outside of our mainstream offerings through the Victorian School of Languages (VSL) via Distance Education mode. Languages currently on offer via the VSL course are French, Italian, Spanish, Indonesian, Japanese, Greek and Latin.

As they enter the Senior Years, the Chinese and German courses aim to develop and refine each student’s use of receptive, productive and interactive language, and to further develop self-awareness and a sense of personal and cultural identity. All VCE Second Language subjects cover the skill areas of speaking and writing in the language, as well as reading written texts in the language, listening to conversations and spoken texts and viewing texts such as films or TV shows in the language. The VCE subjects students can choose from include German, VSL Languages, Chinese: Second Language, Chinese: First Language, and Chinese Language, Culture and Society.

Exchange Opportunities

Along with the many excursions and incursions weaved throughout the languages program across the years, our exchange program for students in Years 10 & 11 is always a rewarding experience, with memories that last a lifetime. These include Christmas in the snow, insights into a different world of school, and living the cultures they have been learning about. We have strong relationships with partner schools in Germany (Markgräfin-Wilhelmine-Gymnasium in Bayreuth) and Japan (Nagoya Gakuin School), and we enjoy hosting students from those schools in return.