Margaret River Senior High School provides TWO periods of compulsory study of Languages in Years 7 & 8. The study of Languages is optional in Years 9 & 10. The students can select an Asian language or a European language based course. The Western Australian curriculum provides syllabuses for second language learners in five Languages: Chinese, Indonesian, French, German and Italian. The school includes Spanish as a sixth language option.

All three teachers of Languages are native speakers:

  1. Angela McCoy is a Indonesian-born native speaker of Indonesian and Chinese
  2. Patrick Marzohl is a Swiss-born native speaker of German, French and Italian
  3. Marian Grapes is a Venezuelan-born native speaker of Spanish and Italian

Asian Languages

The Asian Languages Program at Margaret River Senior High School is designed to develop linguistic ability, but also students gain an understanding of other societies and have opportunities to interact with people from cultures other than their own. In this era of globalisation, the study of second (or third) language equip students with a deeper understanding and appreciation of their own and other cultures, which can greatly assist them in all fields of employment for the future.

At Margaret River Senior High School the Languages course enables students to:

  • use the language to communicate with others (Reading, Writing , Listening and Speaking)
  • appreciate the cultural contexts in which Indonesian and Chinese is used
  • gain a better understanding of their own culture through the study of the people and language of Indonesia and Chinese
  • gain a better understanding of how languages work as a system

Asian Languages Activities:

  • China Educational Tour
  • Haining No. 1 High School China sister school student visit
  • Santa Laurensia Indonesian sister school student visit
  • Murdoch University Asian Study Excursion Enrichment & Engagement Program
  • Culture Infusion Workshop
  • International school students visit from Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia
  • The Taste of Asian Languages – Student Health and Well Being Program
  • Diversity Through Language Enrichment and Engagement Program
  • ASEAN – Australia BRIDGE Project
  • Ozobot STEAM program for Asian Languages learning

European Languages

 Students are introduced to four different European languages in Year 7 and study one of these languages in depth in Year 8. The languages offered are Italian, French, German and Spanish. Students with a background language (a language spoken at home) are given the opportunity to study this language instead in Year 8. The aim of the Year 7 course is to introduce study techniques, digital language learning tools and key communication skills. The classroom is equipped with iPads but students are encouraged to bring their own devices (tablet, laptop) to class. The course includes online and course book resources.

Assessment and reporting

The students will produce a digital portfolio that demonstrates their progress. There are four different types of assessment, each worth 25% of the course mark:

  • Formal tests (listening, reading & writing): measured in two summative tests per term
  • Home study quizzes & homework completion (completion rate, accuracy): measured in homework checks and short quizzes
  • Portfolio & conferencing (speaking, writing): completion, accuracy and demonstrated language skills, teacher conferencing and interviews
  • Projects, interest and participation(speaking, reading, writing): completion of worksheets, performances in class, posters, etc

Individual students are invited to sit external standard Languages exams in Term 3. The Assessment of Language Competence (ALC) exams provided by ACER offer three levels of competence testing. German students are invited to sit the DAS exam in August.

Programs and successes:

In 2017, Margaret River SHS attracted widespread attention with successes in the Language Perfect World and Western Australian Championships. The school has been recognised as a top achieving school for Languages, winning the Western Australian championship and seventh place globally in the 1-50 enrolled students section.