What amazing possibilities learning a language opens for you?

To celebrate a love of learning languages in Australia, SBS Radio hosts this national-wide competition for all language learners aged from 4 to 18+ for a chance to win iPad Pros. For more details, please visit SBS National Language Competition 2018 – FAQs.

The theme of this year’s competition is: “What amazing possibilities learning a language opens for you?”

I bet, if you ask any average 11 year old boy the question above, the most likely response you would get is: a child shrugging his shoulders and mumbling “I don’t know! Can I go now?” Trust me, I know, because that was the conversation between my son and I when I was preparing this Prep Talk article.

Then an idea flashed through my mind, what if I use this opportunity to reflect and open up a meaningful conversation with my own children? I know, having a conversation like this sounds like a “luxury” in today’s busy family life. According to a UK study on average, parents spend 7 minutes to talk to their children per day.  It would be a good starting point to share your thoughts together. It also clicks with the PYP Transdisplinary themes in many different aspects.

Back to the topic, “What amazing possibilities learning a language opens for you?” How would you start a conversation without it being too awkward? Maybe talk to them about your personal experiences? When did you use the language? Who is the audience? How did it help you? And lastly, how do you collaborate all these ideas into a visual representation? I know I can’t take part in the competition, but I would love to give it a go.

In 18 years (x 3 more likely) of my life, I have been learning Taiwanese, Mandarin, English, a bit of Malay, Japanese, Italian here and there, plus many computing languages in my previous professional life before teaching. Learning a new language has taken me to places, brought me knowledge and wealth, but most of all I have had the privilege to connect with many people from different parts of the world. All that has enriched my life and made me the person I am today.  

Learning a language is like having a key in your hand to open a door to another world. Take the kids with you and go explore! The competition closes 11:59pm on Sunday, 18 November 2018 (AEST). You’ve got to be in it to win it!

Eva Angel – Mandarin Teacher