Great Scot September 2018 Gt Scot_154_September_online | Page 20

News
ABOVE LEFT: TOM FARRER, JENNI THOM, NATHANAEL CHAN,
NED SUTHERLAND. ABOVE RIGHT: MAX BODON, NATHANAEL
CHAN, CAMERON SWANSSON AND HARRY MARNER WITH
ARTISTS FROM THE VICTORIAN STATE BALLET.
ABOVE: JAMES TALBOT, NED SUTHERLAND, MR GRANT PHILLIPS AND RONAN OZIEMSKI
LEFT: TOM FARRER AND NATHANAEL CHAN
Learning a
language: hard
work but worth
the journey
It has been such a pleasure over the years
to engage our boys in activities and events that
evoke emotions and feelings, making it more
relevant and hopefully easier to foster a passion
for learning a language.
This year, in anticipation and celebration of our
German Day, we ‘travelled’ to Austria, opening
many an eye to the fact that German is being
officially spoken by more than 120 million people
20
and in several countries other than Germany. Our
focus was on the unique town of Salzburg and its
internationally acclaimed Salzburger Festspiele, a
prominent festival of music, dance and drama.
The impressions are best described in the
boys’ own words, even in German:
‘A delightful spectacular, amazing assembly,
many interesting activities, watching the
Nutcracker ballet, memories to last forever.’
JUSTIN CHAN — YEAR 6
‘Apfelstrudel, Sachertorte, Wienerwurst and
pretzels, naturally we were excited.’
ANGUS MCWILLIAMS — YEAR 5
‘I am so proud I have learnt a lot of German.
I hope there will be a ballet and a German Day
next year.’
SHRAY SAHNI — YEAR 1
‘Deutschtag, Freitag 8. Juni 2018
Los geht’s! Die Reise nach Salzburg beginnt.
Das Ballett Der Nussknacker ist um 1 Uhr. Die
Tänzer sind sehr talentiert. Fantastisch! Ich liebe
die Bretzen, so süß! Das Nussknacker Regiment
ist auch wunderbar. Danke.’
JEREMY LE — YEAR 5
It is difficult at times for our boys, at a very
young age, to see the relevance of acquiring
an additional language and to recognise that
working towards mastery takes time, and
requires patience and a tremendous effort.
This made me reflect on my own years as
a ballerina while observing the Victorian State
Ballet during our German Day visit to bring our
Salzburger Festspiele to life. Not many people
would be aware of the many hours of training,
aching muscles, bleeding toes and personal
sacrifice involved, as they observe the dancers
effortlessly executing their pirouettes or grand
jetés, leaping through the air.
The dancers simply learn to speak their own
language through years of dedication, pushing
themselves beyond their limits, persevering but
knowing that the end result is worth the effort.
Acquiring an additional language is no
different, if you embrace what you are doing and
learn you can find within you the strength, the
patience, passion and motivation to keep at it
and to push on, even when things get tough.
FRAU CORNELIA KOEHNE-DRUBE —
HEAD OF LOTE, JUNIOR SCHOOL
Great Scot Number 154 – September 2018