LOTE Year 8 Cultural Afternoon

The LOTE Year 8 Cultural Afternoon is a continuous innovation project that enables Kilvington students to engage with other languages and schooling practices.

The program is designed to provide students of all ethnic backgrounds with the opportunity to learn about and partake in other communities and cultures. Year 8 students select one of the two languages that they study, either French or Japanese, and work collaboratively in groups to present a showpiece luncheon.

Tasks include planning a menu, cooking the food and preparing a table arrangement featuring their chosen language and culture. Parents are invited to the luncheon to view and taste-test their children’s efforts. At the 2010 event, they were very impressed with the overall standard of presentation. Keiko Ishihara, the Japanese language teacher at Kilvington, said: ‘This was a fun activity for Year 8 students, as it helped them to develop their appreciation for the language they have been learning for two years. The students set their tables beautifully in a creative way, and provided a delicious selection of tastes from each culture.’

The Cultural Afternoon allows students to fully utilise their chosen language in a real-life setting, whilst putting the knowledge learnt in the classroom into practice. This enjoyable, intercultural approach to languages helps equip the students for effective participation in a rapidly-changing world. French teacher Sandra Boutselis observed that ‘the program enables students to integrate their study of a language with the study of its culture.’