World Languages Growth Plan: Woodford Primary School, WOODFORD

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By Naomi Hawking | 11 October 2021

World Languages Growth Plan:
Woodford Primary School, WOODFORD

The benefits of learning a language are significant.

Learning a language improves the neuroplasticity of the brain, it can quite literally make you smarter. The promotion of cognitive development, enhanced memory and critical thinking skills can set young Australians up to succeed. Learning another language is actually proven to improve performance in other academic areas as well and will even improve individuals’ awareness of their first language.

All of those benefits are significant without even taking into consideration the value students receive in being exposed to another culture. In a world deeply affected by COVID-19 and capacity to travel overseas being limited, through no fault of our own, our lives have become more insular. The need to develop global citizens is more important than ever, and exposure to another language and culture is vital in equipping young Australians with the knowledge, skills, and values to thrive in a globalised world.

Part 1: History and Growth Plan for the future

We are proud of our cooperation with Woodford Primary School, WOODFORD to date and want to support a whole school vision for World Languages:

2020 – 5 classrooms with Meg Chinese live instruction

2021 – 2 classrooms with Meg Chinese live instruction, Meg LITE for rest of school

Aspiration for 2022:
Return to live instruction for the full schools to allow your students to continuity of learning, and to reach their full potential

  • With Australia re-opening, snap and long lockdowns will become a thing of the past. Having regularely scheduled language lessons will provide your students with much needed structure and continuity
  • Captialise on peak time for language acquisition by beginning Mandarin in foundation years, with live instruction so give your students the best opportunities
  • Inform parent community of language learning opportunities by providing a Mandarin demonstration at your next open night
Part 2: Internationalising your School

2022 School Year:

In addition to the provision of our World Languages program, Meg’s in-house experts will work with your school – free of charge – to help develop a strategy to internationalise the school more broadly in the pursuit of developing Global Citizens

Woodford Primary School, WOODFORD will be given the opportunity to conduct a gap analysis against Meg’s Internationalising Schools Framework to identify the school’s focus areas for next year and beyond.

Upskilling classroom teachers

As part of our Going Global Initiative, professional learning days and self-paced online professional learning courses are provided to teachers to get the most out of the program and to help develop a Global Classroom.

Trips to China

In a pre-covid world, Meg was hosting regular study tours to China for both students and educators. When the threat of covid has subsided, we will be in a position to provide Woodford Primary School, WOODFORD with these types of exciting international opportunities.

At Meg, we are very familiar with how to start small with one of our partner schools and grow over time as we continue to add value beyond just our World Language programs.
To understand the journey we’ve had with one of our largest partner schools, check out this Case Study.

Mernda Primary School

SEE GOING GLOBAL IN ACTION

Part 3: Engagement of Community

Beyond engaging your students and your staff, we take great pride in being able to engage your broader school community in regards to languages and culture.

Developing a community of learners

As the world returns to normal, Meg is excited about engaging Woodford Primary School, WOODFORD with many forms of developing a community of learners, including:

  • Engaging your parent community with parent night demonstrations that include such activities as tai chi demonstrations, cooking courses and an introduction to Mandarin language
  • Student-run Chinese festivals in the local community
  • Using technology such as chat bots and virtual reality to engage the school community in technology based interactions

 

We’re excited about the future and we want you to be too.

Please contact me to discuss how we can grow together next year.

Naomi Hawking

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