St Mary’s College (Ponsonby)
Languages
Languages Learning Area
Welcome to the vibrant and exciting world of the Languages Faculty. We teach Chinese, French and Te Reo Māori as well as Classical Studies in Years 12 and 13.
There are so many reasons why taking a language or Classical Studies is a great idea – ask any of our senior students and they will tell you about the ambiance in our classrooms, the closeknit community of learners, the bespoke lessons and activities and the joy of having a secret language to communicate in. Perhaps our Classical Studies students would reveal the insights that they have into our current civilisation that they now have thanks to learning about the ancient world.
Aside from connecting with cultural identity and learning new modes of communication, what can learning within our faculty offer you for your future? Content and concrete skill sets aside, learning languages or Classical Studies gives you so much more than just a set of knowledge.
When Google commissioned ‘Project Oxygen’ to ascertain the most important “soft skills” to have for employment in the 21st Century, the skills gained by learning languages came out on top:
- Communicating and listening well
- Possessing different values and points of view
- Having empathy toward others
- Being a good critical thinker
- Making connections across complex ideas
Here is a link to the full report: https://www.ipu.ac.nz/news/146/google-just-made-the-case-for-more-foreign-language-education
In a world where so much content is within reach of a screen, these are the types of skills that employers look for and value.
Each of our subjects has some similar aspects and some that are quite "language specific” so please read on! We are always happy to answer any questions you have about our subject area and look forward to welcoming you into our classes!
Please contact the following staff members with any questions you may have:
Chinese: Daniel Ting [email protected]
Classical Studies: Oscar Mardell [email protected]
French: Priscilla Lynch [email protected]
Te Reo Māori: Waiana Jones [email protected]
Subjects in this Faculty
Army Officer, Army Soldier, Historian, Flight Attendant, Counsellor, Minister of Religion, Trainer, Journalist, Interpreter, Musician, Editor, Corrections Officer, Data Entry Operator/Transcriptionist, Foreign Policy Officer, Radio Presenter, Workplace Relations Adviser, Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Importer/Exporter, Immigration Officer, Kaiwhakaako Māori,
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