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The Languages and Culture team at the department has published its first set of language-specific resources to support the Modern Languages K-10 Syllabus. 🎉 While the team has started with Japanese, we encourage teachers of all modern languages to take a look because the support looks totally different to anything that's been done before. The units are 'pick up and teach' for a full term of teaching in Stage 4 and a full term in Stage 5. This includes all student resources. The units not only provide the teaching, learning and assessment activities, they also guide you through the pedagogy of the new syllabus. The intent of curriculum reform is to strengthen and streamline what is taught in schools, presenting the opportunity to engage and reenergise what we teach and how we teach it. In our context, this means emphasising depth rather than breadth - focusing on practising, reinforcing and building on language structures that facilitate communication, rather than focusing on large amounts of vocabulary. This allows for deep learning. Here are some of the features in each unit, to support you with planning, quality pedagogy and syllabus content: The summative assessment task is the bedrock of the unit. By providing this at the start, you have a clear understanding of what students are expected to understand, know and do by the end of the unit. Explicit teaching and learning activities, aligned to syllabus dot points. You may have noticed that the outcomes are very broad in our context. The true 'richness' of the syllabus lies in the content dot points. By aligning these dot points to activities, it showcases what the syllabus 'looks like' in the classroom, across a broad range of content. The teaching, learning and assessment activities have been 'chunked', each with their own underpinning learning intentions and success criteria, as well as the vocabulary and grammatical structures (and, where relevant, script). 'Mini task - progress checkpoints' are included, which are formative assessment opportunities backward mapped from the end-of-unit summative task. These support students to identify where they are on their learning journey, in relation to meeting the requirements of the summative task. Opportunities for feedback and student self-reflection, to support students to gain ownership of their own learning, build a deeper understanding of how the language can be applied to the summative task, as well as identify which skills they need to strengthen and where to go for help. Differentiation strategies, for students requiring additional support, high potential and gifted students and students with advanced proficiency. Timeframes, formative and summative assessment tasks, teaching and learning activities and reflection and feedback opportunities should be adjusted to suit your context, including the specific strengths and needs of students. The first language to be published is Japanese. The 'set' includes: Stage 4 and Stage 5 scope and sequence documents, with assessment ideas 2 complete units of work - one for Stage 4 (on festivals) and one for Stage 5 (on travel) - from the relevant scope and sequence. These include the final summative task, marking guidelines, all teaching, learning and assessment activities and all student resources. student-friendly infographics of the scope and sequence documents and the units of work, to engage them in the learning. View the Japanese 'set'.

Open to all students in NSW from Kindergarten to Year 10 who study the Greek Community Language (at afternoon/Saturday schools, Secondary College of Languages, NSW School of Languages, mainstream schools, or students of private tuition). There are prizes for the best entries in every category. The 2023 SICLE Greek language student competition is under the auspices of The Secretariat General for Greeks Aboard and Public Diplomacy and The Consulate General of Greece in Sydney. For more information, details on how to enter and prizes, visit the competition website.

Sydney Institute for Community Languages Education (SICLE) is offering a free, 60-contact-hour professional development program for teachers working in NSW Government-funded Community Languages Schools. The program will help you to: understand how children learn and develop languages and how to teach them engage and interest students in maintaining and extending their language and cultural abilities plan lessons and assess student learning develop resources and teaching activities that work with a range of students. The Foundation Program includes a visit to a mainstream school to observe teaching. This classroom learning is interactive and practical, giving you confidence and new ideas in working with young children, teenagers and adults. A NSW Working with Children Check is a mandatory requirement for this component of the program. Assessment is practical and involves getting to know your students, creating teaching resources, developing behaviour management strategies and preparing classroom activities. Start date: 16 July 2023 End date: 26 November 2023 There are 3 options to choose from: Thursday program: 5-8 pm, Thursday 20 July-Thursday 23 November 2023 (not including school holidays). Face-to-face teaching and 10 Zoom sessions. Sunday program: Sunday 27 August-Sunday 12 November 2023 (not including school holidays). Face-to-face teaching. Online: 17 weeks, Sunday 16 July-26 November (not including school holidays). Includes 3 compulsory face-to-face workshops. For any enquiries, please email: karen.garlan@sydney.edu.au Please visit the following link to register your expression of interest: https://openlanguage.org.au/2023-foundation-program-semester-2/

Italian teachers, save the date for the 8th national conference for teachers of Italian which will be held in Brisbane on 21 October. The theme will be Italian and Sustainability. Further details will follow next term.

Teachers and students of Stages 5 and 6 German are invited to University of Sydney on Friday 25 August 2023, to attend a day of networking and information sharing. Representatives from University of Sydney, University of NSW, Macquarie University, University of Technology Sydney and the German Academic Exchange Service will present information on the study of German post-school, followed by opportunities for students to get to know their peers from other schools in language-based activities. Registrations close Friday 4 August. For more information, contact alison.dean@adecs.com.au

The Spanish Education Office, in collaboration with STANSW and the NSW Department of Education, is holding its 16th Spanish Teachers' Conference on Friday 11 August 2023, at the department's offices at 105 Phillip Street, Parramatta. Registration is opening soon. If you are interested in presenting at the conference, please complete the registration form. If you have any questions or require further information please contact Bárbaro Bello via email at asesoriacanberra.au@educacion.gob.es

In very exciting news, primary and secondary teachers with a proficiency in another language can gain approval to teach languages as an additional method. Sydney Institute of Community Languages Education (SICLE) at University of Sydney will be conducting courses for accredited teachers to gain approval to teach a language. This initiative aims to increase the supply of languages teachers in NSW. Some applicants will be native speakers of a language and may already be teaching a language in some settings. The program consists of: Verification of Language Proficiency Test (VLPT). The next test will be held on 25 November 2023 Language Teaching Methodology course (45 hours = 15 weeks x 3 hours) Practicum (15 days). The course will be delivered via online modules with weekly synchronous tutorials. The Language Methodology Course will start in the week beginning 24 July 2023. Costs: The methodology course and practicum will be at no cost to NSW Department of Education teachers. The VLPT will cost $400. Information sessions: There will be 2 online information sessions - 19 June at 4 pm (register) or 21 June at 5 pm (register). The SICLE Pathways website provides information on: M/Teach Preparation courses Verification of Language Proficiency Tests (VLPT) Language Teaching Approval Program useful links on how to become an accredited teacher in NSW. For more information, contact Merryl Wahlin on 02 8627 9944 or email merryl.wahlin@sydney.edu.au You can also read the attached flyer.

The Languages and Culture team has just published the 'Modern Languages K–10 Syllabus – from planning to practice in Years 7–10' course on MyPL. This is a 1-hour Accredited PD course, comprised of 3 modules: Module 1: The Modern Languages K-10 Syllabus Module 2: Developing intercultural capability in modern languages Module 3: Task-based assessment and backward mapping (7-10). To access the course, search for AC00390 on MyPL. It is open teachers from all sectors.

NESA has just released new Collaborative Curriculum and Assessment Framework for Languages (CCAFL) Continuers and in Context syllabuses for Armenian, Croatian, Dutch, Filipino, Hindi, Hungarian, Khmer, Macedonian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Swedish, Tamil and Turkish. The syllabuses are available to schools in 2023 for planning and preparation, with implementation to commence from 2024. The syllabuses: are informed by latest research and reflect a modern approach to language learning focus on depth of learning to build students’ capacity in languages develop effective communication and intercultural competencies provide opportunities to explore and share personal, community and international perspectives through analysing and creating texts have an increased emphasis on the application of knowledge, understanding and skills. The new Stage 6 CCAFL Continuers and CCAFL in Context syllabuses can be accessed on the NESA website. Note: There is no change to Continuers syllabuses for other languages.

To support the new Modern Languages K-10 Syllabus, the Languages and Culture team has published: programming guidelines a sample scope and sequence for the Stage 4 mandatory 100 hours course a sample scope and sequence for Stage 5 200-hour elective courses. You can access support from the team at the NSW Department of Education website. Language-specific support will be published throughout 2023-2024. You may like to consider creating student-friendly versions of your scope and sequence document, to engage students in their learning - there are some samples below for consideration.

To support you and your students to prepare for the HSC, the Languages and Culture team has created an engaging video resource, in a 'You can't ask that'-style format, asking past students from a range of languages, contexts and schools, for the advice they would give current students studying Stage 6 Beginners and Continuers languages courses. The 'Reflections and advice from past HSC students' resource includes students' reflections on what worked well, what they liked and what they found challenging. It can be used to prompt a class discussion on how to best prepare for the HSC. The resource includes 2 videos with students, with reflection questions to prompt discussion. The resource explores: the benefits of learning a language in Stage 6 effective techniques to prepare for the HSC.

Do you lead the Languages KLA in a NSW public school? You may be a head teacher, a faculty coordinator, or even the only language teacher in your school. The Languages and Culture team have updated and rebadged their head teacher document, making it a more inclusive guide for teachers and head teachers who lead Languages faculties. 'Leading Languages 7-12' ensures a common understanding of the Languages KLA. With so many language teachers being the only language teacher at their school and/or being supervised by a non-languages trained head teacher, the guide's new name and content reflect the leadership roles so many of you have in your schools, while still being a document to support head teachers. It has also been updated to include the new languages syllabuses released in 2022. If you teach languages 7-12 in a NSW public school, please take a look. And remember, the best place to access support directly from the team is through the Languages statewide staffroom. Not a member yet? Complete the short entry survey to join.