Year 8 Languages

Chinese

The theme of the year in the MYP Year 8 Chinese course is ‘My trip to China’. The course includes four units as follows:

Unit 1 – “有朋至远方来”We explore how to organise a trip to China. Students learn to inquire into the aspects of travel, such as different places they want to visit, their itinerary etc.

Unit 2 – “我的家人和宠物”. We explore the concept of family. The students learn how to describe a family and understand the values and importance of the family. We also explore the way in which the family identity manifests itself in cultural festivals pertaining to the family.

Unit 3 – “中国菜”. We explore how people live in China. Students will learn how to talk about variety of Chinese food in comparison with the food in New Zealand and understand the etiquette at the table.

Unit 4 – “童话故事”. We explore what we can learn from a fairy tale and how fairy tales formed.

A wide range of authentic materials and communicative activities are used during the lessons (e.g. authentic situational video clips, games, songs, comics, movies, Chinese websites, Education Perfect etc.) in order to cater to students’ needs, increase their motivation and facilitate their learning.

Course Cost: $28

French

The Year 8 French course is a journey where we explore the themes of identities, orientation in space, and personal and cultural experience in genuine and authentic ways. Throughout the year, students develop their communication skills in French, learn about the different patterns and structures of French language, while also broadening their intercultural awareness through exploration of a variety of French and Francophone cultures. The course encompasses three Units.

Unit 1 – Ma famille: The first unit is family; we explore their identity and investigate different types of families and relationships, and values within a family.

Unit 2 – Café et petit-déjeuner: Embarking on this unit, we learn how to say time in French, direction, places in town. We learn about a typical French breakfast, eating habits. We compare breakfast in different cultures and develop tolerance, respect, and awareness through intercultural understanding and learning.

Unit 3 – Au restaurant: This unit enables us to build and expand our previous knowledge. We navigate through the different region of France and explore exquisite regional dishes and learn about table conventions. We explore healthy eating habits and learn about the canteen system in France. At the end of this unit, we will be able to order meals in a restaurant and make choices based on our preference and healthy choices.

Unit 4 – Les courses: In this unit we explore shopping for food, and we compare prices and currencies. We will discover different aspects of French traditional markets and see if we can understand their contributions to a common culture. We will learn to plan and budget for meals which are life skills.

Course costs: $30

German

The Year 8 German course gives the students an insight in “Everyday Life in Germany”. The following units are covering some essential topics:

Unit 1 – “Familie und Freunde” – We look at different types of families and relationships and learn about family values, in particular in the context of traditional cultural festivities. Students will learn to talk about and to describe family members and friends.

Unit 2 – “Haustiere” – What role do pets play in German society and how do we talk about our pets? We learn to describe their appearance and their characteristics.

Unit 3 – “Schule” – We explore the German school system which will help students to develop their intercultural awareness. We learn about the differences in the German school system compared to New Zealand schools by learning to speak about school subjects, the timetable and talking about likes and dislikes. Telling the time and talking about the clothes you wear to school is also part of this unit.

Unit 4 – “Sport und Hobbies” – We learn about the role of sports and hobbies in German society. How does it compare with New Zealand?

Students will acquire the language through a variety of tasks, developing their listening, reading, speaking and writing skills by using authentic material, texts, video clips, songs, games, etc. They will learn to make connections between the languages and become aware of how much the English language has been influenced by German and how many words they can recognise. By the end of the year, students have worked out patterns and grammatical structures of the German language and will be able to communicate in a culturally appropriate manner in a variety of everyday situations.

Course cost $20

Japanese

The Year 8 Japanese course covers four topics which encompass the overall theme of ‘My Life in Japan’.

Unit 1 – Food in Japan. Students explore the modern and traditional diets and trends and focusing on the concepts of communicating with purpose in the form of making oneself understood in a restaurant situation. A visit to a traditional Japanese restaurant is included in this unit.

Unit 2 – Traditional and modern sports and hobbies. Students discover the myriad of traditional activities and sports (and try some out), learning how to express what they can and can’t do and how often they practice their own sports.

These first two themes bring with them an awareness of just how many English words have permeated the Japanese language and in this context students begin to explore the first of the alphabets, Katakana.

Unit 3 – Family life in Japan. The Japanese language is inextricably linked to the culture of the country and students make these connections as they explore relationships, modern and traditional family units and learn how to describe physical appearance in the context of the ‘Harajuku girls’.

Unit 4 – Housing in Japan. Cultural practices permeate the behaviours and expressions relating to entering, leaving and living in a house or apartment in Japan. Students learn when to use the appropriate expressions, describe their house or apartment and discover the traditional elements of a Japanese home.

By the end of the year, students have significantly developed their language skills and confidence to communicate in a culturally appropriate manner in a variety of everyday situations.

Course cost: $80.00 (includes workbooks and restaurant visit)

latin

In Year 8 Latin, students explore ancient Rome, consolidating and building on the foundation introduced in Year 7. We will learn new grammar, meaning that students are able to understand increasingly more complex language. Our language learning is enhanced by the culture and mythology of the Romans. Students also continue to be enriched with the wide variety of English derivations from Latin encountered in medicine, law, science, philosophy and everyday language. The course encompasses three units:

Unit 1 – Nouns: We explore how nouns work in Latin, and how they change their endings depending on their function within a sentence. We’ll begin to translate Latin stories using our new knowledge, which are set within the context of cultural topics explored, such as the Roman Household, geography and important places in the Ancient World.

Unit 2 – Verbs: We go further in depth on the topic of verbs, exploring infinitives and conjugations, as well as person and number. We’ll also learn a new tense – the future tense. This is set within the context of learning about the different periods of Ancient Rome, such as the Roman Monarchy, Republic and the Roman Empire.

Unit 3 – Roman Culture: We will cover various mythological topics, such as the Story of Pan, King Midas and the Donkey Ears, Romulus and Remus, Minerva and Neptune, as well as Theseus and the Minotaur. We will learn about Roman attitudes to certain topics, such as what Romans thought about ghosts and superstitions. We also look at Roman life and culture, delving into topics like Gladiators, Roman baths, Architecture and how the Romans measured time. We’ll also make links between Latin and English words across many areas, as 50% of all English words come from Latin.

Throughout the year, students will learn through many types of activity, including: online games, whiteboard and buzzer quizzes, performing plays, creating stories and comics in Latin, cooking authentic Roman food and cultural presentations. In addition, DioConnect, an online learning tool, will be used both for class activities and homework, and for giving feedback to students (and parents) electronically.

As students progress through the school, they will also have the opportunity to go on a trip to Rome and Pompeii to experience in person the places, culture and history that they have learnt about in class.

Course costs: $20

Spanish

In the MYP year 8 Spanish course, we have an overarching theme “A year in Spain”. Students will acquire the language as they use it in a series of authentic, interactive tasks using different combinations of listening, speaking reading and writing.

The course is divided into four units as follows:

Unit 1 – “Mi familia, mis amigos y yo”.

The students learn how to talk about and describe family members and people and things in general. We explore how the elements of a text are interconnected according to gender and plurality. We explore how words are connected both within and between languages.

Unit 2 – “Mi casa es tu casa”

We explore how people live in the Spanish-speaking world. We explore typical houses, and their features and how to talk about location. We will learn to compare and contrast, to talk about preferences and give reasons for these

Unit 3 – “Te invito a mi casa”

We explore food and measurement. The students will design and write a recipe to contribute to a class Hispanic cookbook. They will also present their recipe to the class describing how to make it and what it tastes like etc.

Unit 4 – “Paseando por mi ciudad”

We explore a typical Spanish city and its features. We will learn how to find our way around, asking for and following directions. As part of a competition, students will design a Spanish town collaboratively in pairs using only Spanish. They will have to explain the purpose of their design as they present it to the class.