In NSW high schools, languages is a key learning area.
Language study allows students to develop communication skills, learn about languages as systems and explore the relationship between language and culture. Students engage with the linguistic and cultural diversity of societies and reflect on their understanding of social interactions.
The study of a language is compulsory for 100 hours in one continuous school year from Year 7 to Year 10, but preferably in Years 7 or 8.
In Years 11 and 12, NSW schools offer a wide variety of languages, catering for beginning students to background speakers.
Courses in both Japanese and French are offered at Colo high School. Japanese is compulsory in Year 7 and students can choose to continue their study of Japanese from Year 9 through Year 12. French is also offered in Year 11 and 12.
Language courses provide students with the opportunity to gain effective skills in communicating in the chosen language, to explore the relationship between languages and English, and to develop an understanding of the cultures associated with the chosen language.
