Albanian Amharic Arabic 2011 Bengali Bosnian Bulgarian Chin (Hakha) Languages Program Chinese (Cantonese) Chinese (Mandarin)* Croatian Centre Classes Dari Dinka Dutch Filipino (Tagalog) French German Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Karen Khmer Korean Latin Lithuanian Macedonian Maltese Persian For Students in Years 1-12 Polish Portuguese Punjabi Pushto Distance Education mode also available for Romanian 10 languages - see our separate brochure Russian Serbian Sinhala Spanish Swahili Syriac Victorian School of Languages Tigrinya 315 Clarendon Street THORNBURY 3071 Turkish (PO BOX 1172) Vietnamese P: 9474 0500 F: 9416 9899 E: [email protected] www.vsl.vic.edu.au FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why learn a language? Learning a language has been shown to have many benefits, including enhancing creativity, problem solving ability, literacy skills and the maintenance of cultural identity. In recognitiion of the importance of languages, Victorian students receive a bonus towards their VCE ENTER score for successful study of a VCE accredited language. Languages provide advantages for employment, with increasing numbers of companies seeking bi/multi lingual speakers to remain competitive in a global marketplace. Languages add to Australia’s economic wealth and security. Languages increase the capacity to communicate in a range of forums and situations. Languages are also of great assistance to the traveller. How many languages can I choose from? Currently, more than 40 languages are available at the VSL. For a full list, refer to the opposite page. Where and when do I learn a language? The VSL offers face-to-face classes at over 40 Centres in Melbourne, Geelong and regional areas. Most classes operate on a Saturday, from 9am to 12.20pm. Some classes operate after school during the week. Centres offering face-to-face classes, and the languages they offer, are listed on the opposite page. Centre locations are listed on the back of the circular. Classes are not usually held during school vacations, on public holidays, or during a long weekend. At the time of publication, the teaching sessions for the Melbourne and Geelong Centres of the VSL for 2011 are: TERM 1 February 5, 12, 19, 26 March 5, (March 12 is public holiday), 19, 26 April 2 TERM 2 April 30 May 7, 21, 28 June 4, (June 11 is public holiday), 18, 25 July 2 (VCE only, VELS reporting day) TERM 3 July 23, 30 August 6, 13, 20, 27 September 3, 10, 17, 24 (VCE only) TERM 4 October 15, 22, 29 November 5 (VCE students finish November 5), 12, 19 (Final day Years 1-10) Distance education mode is also available in 10 languages - Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Latin and Spanish. Please refer to our separate brochure to find out more about Distance mode or check the website: Am I eligible to enrol? www.vsl.vic.edu.au The VSL enrols students from Year 1 to Year 12 (VCE) who are unable to study their language of choice in their day/home school. Students from all educational sectors are eligible to enrol - government, independent and Catholic. In some cases, students may be able to enrol in our courses as Tuition students subject to space and resources. Adults may enrol to study the language at VCE level only, if there are vacancies. Adult students must obtain a satisfactory police records check. Where available at Centres and via Distance mode, secondary students and adults may enrol in a Certificate in Language Course, as an alternative pathway to VCE. This is a nationally accredited qualification provided under the VSL’s auspice as a Registered Training Organisation. How much does it cost? As part of the Department of Education, the VSL is a government funded school. The VSL offers quality courses aligned with government curriculum standards and make language education both accessible and affordable for all Victorian students. To assist with the cost of notes, class sets, photocopying, curriculum materials and other administrative expenses, a small annual charge applies. For 2011 this charge is: Students in Years 1-10 $65 Students in Years 11- 12 $80 Adult and Tuition Students (VCE) $200 Payment may be made at Australia Post, via the internet, telephone or B-Pay. Details are provided on the enrolment form. A separate form must be completed for full fee-paying overseas/international students, which is available from the day school the student attends. Who will be my teachers? The VSL is the largest single provider of languages in Victoria, employing around 800 language teachers. VSL teachers are registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching, a professional body. The VSL seeks to employ quality staff, with qualifications, experience and the capacity to make learning a language an engaging, meaningful pursuit. A range of teaching and delivery methods are employed to cater for our diverse student learning styles and needs. Teachers regularly undertake professional training and development as part of their employment with the VSL. The curriculum is aligned with government educational frameworks and standards, including VELS and VCE. Student reports are issued twice per year. Excellent achievements by VSL students are demonstrated annually by the large numbers who gain perfect VCE scores, top scores in the upper percentile range or receive Premier’s Awards. Our ‘Top Scorer’ evening is an annual event attended by hundreds of students, parents, teachers, dignitaries and community members to celebrate our wonderful student achievements. How do I enrol? All students who are Australian citizens or who have residency status must complete the VSL Student Enrolment Form and sign the Student Code of Behaviour. Enrolment can be done online from the VSL website or forms can be obtained from the Centres where the languages are taught. VCE students (Years 11 and 12: Full time students at a day school should make application for VCE entry first through the VSL and then their home school. Any other student wishing to present for VCE assessment must make the application through the VSL. It is the responsibility of all VCE students to ensure their enrolment is confirmed through their home school. International students may enrol in a VSL course but must use a separate form available from the home school or from VSL Centres. Identity documents need to accompany the enrolment form. International students enrolled in TAFE colleges or non-government English language centres are regarded as students of non-government schools and must pay the full fee prior to enrolment. Classes are established subject to sufficient enrolments, availability of staff and other Department of Education requirements. If a class is cancelled by the VSL and students cannot be allocated to other classes, a refund will be made in full. In other cases, application for refunds need to be made within the first three weeks of the school year, and a service fee will be deducted.

Further details are available on our website www.vsl.vic.edu.au Learning a language makes a world of difference Learning a language makes a world of difference LANGUAGES AND CENTRES

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING Languages are offered on Saturdays, unless otherwise stated *Centres marked with an asterisk have First and Second Language options for Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean. Contact the relevant Centre for futher details.

Albanian Brunswick, Galvin Park, Shepparton Italian Ballarat (Thur), Box Hill, Brunswick Amharic Footscray City Carwatha, Gisborne, Haileybury, Arabic Altona North, Brimbank, Carwatha, Matthew Flinders, Mildura, Mill Park, Cobram, Hampton Park, Hume, Lalor, Taylors Lakes, Warrnambool, Wodonga, Mill Park, Princes Hill, Roxburgh, Distance Ed Shepparton, Distance Education Japanese Blackburn, *Brentwood, Gisborne, Bengali Westall Glen Waverley (Tue), Hampton Park, Bosnian Brimbank, Carwatha, Galvin Park, Matthew Flinders, *University, Wodonga, North Geelong Distance Education Bulgarian Brunswick Karen Galvin Park, North Geelong Chin (Hakha) Box Hill, Sunshine Khmer Hampton Park, Westall Chinese Doncaster Korean *Blackburn (Cantonese) Latin Distance Education Chinese *Ballarat (Thur), Beaconhills, *Bendigo, Lithuanian Princes Hill (Mandarin) *Bentleigh, *Blackburn, Box Hill, Macedonian Altona North, Dandenong, Keilor Downs, Brentwood, Brunswick, *Dandenong, North Geelong, Thomastown Doncaster (Sat,Thur- VCE only), Maltese Taylors Lakes *Glen Waverley, Haileybury, Persian Box Hill, Dandenong, Glen Waverley (Tues) Hampton Park, *Matthew Flinders, Matthew Flinders, Shepparton *Mill Park, Shepparton, *Taylors Lakes, Polish Bentleigh, Dandenong, North Geelong, Traralgon, *University, Wodonga, Princes Hill *Distance Education Portuguese Haileybury, Princes Hill Croatian Altona North, Keilor Downs, Punjabi Blackburn, Galvin Park, Hampton Park, North Geelong, Roxburgh, Westall Taylors Lakes, Thomastown, Shepparton Dari Dandenong, Glen Waverley (Tue), Pushto Dandenong Hampton Park, Shepparton Romanian Dandenong Dinka Brimbank, Sunshine, Westall Russian Bentleigh, Dandenong, McKinnon (Thur), Dutch Box Hill North Geelong Filipino (Tagalog) Brimbank, Dandenong, Shepparton Serbian Dandenong French Ballarat (Thur), Carwatha, Gisborne, Sinhala Beaconhills, Brentwood, Carwatha, Glen Waverley, Hampton Park, Galvin Park, Hampton Park, Mill Park, University, Warrnambool, Wodonga, Roxburgh Distance Education Spanish Beaconhills, Box Hill, Brimbank, German Ballarat (Thur), Bendigo, Box Hill, Carwatha, Collingwood, Footscray City, Matthew Flinders, Princes Hill, Wodonga, Haileybury, Matthew Flinders, Pakenham, Westall, Distance Education Roxburgh, University, Wodonga, Greek Ballarat (Thur), Bentleigh, Brunswick, Distance Education Carwatha, Doncaster (Thur), Swahili Shepparton Footscray City, Glen Waverley (Tue/Sat), Syriac Hume Haileybury, Keilor Downs, Mill Park, Tigrinya Dandenong Shepparton, Distance Education Turkish Bentleigh, Dandenong, Keilor Downs, Hebrew McKinnon (Thur) Mildura, North Geelong, Princes Hill, Hindi Altona North, Beaconhills, Blackburn, Roxburgh, Shepparton, Thomastown Dandenong, Glen Waverley (Tue), Vietnamese Altona North, Beaconhills, Blackburn, Mill Park, Sunshine, Shepparton Brimbank, Collingwood, Footscray City, Hungarian Dandenong Haileybury, Hume, Lalor, North Geelong, Sunshine, Westall Indonesian *Brunswick, *Glen Waverley, *Distance Education

Other Languages or Locations may be offered, depending on available resources and demand.

Learning a language makes a world of difference Learning a language makes a world of difference CENTRE LOCATIONS AND CONTACT DETAILS

Ballarat High School Hume Central Secondary College Sturt Street West, Ballarat 3350 5277 9833 Blair Street, Broadmeadows 3047 9464 0848 Bayside Secondary College (Altona North) Keilor Downs College* McArthurs Road, Altona Nth 3025 9689 1166 Odessa Avenue, Keilor Downs 3038 9364 3201 Beaconhills College (Valley Campus) Lalor Secondary College Toomuc Valley Road, Pakenham 3810 9791 9289 David Street, Lalor 3075 9464 0848 Bendigo South East College McKinnon Secondary College Curtin St, Bendigo 3550 9474 0562 McKinnon Road, McKinnon 3204 9416 0641 Bentleigh Secondary College Matthew Flinders Girls’ Secondary College Vivien Street, East Bentleigh 3165 9416 0641 Little Ryrie Street, Geelong 3220 5277 9833 Blackburn High School Mildura Senior College Springfield Road, Blackburn 3130 9840 0082 Deakin Avenue, Mildura 3502 9364 3201 Box Hill High School Mill Park Secondary College (Junior Campus) Whitehorse Road, Box Hill 3128 9840 0082 Moorhead Drive, Mill Park 3082 9348 1720 Brentwood Secondary College North Geelong Secondary College* Heath Street, Glen Waverley 3150 9558 5566 Separation Street, Nth Geelong 3215 5277 9833 Brimbank (Victoria University College) Princes Hill Secondary College Jamieson Street, St Albans 3021 9364 3201 Arnold Street, Princes Hill 3054 9416 0641 Brunswick Secondary College Roxburgh College Dawson Street, Brunswick 3056 9348 1720 Donald Cameron Dve, Roxburgh Park 3064 9464 0848 Carwatha College P-12 Sale Primary School Browns Road, Noble Park North 3174 9802 4326 Macalister Street, Sale 3850 9558 5566 Cobram Secondary College Shepparton High School Warkil Street, Cobram 3644 9474 0562 Hawdon Street, Shepparton 3630 9474 0562 Collingwood College* Sunshine Secondary College Cnr Cromwell & McCutcheon Way, Collingwood 3066 9416 0641 Graham St, Sunshine 3020 9689 1166 Dandenong High School* Taylors Lakes Secondary College Princes Highway, Dandenong 3175 9791 9289 Parmelia Drive, Taylors Lakes 3038 9364 3201 Doncaster Secondary College* Thomastown Secondary College* Church Road, Doncaster 3108 9840 0082 Main Street, Thomastown 3074 9464 0848 Footscray City College* Traralgon (Grey Street Primary School) Kinnear Street, Footscray 3011 9689 1166 Grey Street, Traralgon 3844 9558 5566 Galvin Park Secondary College University High School* Shaws Road, Werribee 3030 5277 9833 Story Street, Parkville 3052 9348 1720 Gisborne Secondary College Warrnambool College Melton Road, Gisborne 3437 9474 0562 Grafton Road, Warrnambool 3280 9474 0562 Glen Waverley Secondary College* Westall Secondary College* O’Sullivan Road, Glen Waverley 3150 9802 4326 Rosebank Avenue, Clayton South 3169 9558 5566 Haileybury College Wodonga M.Y College Huon Campus Springvale Road, Keysborough 3173 9558 5566 Mitchell Street, Wodonga 3960 9474 0562 Hampton Park Secondary College Distance Education Section (DES) Fordholm Road, Hampton Park 3976 9791 9289 315 Clarendon Street, Thornbury 3071 9474 0500 Horsham College Dimboola Road, Horsham 3402 9474 0562

*Area Offices are marked with an asterisk The telephone numbers listed are those of the Area Managers administering the Centres. www.vsl.vic.edu.au Learning a language makes a world of difference