A group of Red Bend Catholic College language students have put their French skills to the test, spending a good portion of their school holidays in New Caledonia.
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While trading a week of winter in Forbes for 27 degree days in the South Pacific wasn’t going to be a chore, it really was a chance to improve the students’ language skills by immersing themselves in another culture.
New Caledonia was colonised by France in 1853 and French is the official language – although students also enjoyed some traditional Melanesian dances.
Students stayed with local families, went to language school, and shopped at the local markets.
They put their French to the test reading the street signs, ordering food (crepes please, no thank you to snails!), they even went to the movies – to watch Le Bebe Boss in French.
They visited another Marist college in Noumea to spend time in the classroom learning French and Latin and time in the playground with other Marist students.
“We gave them some books, because they didn’t have many in English in their library, and they performed a traditional dance for us,” Tash Hodges said.
But one of the most invaluable parts of the whole excursion was staying with local families and speaking the language in the homes.
“My host family would ask me something in French, then in English if I needed help,” Bridie Lindsay said. “It was brilliant.”
They agreed one of the higlights was a rest day in tropical paradise.
They took a boat to Ameday Island for the day – about 45 minutes off the mainland and surrounded by coral reef – and spent the day paddle boarding and snorkelling.
“We went up to the lighthouse and you could see the whole island, it was amazing,” Grace said.
Eleven students from years 9, 10 and 11 went on the trip with College French teacher Sophie Higgins and house coordinator Dennis Watts.
Abbey Language Travel helped organise the trip – they have experience with language-based excursions and placing students with host families.
It’s the first time the College has taken students to the French-speaking island, but these students hope it’s the first of many.
Pictured are students Grace Dawson, Elke Paterson, Natasha Hodges, Abbey Sly, Meg Sandford, Jacob Norman, Bridie Lindsay, Grace Loomes, Maddison Sullivan, Maggie Wright and Liam O'Connell.