LOTE
At Tamworth High School we offer three languages: French, Indonesian and Japanese.
In Year 7 the students study ONE of these three extensively for the entire year. From Year 9 onwards, the study of a foreign language becomes an elective.
The main aim in the language courses in Years 7-10 is for pupils to enjoy learning to communicate in another language. They will learn to develop the skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing through various activities; listening to tapes and songs; making up dialogues with other students; reading stories; writing letters and dialogues.

Some of the main topics to be covered are:
  • Talking about yourself, family, pets and activities
  • Expressing opinions, likes and dislikes about food, school subjects, clothes, sports
  • Basic tourist ‘survival situations’, eg. Finding one’s way around a town, shopping
  • Talking about what you did on the weekend or on holidays, etc.

    As well as videos, tapes and songs, which are used to supplement the basic course material, we are also building up our range of computer software to assist and motivate students in their learning.
    Course books used in 2002 are: Advantage and Ado for Junior French, Studio 100 for Senior French, Kimono for Japanese and Kenililah for Indonesian.
    Tamworth High School has a sister school in northern Japan, in the town of Sannohe. Links with Sannohe date back to the arrival in 1972 of Tamworth’s first overseas exchange student. In 1992 these links were renewed through a combined Sannohe Senior High/Rotary visit, with reciprocal visits beginning in 1995. The annual visit to Sannohe by a Tamworth group takes place in the Spring vacation. In addition, a group of Sannohe Junior High students spent time in Tamworth in the January holidays.
    These visits help students improve their language skills and knowledge of Japanese life. The opportunity for French student to do the same by visiting New Caledonia is planned, following a successful study trip in 1998.
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