By Michele Sharp, Head of Languages

In August each year, we celebrate Languages Week. It is an opportunity to raise awareness for the benefits of language learning and highlight the linguistic diversity in our community. As Australians, cultural diversity is something we often take for granted. We live in one of the most multicultural countries in the world, where over 300 different languages are spoken. More than one fifth of Australians speak a language other than English. We are fortunate to have a rich linguistic heritage, stemming from Aboriginal languages that have been spoken for over 10,000 years.

This past week, the Radford College canteen once again organised a special menu to celebrate a range of international cuisines, which is always very popular with the students. To add even more flavour to Languages Week this year, our Canteen Manager, Ms Karen McGuire, and staff outdid themselves by creating dishes from their countries of origin. This was not only a wonderful representation of our multicultural staff, but also became a community event with all interested in the dishes and the history that inspired them. It was so popular that some of the items will be remaining on the menu!

The opportunity to dress in national dress or Book Week costume also created excitement and resulted in a colourful conclusion to a positive week of cultural appreciation and language learning.

In the lead-up to Languages Week, I invited Collegian Oliver Johnstone, Class of 2021 and International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) Dux, to address the students on the benefits of learning a language. He reflected on the opportunities he gained from learning a language at the College and later during his language studies at ANU.

Here is an edited extract of his address:

To prepare for this speech, Ms Sharp asked me to consider how learning a language has benefited me. So, rather than throw a bunch of statistics at you, I’m going to tell you a story.

I started at Radford when I was in Year 8. I learned French at my other schools, but since Radford had such an excellent range of options, I wanted to switch things up. I chose Japanese on a whim, simply because of my fondness for Nintendo video games. Convinced I was going to be a famous actor one day, I wasn’t planning to continue Japanese any further than that one compulsory semester, but it was love at first kanji. I had great fun deciphering the previously illegible characters into words and sentences. I found learning the language so captivating that I picked it as one of my Year 9 electives. In Year 10, I went to Japan for the first time on a school trip. If I wasn’t hooked already, I certainly was then. Shortly thereafter, I participated in the long exchange program, and I cannot recommend it enough. Immersion is the only way to master a foreign language, and living with a local family and going to school is a truly unforgettable experience. My two months at our sister school in Okayama Prefecture convinced me that I wanted to live in Japan one day.

When considering what to study at university, I came across the Bachelor of Asia-Pacific Affairs at ANU. A diverse mix of international relations, cultural studies and philosophy, this unique degree affords you the opportunity to study in Japan for two years. So, my dream came true earlier than anticipated. I attended Ritsumeikan University in Osaka and outside of my classes, I joined a choir and worked in a food truck that sold banana smoothies – 20 different flavours of banana smoothie to be precise.

Using Japanese in my day-to-day life like this boosted my proficiency more than any class could, and I passed the highest level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in December of last year. As a bonus, I got to travel the length and breadth of the country during my holidays and tick a lot of places off my bucket list. Of course, two years of living so far away from home were exceptionally challenging, but the experience also made me a more resilient, independent and worldly human being.

So, if you’re like 14-year-old me and are convinced that learning a language isn’t your thing, I urge you to take advantage of the choices available at Radford. Who knows, it might just change your life.