​Virtual Languages Mentoring Network (VLMN) – mentees
 
The Languages and Culture team supports beginning language teachers 7-12 through the VLMN. A beginning teacher is one in their first 2 years of teaching in metro areas or in their first 5 years in rural and remote NSW.
 
The VLMN provides targeted support over an 18 month period, with beginning teachers (mentees) matched to experienced teacher mentors on a 2:1 ratio.
 
Expressions of interest are invited from beginning teachers of languages 7-12 (mentees) who would like to join the second cohort of VLMN for 2020.
 
The VLMN:

• - identifies professional learning needs for mentees and mentors
• - implements evidence-based mentoring practices to develop the capacity of mentees
• - supports teachers of languages in working towards and maintaining accreditation at a range of career stages
• - builds the capacity of virtual and face-to-face language teacher networks.

 
The 2019-2020 VLMN cohort began in Term 3 2019 and will continue until the end of Term 4 2020. In facilitating mentoring support, the Languages and Culture team provides teacher release to participants to attend targeted professional learning. A 2-day conference will be held on 6 and 7 April 2020, and mentees are required to attend. Relief costs are provided, together with travel and accommodation, where required.
 
Selection criteria:
Contact Evia Kyriacou, A/Languages Adviser or call 02 7814 2820 to find out more.
 
Expressions of interest should be submitted by 5pm on Friday, 14 February 2020.

Saturday School of Community Languages is seeking teachers for the following positions:
- Spanish Stage 6 – 2 positions
- Spanish Stage 4 – 1 position at The Hills Centre
- Japanese in Context – 1 position at Chatswood Centre.
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For further information please contact the principal, Sana Zreika or call 7814 2531.

The Languages and Culture team invites expressions of interest from language teachers in NSW public secondary schools to lead a languages network for 2020 in the areas of:
- Armidale
- Macarthur
- South Sydney
- Tamworth.

Networks are a vital component of teacher professional learning and support, and strengthen links between our team and schools.

Network leaders are provided with comprehensive support in order to fulfil the requirements of the role, including training and relief. 

If you are interested, please complete and email the attached EOI form, including your principal's endorsement and the selection criteria. 

Applications close Friday 7 February 2020.
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For further information please contact Evia Kyriacou or call 7814 2820. 

Dear colleagues,
As we finish the year, I would like to take this opportunity to update you on some exciting changes to the Languages and Culture team.
From 2020, our team will grow to 4 Language Officers (SEO1s) and a Languages Advisor (SEO2). While the SEO2 position is being recruited, Evia Kyriacou will step into the role for Term 1, broadening her leadership skills. Evia will be backfilled by Shanelle Ingram, who will be joining us from Hunter Sports HS and will be based in one of the Newcastle Education Offices.
I’d like to thank Maxine Acosta for being our internally-funded SEO2 for 2019 – Maxine has led some incredibly complex projects with precision and warmth over the year, delivering some amazing resources for teachers 7-12 across a range of languages, including the Stage 6 Extension materials.
Wishing you all a very relaxing, well-earned break, and we look forward to working with you again in 2020.
Kind regards,
Elisabeth

The Languages Advisory Network Group (LANG) was established in 2016, with the goal of supporting language teachers 7-12 in applying for leadership positions and/or higher levels of accreditation.

In 2017-2018, the LANG had 12 members – 2 within the Languages and Culture team, and 10 school-based personnel. School-based personnel were released on a needs basis to co-design and co-deliver our team’s registered professional learning. Two of the initial LANG members were already in head teacher positions. One of these colleagues is now a relieving deputy principal, and an additional 7 members have moved into leadership positions.

This is why the LANG is one of our favourite projects, because it supports leadership opportunities.
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In 2019, the LANG evolved into 3 school-based personnel, released 0.2FTE for the year, once again to co-design and co-deliver our team’s registered professional learning, as well as to develop support materials for our website. We would like to thank the LANG Professional Learning Leaders for 2019 for their incredible dedication, expertise and professionalism in designing a range of professional learning and support materials:
- Amanda Singh (The Ponds HS)
- Deb Moore (Armidale Secondary College)
- Katherine Brownlee (Gosford HS – LANG for Term 4)
- Anna Brain (Peak Hill CS – LANG for Terms 1-3).

In 2020, we are moving to a new model of support. We will continue to co-design and co-deliver our team’s registered professional learning with school-based personnel – this ensures our professional learning stays fresh and relevant. The key difference for 2020 is that we will bring school-based personnel in to work with our team on short-term, targeted professional learning projects. This will ensure we continue to provide leadership opportunities for language teachers 7-12, whilst allowing teachers across NSW to express interest in our projects and be selected based on their expertise within a set field of interest.

​Keep your eyes on the blog in 2020 for opportunities.

We are seeking 2 teachers to star in our literacy and numeracy videos, which will be published on our website in 2020.

If you have a great screen presence, and are currently teaching languages in a NSW public secondary school, please send us your audition file.

All you need to do is:

1. film yourself reading the following 2 paragraphs, looking into the camera:
Understanding the way languages work through learning another language is unique to our subject area, as we explicitly teach systems of language, including types of texts, grammar and vocabulary. The study of a language develops students’ understanding of how languages work as systems, enhancing literacy skills in the target language, as well as in a student’s first language.
 
In the language classroom, we discuss grammatical features, sentence construction and the appropriateness of language for differing contexts. We encourage students to use the strategy of drawing comparisons with or highlighting differences from English in order to clarify certain aspects of the target language. 

2. complete the attached EOI form (endorsed by your principal).

Filming will take place over one day in early Term 1, with relief provided (and travel/accommodation costs for non-metro teachers).

Please send your video and EOI form to maxine.acosta4@det.nsw.edu.au (with subject line Video audition) by Wednesday 18 December 2019. The successful applicants will be notified before the start of Term 1.

Millions of Australians speak hundreds of languages other than English, yet as a nation we have a frustratingly monolingual mindset that denies our multilingual reality. 

T​ongue tied and fluent is a 5-part podcast which explores multicultural Australia from a languages perspective. Part 3 focuses on the Australian education system, which both values and devalues languages other than English. So schools play a crucial role in contributing to a multilingual Australia — or do they?

Please go to the series website or the ABC Listen app to access all 5 episodes.

Expressions of interest are invited from teachers wishing to be considered for a casual or temporary position in Stages 5 and 6 Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Modern Greek, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish from 29 January 2020. These positions will be located at 35 West Street, Petersham.
 
We also have full-time permanent positions starting in 2020:

• - German
• - Spanish.

Applications close: 4:00pm, 27 November 2019 

For more information, contact Tomoko Takahata, Deputy Principal or call 93814805.