Like many Sydney
teenagers, they are learning to speak a foreign language at school. But unlike
most Sydney
teenagers, they are not learning French or Latin or Japanese.
These students are all studying English as their second
language, and many had a complicated life before arriving in Australia.
These are the students of Cleveland Street
Intensive English
High School, a school for
the children of migrant families, refugees and other non-English speaking
residents.
Most days, they can be found laughing and chatting in their
own languages during school break.
When asked the direction to the school office, one of the
boys breaks off his conversation in Chinese and replies in very fluent English.
“Oh, you want to go to the school office? Alright,
come, follow me,” he says.
Dr Glenda Hodge, the school counsellor,
explains the cultural breakdown of the school.
“Mostly their families came from Eastern Asia, like China and Korea. There are a few of them who
also came from the Middle East, Russia
and certain countries in Europe, as well as from southern America, and occasionally from Africa,”
she says.
“There are some students who had been out of school for
years, and a few more had tragic experiences in their home country. It’s more
difficult for them, so we will always try to help,” she says.
Diversity is clearly a unique characteristic of the school,
which has played a unique role in the Surry Hills community for more than 150
years.
An educational institution since 1856, the school has had several
different names and roles.
It has been a school for infants, for girls and boys, a
co-educational school, and even a weekend community language school and evening
community college.
Over the years, the school has produced many prominent
judges, scientists, politicians, and sporting identities.
“Many of those students have gone on to be very
successful,” says Dr Hodge, mentioning a list of graduates including NSW
Governor Marie Bashir, the NSW
Attorney General, John Hatzistergos
and others.
The school has always had programs over the years to support
the life of the students and their families. But only since the 1980s has it
been an intensive English high school, with a host of related cultural support
initiatives.
As well as English, the school also places a strong emphasis
on fostering the multicultural backgrounds of the students. Study and other
materials are provided in several of the students’ home languages, such as
Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, and Indonesian.
A special initiative called the ‘Greeting of the Week’ is
also a vital part of the school’s program. Students and staff are required to
use a greeting from a different language every week. All must respect this
agreement to participate in cultural diversity.
Much of the school’s teaching staff also have a personal
understanding of what it means to learn English as a second language in a
foreign country, as Karen Jachman, the Head Teacher of Welfare, explains.
“The teachers originally also came from different
countries. They all have specialist teaching areas and had been trained in
English as Second Language or TESOL,” she says.
“We also have a large number of bilingual staff who act
as interpreters, translators who give social support for students,” Ms
Jachman says.
As school counsellor, Dr Hodge also runs a group for family
and community members called Aupendi.
The group has weekly meetings to help community members with
English and cultural learning every Monday. Members of the group are also taken
on school excursions from time to time.
The school is seen by many as playing an important role in
the educational development of the city.
This view is confirmed by Iis Nur Rodliyah, a postgraduate
Masters of Education student from Indonesia
who is studying and living in Sydney.
“This school plays an important role in the migrant teenagers’
education by providing language skills and knowledge necessary for surviving
their future.
“The curriculum is well designed, and it also addresses
the importance of community and family support, which is good for the students’
successful learning.”
Dr Hodge explains that the students are graded into classes
according to age and English speaking ability, although they also learn other
subjects including science, maths, music and business, in preparation for
employment or further study.
With 250 current students, Dr Hodge hopes the program will
continue to grow.
“The school can actually take up to 500 students. So I
can see that the numbers are growing each year. And if people write back to
their family and relatives in their own countries. they’ll be sending more of
their children here,” she says.
A Vietnamese student, Trinh Duy Anh Vu, agrees that the
learning system in the school is helpful.
“We learn other useful subjects too besides English.
Unfortunately, sometimes there are still a few students who like to disturb the
class and make noise. I think teachers should give more attention on
them,” he says.
So this is, after all, a typical Australian high school –
with a few cultural differences.
Source: University
of Technology Precinct
South Sydney Edition Issue 4/2007 page 20.
Publications from the UTS School of Journalism can be
found online at www.journalism.uts.edu.au/future_students/student_publications.html
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