Easy on the tongue

NINE Greater Dandenong students were among 182 recognised with Victorian School of Languages (VSL) Top Scorers awards.
Education Minister Martin Dixon congratulated them for receiving a VCE study score between 40 and 50 last year.
“These students have demonstrated a comprehensive knowledge of their chosen language, and have emerged as some of the top performers in the state,” he said.
“Many doors open for students when they can speak another language.”
Keysborough Secondary College’s Sovanda Khet and Hung To received awards for Khmer and Vietnamese respectively, and Haileybury Keysborough’s Laura Rabinovich and Jessica Kemper top scored in Spanish and German respectively.
Chisholm Dandenong saw Phalla Plek excel in Khmer and Marzia Urozgani score highly in Persian.
Yomna Elsamman from Minaret College received an award for Arabic, Arnela Dug from Carwatha College for Bosnian and Killester College student Caitlin De Silva for German.
VSL offers 50 languages across Victoria via distance education or face-to-face classes on weekends to 14,000 students, including 3500 at VCE level.
“These language programs ensure refugee children have the chance to improve their literacy skills in their mother tongue, which directly benefits how they learn English,” Mr Dixon said.