At Pembroke, highly diverse language offerings extend our students’ access to the world around them while enriching their general skills and knowledge.
Languages at Pembroke
Pembroke is passionate about providing a global, holistic education, and for most of our students, this includes the study of one or two languages other than English.
Proficiency in another language brings significant cultural and intellectual benefits as well as enabling young people to participate more effectively in the global community.
Students acquire transferable cognitive, social and learning skills, and an understanding of grammatical concepts which enhances their literacy in English. At Pembroke, the study of a language is part of the core curriculum from ELC to Year 8.
Our Languages Program commences in the Junior School with the study of Spanish across the year levels. Upon entry to the Middle School in Year 7, students may select two languages, each for a semester of study. The languages on offer are: Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Spanish and Kaurna (the Indigenous language of the Adelaide region). From Year 8, Language subjects are full-year courses, and students are encouraged to continue their study of at least one or two languages other than English in Years 9 and 10 and beyond. Some Australian universities offer incentive schemes for students who satisfactorily complete Year 12 additional Language studies in either SACE or IB.
Languages, Pathways & Support
Languages in the International Baccalaureate Diploma
An additional language is a compulsory component of the IB Diploma Programme. Students can choose to continue one of the languages taught through the Middle School (except for Kaurna) or start a new ab initio (beginner) course. The ab initio courses currently offered are Indonesian and Spanish.
Languages in the SACE
Students can choose to continue any one of the languages taught through the Middle School (including Kaurna) or start a new Beginner course in Year 11 in Indonesian, Spanish or Kaurna.
Intensive English Support
The Pembroke Connect Program is designed to help recently arrived international students in Years 7 to 10 build strong foundations in English language proficiency and confidently settle into life at Pembroke. Our experts in English as an Additional Language (EAL) also provide support across our Junior School.
French Immersion
Students entering the Middle School with substantial background in French language may join our French Semi-Immersion Program in Years 7 to 10. Participants study History, Geography and French Language and Literature using French as the language of instruction. Year 7 students also study Visual Art and Drama in French.
Community Languages
In addition to our curriculum languages described above, Pembroke also has a co-curricular (after hours) Community Languages Program, allowing many students to learn their heritage language at school. Currently, we offer Mandarin Chinese, French, Hindi, Italian and Polish in the Junior School and we are working to expand our options. Further to this, Latin is a co-curricular elective in Years 5 to 9.
Languages & Culture
Bringing Language and Culture to Life
Throughout our programs, language and cultural studies are integrated and presented in contexts of everyday life. Emphasis is placed on comprehension and purposeful communication, and topics are selected for their relevance to the experience of our students. They have access to a variety of authentic communicative resources in their chosen languages and they can also undertake exciting student exchanges and language study tours.
With practice and continuity of study, students who complete Middle and Senior School courses develop a useful degree of fluency, achieve a level of competence which is attractive to employers and form a strong basis for further study and lifelong engagement with language and culture.