In Semester 1, our Year 9 Mandarin students learned how to order food and drinks in Mandarin while exploring Chinese food culture and dining etiquette.

To wrap up Term 2, students visited Sunnybank, a hub for Brisbane’s Chinese community, known for its diverse grocery stores, shops, and restaurants.

The highlight was a Yum Cha experience, where each student completed a Speaking Challenge by ordering food and requesting utensils in Mandarin – practising their skills in an authentic setting.

After lunch, students took part in a scavenger hunt through the shopping centre, identifying Chinese characters and visiting Chinese-owned businesses popular with locals.

They explored places offering Chinese-speaking services, including medical and dental clinics, banks, foreign exchange outlets, insurance and finance firms, travel agencies, computer stores, real estate agencies, and pharmacies.

This hands-on experience showed students how widely Mandarin is used in the local community and how learning the language can open doors across many industries.

It was a valuable opportunity to apply classroom learning in the real world and experience the vibrancy of the Chinese-speaking community firsthand.

Mrs Jennifer Wu
Teacher – Senior School