LESSON IDEAS ON HOW TO CELEBRATE AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL IN THE CLASSROOM

KEY LEARNING AREA: LANGUAGES

NO. TITLE FOCUS SYNOPSIS TARGETED YEAR LEVELS

1 My footy vocab

Translating Have the class create a bank of words associated with AFL football. Ask them to translate these words into the language they are studying. Have them categorise words into aspects of the game such as, playing, supporting, teams, training, stadiums etc.

Years F-2Years 3-4Years 5-6Years 7-8

2 Let me tell you about AFL footy

Creating Tell your students they are the official interpreters for an AFL club touring the country that speaks the language they are studying. Have them write a media release to local media explaining five aspects of the game they think they should know. The media release should be written in part in another language, i.e. using key words – greeting, salutations etc – or in full in another language.

Years 3-4Years 5-6Years 7-8

3 My AFL holiday Informing Tell your students they are visiting Australia from the country that speaks the language they are studying. They have attended an AFL match for the first time and are now writing an email or Facebook post to their friend back home describing what they experienced. Have students write specifically about the cultural differences they experience, i.e. the way the fans support their teams, atmosphere at the ground, reporting by the media, the food on offer and any other aspects of the occasion they find unique and interesting. Please note, because of age restrictions, students under 13 should not directly post content on Facebook.

Years 3-4Years 5-6Years 7-8

4 Who is the greatest?

Informing Have students compare a star AFL footballer with a high-profile sportsperson from the country that speaks the language they are studying. Ask students to consider the merits of each and debate whose achievements are greater.

Years 3-4Years 5-6Years 7-8

5 A game for everyone

Creating Translating

Tell your students they are working as multicultural officers for the AFL. Their task is to make AFL grounds more culturally friendly. Have them brainstorm ideas how this can be done and then write a justification of their recommendations to the AFL. Students should consider ideas around signage, food and religious sensitivities and provide examples related to the language they are studying.

Years 5-6Years 7-8

6 This is an AFL star

Creating Tell your students they are working as multicultural officers for the AFL. Their task is to introduce the game of football and its stars to new arrivals from the country that speaks the language they are studying. Have them research, create a profile and source images of a star player in the AFL. They are to make an oral presentation to the class of their work, using the information they sourced, in part using key words, expressions, descriptions etc or in full in the language they are studying.

Years 3-4Years 5-6Years 7-8

7 Come visit us Creating Tell your students they work for Tourism Australia. Their major task is to use AFL football to teach potential tourists, from the country that speaks the language they are studying, about Australian culture. Have them prepare an article, including images, that shows the importance that the game has to our culture. They should consider how the game brings people together, provides a healthy lifestyle, promotes Australian values etc.

Years 5-6Years 7-8

NO. TITLE FOCUS SYNOPSIS TARGETED YEAR LEVELS

8 Proud to pull on the jumper

Creating Congratulations, your team has qualified to compete in the world tournament of Australian Football – The AFL International Cup. Tell your students that, as media and marketing coordinators for the team from the country that speaks the language they are studying, their job is to design a uniform and logo for their team.

Years 3-4Years 5-6Years 7-8

9 The press conference

Socialising An AFL team is coming to your country and your students, as presenters for a television news crew, need to get ready for a press conference. As part of their preparations, have students compile a list of interview questions in the language they are studying. In the press conference, have students ask questions and challenge other students to respond.

Years 3-4Years 5-6Years 7-8

10 Let me explain Translating Have the class brainstorm a bank of colloquial words used in Australian Football. Ask students to explain the meaning of these words to an audience unfamiliar with the game. Students may model skills and behaviours and use props as part of their explanations.

Years 3-4Years 5-6Years 7-8

11 Great moments

Creating As AFL foreign language experts, have students research five of the greatest moments in the history of an AFL/VFL club. Ask them to write about these moments in the language they are studying.

Years 5-6Years 7-8

12 Our footy call Creating Have students work in teams to produce a foreign radio commentary of an AFL match. They should script and rehearse the commentary in the language they are studying and record it for the class to hear. They should attempt to deliver their commentary with the style and emotion of renowned AFL callers on football radio. Use NAB foreign football commentary as a model for this task.

Years 5-6Years 7-8

13 Come watch our game

Role of language and culture

The AFL is planning to hold matches in cities around the world. As event coordinators, your students are to plan where matches will take place and outline pre-game and half-time entertainment. Their role includes promoting the event in a way that appeals to the culture of the people in the city where the game is being played.

Years 5-6Years 7-8

14 Our AFL jingle Role of language and culture

As official AFL music creators, have your students produce an advertising jingle that promotes an AFL match. The jingle needs to appeal to diverse cultural sectors of Australian society through its lyrics, style and delivery.

Years 5-6Years 7-8

15 Our AFL menu Informing Tell your class they are working as AFL caterers for the official multicultural round dinner at AFL House. Members of diverse communities will be invited and your students’ job is to plan a menu that is suitable for all attending the event. Have students debate and justify their choices.

Years 3-4Years 5-6Years 7-8

16 Simple AFL Role of language and culture

Your students are working for a foreign language magazine and have been asked to develop content that explains the game of AFL football to readers in the simplest possible way. For the first edition, have students source an AFL photo of a player in action. Ask them to label each identifiable element, i.e. stadium, crowd, teams, signage etc, in the image in the language they are studying.

Years F-2Years 3-4Years 5-6Years 7-8

17 Here are the rules

Role of language and culture

Your class has just graduated as the first crop of foreign language umpires in the AFL. As part of their role, they also need to grow the game in the country of their origin. Their first task is to identify 10 rules in Australian Football and translate them in the language they are studying for others in their country to learn.

Years 5-6Years 7-8

18 Did you know? Socialising Have students research 5-10 fascinating facts about clubs in the AFL. Have them present those facts to the class in the language they are studying. Encourage a conversational approach to the activity by having students comment and ask questions of others in their foreign language.

Years 3-4Years 5-6Years 7-8

NO. TITLE FOCUS SYNOPSIS TARGETED YEAR LEVELS

19 Language at the football

Role of language and cultureSocialising

Have students prepare 5-10 questions and responses in the language they are studying that they might hear at an AFL game. Questions may include – Which entry do I go in? Where is my seat? How much is a pie and sauce? Students are to develop questions and sentence responses in writing for the class to share. Have the class practise their language skills by using their work as a stimulus to conversation.

Years 5-6Years 7-8

20 AFL recall TranslatingInforming

Run a language recall competition using items from Australian Football. You should reveal each item, one at a time, and have students write the object’s name in the language they are studying on a piece of paper. The student with the most correct answers is the winner. To prepare students, you should allow them to become familiar with each item (by their foreign name) before the competition.

Years F-2

21 Our AFL Multicultural Cup

Socialising Have your students organise an AFL Multicultural Cup competition. All information and discussion between students and teacher about the tournament should be communicated in the language they are studying. Have students work in teams to prepare their aspect of the event and present their work in a foreign language. All game-day oral interactions should also be in the form of non-English-speaking dialogue.

Years 5-6Years 7-8

22 Our AFL match reports

Informing Divide the class into teams and have them play a round-robin tournament of football. Have students take notes on a game they are not participating in. Ask students to develop a match report from their notes in the language they are studying. Have the class swap their match reports and ask students to locate key points in each other’s writing.

Years 5-6Years 7-8

23 My six-goal haul

Creating Have students write an email or Facebook post in the language they are studying to a friend overseas about the day they kicked six goals in the school Australian Football grand final. In their writing, students should describe the characters involved and the sequence of events. Please note, because of age restrictions, students under 13 should not directly post content on Facebook.

Years 5-6Years 7-8

24 My team talks CreatingReflecting

Have students develop a motivational pre-game team talk for their team in English and the language they are studying. Have them deliver both versions to the class. What are the differences between the two? Which version was more motivating? Who would respond best to each version? Why?

Years 5-6Years 7-8

25 Game-day information

Systems of languageInforming

Tell your students they are coaches of teams playing in the AFL International Cup. Have them devise an email or Facebook memo for their team that explains the time and place and mode of transport for their next game. As part of their memo, students should provide an itinerary for match-day. Please note, because of age restrictions, students under 13 should not directly post content on Facebook.

Years 5-6Years 7-8

26 The great debate

Socialising Select an issue in AFL football and have students work in pairs to compare opinions and attitudes. Ask students with the same viewpoints to form groups and run a class debate in the language they are studying.

Years 7-8

27 Our AFL survey Informing As overseas researchers, have students run a survey on AFL football at your school. Ask them to collate results and analyse data in the language they are studying, using simple diagrams, tables and graphs. They should present and justify their final work to the class.

Years 7-8

NO. TITLE FOCUS SYNOPSIS TARGETED YEAR LEVELS

28 Our new teammates

Role of language and culture

Have students consider the scenario where four players in the school football team are new arrivals from non-English speaking backgrounds. What are the challenges the coach faces? How can he overcome those challenges? What information do the new players need to know? What does the rest of the team need to know? Other than language, what other things about diverse cultures do all players and the coach need to know?

Years F-2

29 Our club and team

Socialising Have the class brainstorm the roles in an AFL club, e.g., captain, coach, club doctor etc, and the playing positions on the field. Have them translate these into the language they are studying.

Years F-2

30 Our team banner

Creating Have the class brainstorm terms and phrases used on AFL club banners. Ask students to use this information as stimulus to devise a message in the language they are studying for their school team cheer squad banner.

Years 5-6Years 7-8