In the 7th year of the West Australian Modern Greek Language Teachers’ Association Inc. (WAMGLTA) Speak Greek in June (SGJ) Event, we had the record total number of 232 student participants!
The WAMGLTA Committee was overjoyed to have students from our three regular participant Greek Education providers:
- St. Andrew’s Grammar (158 students)
- Greek Language and Culture Institute (GLCI) of Evangelismos (72 students)
- Immaculate Heart College (2 students)
In 2025, students could speak on a topic that had a link with Greece and/or the Greek language and culture. Furthermore, the topic could be negotiated with the student’s class teacher. This meant that many teachers used the WAMGLTA SGJ Event as part of their classroom teaching and learning program and, subsequently, as an assessment item by some of the teachers. The students, who were invited to speak for up to 3 minutes whilst being filmed, could do this alone, in pairs, or in small groups of no more than 4 participants.
Feedback from the three schools was that this year’s SGJ Event allowed for a great variety of topics within the overarching theme and, as such, there was even greater enthusiasm from staff and students to take part in the Event.
From our perspective, the recorded videos were an absolute treat to watch as the range of topics and the quality of the Greek-speaking presentations were of an exceptional standard! There were presentations from students in kindergarten through to Year 12 from the GLCI of Evangelismos; primary and secondary school students from St. Andrew’s Grammar; and Year 6 from Immaculate Heart College.
Some of the vast array of topics included the following:
- Re-telling traditional Greek stories in their own words
- Conducting a book review in Greek
- Review of Greek poetry and/or poets
- Thoughts or memories about Greece
- Free speech, answering questions posed by the teacher
- Listing items in the Greek Language and Culture classroom
- Shopping for classroom objects, clothes, fruit
- Talking about locations in Greece (cities, towns, villages, islands, etc.)
- Explaining their daily routine in Greek
- Recalling a trip to Greece
- Greek recipes (sweet and savoury foods)
- Ordering food at a restaurant
- Explaining events from Greece’s history, including wars, Greek dance, etc.
- Greek mythology
- Greek traditions and celebrations, such as Christmas and Easter
- Birthday parties
- Greek news and weather
- The Greek gods – Apollo, Artemis, Demeter and Poseidon
- Future careers and studying at Greek universities
- Conversations in Greek
- Explaining their weekly routine in Greek
- Singing Greek songs
Our heartiest congratulations are extended to the three schools and their Greek-teaching staff, school leadership teams, and principals supporting this event! Of course, the biggest congratulations go to the students for their impressive clarity of expression and articulation of the Greek language in their presentations!
Express thanks are afforded to our three sponsors this year:
- Dr Con Berbatis (long-term sponsor of the WAMGLTA SGJ Event)
- His Grace Bishop Elpidios of Perth (first-time sponsor)
- The Greek Consulate (first-time sponsor)
Without the generosity of our three sponsors, we would not have been able to afford the gifts for the students, which comprised a leather-look notebook with the WAMGLTA Logo, a pen, and a sweet treat.
I had the pleasure of visiting the three schools on the following dates to present a Certificate of Participation and gift to the students.
Immaculate Heart College (2 participants) – Presentation on 11 September
St. Andrew’s Grammar (158 participants) – Presentation to representative students on 16 September
The Greek Language and Culture Institute of Evangelismos (72 participants) – Presentation to representative students on 20 September
I would like to thank the WAMGLTA Executive and Committee members who support this annual Greek-speaking event, assisting me in various ways. Special thanks are extended to Committee member, Ms Maria Gerou for sourcing the WAMGLTA Logo for this year’s notebooks. The combined effort to make the Speak Greek in June Event a success helps to promote and maintain the speaking of Modern Greek among our students, who are studying the language and culture in a formal capacity at their respective schools. WAMGLTA deems this a worthy cause and will offer the opportunity again next year!
Dr Angela Evangelinou-Yiannakis
WAMGLTA Chairperson
21 September 2025
