Both Vipneet and Sehajpreet are among those 12 students who took Punjabi as a subject in their HSC and studied at Saturday School of Languages which is held at Hills Sports High School, Seven Hills, Sydney.
Vipneed told SBS Punjabi, ‘I was expecting a good score in Punjabi but achieving 96 came as a big surprise to me. I give credit of my success to consistent learning and motivation instilled in me by my teacher, Ms Daljit Kaur Bansal’.
‘I used to spend at least a couple of hours reading and writing Punjabi and sought help from my grandparents in checking my assignments. Currently, I am visiting India, mainly Punjab to attend a wedding and I am able to chat to almost all on my own without anyone translating anything for me from Punjabi to English. I think this is the greatest of all achievements for me that I can communicate in Punjabi with all’.
‘I have lived in pure Punjabi environment since my birth and especially after migrating to Australia my family maintained our rich Punjabi culture intact, and that has helped me achieving 96 out of 100 in Punjabi’, she said.
While Vipneet found the listening part in the exam bit hard, Sehajpreet found the writing part tough.
Sehajpreet said: ‘Unlike other subjects, for example science, maths or English, Punjabi can be learnt easily at home. My tip to other students taking Punjabi is not be scared of it at all and try speaking with your family at home’.
SBS Punjabi also spoke to two other students who secured high marks in Punjabi exam. Hargun Kaur and Jasmeen Kaur both studied at the same Hills Sports School on Saturdays and shared their experiences about how they prepared for the exam.
