Page 131 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 13 February 2008
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sounds of members of our community communicating in dozens of different languages with each other and with customers at their stalls. What a wonderful thing to experience in this, the International Year of Languages.
Let me take this opportunity to thank the hundreds of volunteers who work so hard to make the festival what it is, as well as all our generous sponsors, without whom such a successful festival would not be possible. In today’s global community, possessing language skills in a language other than one’s language of origin is becoming increasingly important.
Turning to the teaching of language in our ACT public schools, we note that our students need to be internationally engaged in and sensitive to diversity, with the ability to communicate across languages. Research suggests that culture and language are interdependent. Studying other cultures and their languages increases tolerance and understanding. Currently, 36 primary schools and 16 of the 17 public high schools offer languages. The seven most commonly offered languages in the ACT public school system are Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. Other languages offered by some schools include Korean and Latin, with Hindi being introduced in one college from 2008.
In recognition of the importance of languages education, in November last year, through the second appropriation bill, the government announced funding of over $300,000 to support the teaching of language in public schools. This initiative will enable all public primary and high schools to deliver a language program by 2010. Primary schools will offer languages for a minimum of 60 minutes per week in years 3 to 6, and in high schools for 150 minutes per week in years 7 and 8. This is in addition to language programs already offered in the early years and in years 9 and 10. To complement this work, a language support plan is being developed which will include professional learning for teachers. The support plan will also provide staffing strategies to build the capacity of schools to offer high-quality, sustained language education from primary to high school.
Languages education is also supported in public schools through the building of partnerships with embassies. These partnerships enable native language speakers from other countries to share their language skills and cultural knowledge with ACT public school students. Support will be provided to clusters of schools to encourage and ensure continuity of the same language from primary to high school. Students will have the opportunity to continue with the language they have learned at primary school level at their local high school. Clusters will also allow for a more effective use of teaching staff. Additionally, the new ACT curriculum framework, introduced into all schools this year and mentioned by the minister yesterday, includes essential learning content designed to strengthen cross-cultural understanding and the ability of students to communicate effectively in other languages.
As I said, language is important as it is part of our identity and it is part of the way we make sense of our world and our role in it. I would hope that in this International Year of Languages members would join with me in recognising their importance in maintaining the diverse cultures that enrich our multicultural way of life.
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