Page 150 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 13 February 2008
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The ACT government has backed this commitment with financial investment, and in November last year I announced additional funding of $300,000; on top of the money that we already provide, we are providing an additional $300,000 to support the teaching of languages in public schools over the next three years, and this initiative will expand the learning of languages in ACT schools. The goal we have set, beginning this year, is that by 2010 all public schools will be required to offer a languages program to all students from year 3 to year 8, and this will be in addition to the language programs schools already offer in the early and senior years of schooling.
In the coming years, primary schools will be required to offer languages for a minimum of 60 minutes a week for all students in years 3 to 6, so 40 hours per year. High schools will be required to offer languages for a minimum of 150 minutes per week, or the equivalent of one timetable line, for students in years 7 and 8. Language programs in ACT schools will focus on the following eight priority languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese and Korean. To support this initiative—
Mrs Dunne: Mandarin or Cantonese? Which one is it, Mr Barr?
MR BARR: Mandarin. To support this initiative, a languages support plan—
Mrs Dunne: That’s culturally insensitive for a start.
MR BARR: Come on, Mrs Dunne!
Mrs Dunne: How many Chinese languages are there? Which one is it?
MR SPEAKER: Order!
MR BARR: To support this initiative, a languages support plan is being developed to strengthen the provision of languages education in ACT public schools. This languages support plan will improve the quality of language delivery by providing targeted programs of professional development and web-based teaching support resources for language teachers. The languages support plan will offer a range of staffing and resourcing models whereby students who begin the study of a language in the primary years will be able to continue the study of the same language into high school.
The Department of Education and Training will also liaise with local universities to offer courses to up-skill teachers delivering language programs in primary schools. In schools that currently do not offer languages programs, we will provide additional resources and support to assist them to introduce languages into their school. Language teachers in the ACT will in the future have access to high-quality interactive software, learning objects, multimedia software materials and other teaching support resources to ensure that students in Canberra achieve the best possible outcomes in language learning. These additional funds will allow my department to offer quality professional learning to school leaders and language teachers, and already this year a range of professional learning programs is planned for language teachers.
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