Page 5850 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 7 December 2011
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It can sometimes take an expert in ESL to understand and to recognise the distinctive social and cultural dimensions of learning a second language and to ensure that a student is not unfairly labelled as disruptive or as having learning difficulties. We can see enhanced social inclusion for the student. For a student who may have recently arrived in Australia, and particularly for those from a refugee background, this benefit cannot be overestimated.
The ACT strives to provide a human rights-based inclusive, safe and progressive place to live. We quite rightly pride ourselves on being a city of choice for many international students who have come to access a range of educational opportunities. A student with a refugee or migrant background deserves no less opportunities. I hope they would be offered and, in fact, are offered even greater support to feel welcome and supported and to fully engage with our society.
Language is an obvious barrier to this and is perhaps the first cab off the rank in terms of integration. We can see a more inclusive society overall that values and supports the contributions of all people, regardless of background or place of birth. We like to consider Canberra as a multicultural and cosmopolitan city that shares and learns from other cultures, just as those newly arrived can learn from us.
We know that many children of parents who have English as a second language are often called on to advocate and translate for them. By improving the English-speaking competency of children and young people, we can see benefits for their families as well and see greater engagement from families in their child’s education, which is positive for schools, teachers, the child and the community. It can lead to more examples of cross-cultural exchange.
To do this effectively, we need to support and resource the teachers and experts in this area and to assist the front-line educators to be able to respond. While there are positive professional development opportunities available, these need to be offered in a sustainable and well-planned manner. We need to properly understand the needs that exist in our classrooms and to listen to those who work every day in these areas. We need to heed the calls for better coordination, advocacy and representation as well as greater access for students to ESL teaching.
My amendment calls for the language proficiency level that attracts ESL support to be reviewed with a view to raising it to a level that more genuinely meets the needs of students in public schools, particularly those who may be newly arrived to Australia and those with a refugee background. It is my hope that by doing this review with a directed focus, we can provide a stronger framework for ESL issues.
While the needs in this area have been raised several times and recommendations regarding ESL were included in the inquiry into the educational achievement gap in the ACT in May 2010, I once again find that there is more to be done. If my amendment is agreed to, the response to ESL issues will receive a greater focus. I note that the minister has tabled a paper outlining the overall funding to ESL programs and several of the key professional development and capacity building initiatives underway. It appears that the overall funding for ESL has increased in recent times and I believe that this goes some way to answering the calls for greater resources.
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