Page 3857 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 25 August 2010

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In fact, on the same day as Ms Porter’s motion in February 2008, Dr Foskey moved a motion about language education in schools. That motion called on the then ACT government to ensure that:

(a) a key element of the curriculum delivered in ACT schools is an engagement with other cultures through learning an additional language;

(b) sustained, and meaningful language learning experiences are provided for all students in ACT schools; and

(c) priority is given, through realistic funding and support, to attracting and retaining qualified and capable language teachers in ACT government schools.

Mr Barr amended this, in the typical majority government style of the day, to noting that the ACT government:

(a) has ensured a key element of the curriculum delivered in ACT schools is an engagement with other cultures through learning an additional language;

(b) is providing sustained and meaningful language learning experiences for students in ACT schools;

(d) has mandated that languages are taught in all ACT public schools by 2010.

I am pleased to see Ms Porter echoing Dr Foskey’s concerns about language education. Today Ms Porter is encouraging the ACT government to investigate the viability of establishing further bilingual schools in the ACT, perhaps in part because she believes the current commitment to language education is not sufficient to provide proficiency in other languages for ACT students. The ACT Greens welcome Ms Porter’s call, but I wonder, Mr Assistant Speaker, whether Mr Barr has lived up to the commitment in this 2008 motion. Are languages taught in all of our ACT public schools at this point and how meaningful is the engagement with language education?

As both Dr Foskey and Ms Porter have noted, limited and arbitrary exposure to language classes is not an adequate way to truly teach or learn a language. One hour once a week is simply not sufficient to gain proficiency in a language. Though language classes do offer an opportunity to learn about other cultures and give a brief introduction to the language, often students come away from these classes knowing little more than a few words of the language they are studying.

A bilingual school can, and does, provide a more in-depth engagement with language and therefore a greater understanding of language and the associated culture. The programs run out of Mawson primary school, Telopea Park school and Yarralumla primary school in Mandarin, French and Italian provide a valuable resource for ACT students. I would like to see an increase in the number of these types of programs. I hope the government acts on Ms Porter’s motion today.

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