Language

AdelaideNow... Advertiser Editorial: Languages key to making us a winning nation

THE latest figures showing a decline in the study of foreign languages among Year 12 students should set off multiple alarm bells.
On one level, the trend is disturbing because it defies Government promises, policies, programs and commitments.

On another, the slide in multilingualism is a concern because of its potential to hamper the economic development and global competitiveness of Australia and the personal and intellectual development of its citizens.

The erosion of foreign language study in our education system is all the more unfortunate because this was recognised as a strategic priority by both politicians and educators more than a decade ago.

Indeed, Australia produced pathbreaking research and policy that helped shape thinking on these matters in a number of countries abroad.

This commitment to multilingualism was reinforced when Mandarin-speaking Kevin Rudd unveiled a $68 million plan to reduce the decline of foreign languages in schools. The election promise included the phased introduction of additional Asian-language classes, teacher training and support, and the development of a specialist curriculum encouraging language studies.

In February this year, a report to the Federal Government – The State and Nature of Languages Education in Australia – called for an urgent over-haul of the national curriculum to make language study compulsory from kindergarten to Year 10.

The authors of the report, which drew on the experiences of over 400 teachers in each state and territory, warned that the declining multilingual capability among Australian students meant that they were being left behind because they were not adequately positioned for the rapidly globalising employment market.

Aside from improved job opportunities both at home and abroad, there are, of course, many other reasons why a move to multilingualism would benefit Australia and its citizens.

Learning foreign languages carries many benefits for trade, diplomacy, internal security and defence. In a fast-changing world, a facility in foreign languages also enhances our understanding of and communication with foreign cultures and people.

Yet statistics show that Australian students now spend less time learn-ing a language than students in any other OECD country.

In South Australia, the number of Year 12 students studying a foreign language has declined by 13 per cent in the past five years. Clearly, this situation must be reversed if Australia is to undergo an education revolution and fully embrace the numerous benefits of globalisation.