Asian languages key to future education
Minister for Education Julia Gillard yesterday announced funding of $46,000 through the School Languages Program (SLP), to extend and update the 2005-2008 National Statement and Plan for Languages Education in Australian Schools.
Together with the new National Curriculum being developed for languages and the significant new investment in Asian languages, this funding will help to ensure more Australian students graduate high school proficient in a second language, particularly the languages of our key Asian neighbours: China, Indonesia, Japan and Korea.
The Rudd Government has set a framework for Australian students to acquire the language skills necessary to engage in trade, commerce and further study in the future, with at least 12 percent of students completing year 12 fluent in one of the key Asian languages by 2020.
Currently, less than 14 percent of Australian year 12 students study a foreign language, and only 5.8 percent study an Asian language in year 12.
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If all children throughout Australia learnt Esperanto during their 7 years in primary school they would all be bilingual by the time they are 12 years of age.
With the use of internet in classrooms the children also will have the chance of sharing cultures directly with children from almost any other country of choice for the last 2 or 3 years of primary schooling.
Having succeeded at one language these children will be well equipped to succeed at a more difficult Asian language in high school. Also present primary LOTE teachers will be available to teach them.
The reason that primary children can so easily learn Esperanto is because their class teachers can be resourced sufficiently for them to teach the language even without prior knowledge of it. The only language that is easy enough for this to be done is Esperanto.
After 5 to 7 years of teaching it, teachers will also know it and be able to use it in any way they wish in their own lives, for commercial enterprise, travel, corresponding internationally or just gaining a deeper understanding of other people around the world.
Dianne Lukes,
President of the Australian Esperanto Assocciation.