FURTHER BI-LINGUAL SCHOOLS IN THE ACT

Today, Mary Porter AM MLA, Member for Ginninderra, successfully moved a motion in the Legislative Assembly to encourage the ACT Government to investigate the viability of developing further K -12 bi-lingual programs in the ACT.

“Developing proficiency requires daily immersion for extended periods of time and instruction.

“When I refer to proficiency, I refer to a level only slightly inferior to the native speaker. Between 800 hours (for European languages) and 2600 hours (for more complicated Asian languages or Arabic) of intense, focussed study is universally recognised as the minimum amount for a student to achieve language proficiency,” Ms Porter.

“This is easiest achieved when students are immersed in a foreign language. A bi-lingual school provides such an environment,” said Ms Porter.

“Telopea Park School, established 1923 but operating as a bi-national school since 1984, provides us with a model bi-lingual program,” Ms Porter said.

On 2 August, the Minister for Education issued a discussion paper entitled “Improving the ACT Public High Schools and Colleges: A discussion paper to generate ideas”, as part of his review.

“I believe this to be an opportune moment to consider what we wish to achieve in foreign languages education - a complex and often misconstrued area of public policy.

“I think that investigating the viability of developing a Mandarin-English or Japanese-English K-12 bi-lingual school would make a lot of sense. This would not happen in the near future, but should be considered as part of our mid-to-long term planning.”

“Japan and China are Australia’s largest trading partners, and are likely to remain so in the foreseeable future. Developing students with fluency in these languages will bolster our capacity to further grow these two key trading relationships.

“These languages also reflect the ACT’s current sister city relationships, which would inevitably facilitate student and teacher exchanges with greater ease,” Ms Porter said.

“I am delighted that the Minister is willing to consider my suggestion.”

With the support of the ACT Greens, the motion was passed.

Statement Ends
Media Contact: Andrew Hunter 02 6205 0428 bh 0431 739 775
Andrew.hunter@parliament.act.gov.au