I'm a little short on time (and head-space for proper critical analysis and commentary) at the moment, but I'm still keen to post on the many goings-on in the world of Australian Indigenous languages, and policy relating to them.
So with that as pre-cursory statement, I present the following text copied from Julia Gillard's media release (I haven't read the report yet, but you can download it here):
The Minister for Education, the Hon Julia Gillard, today released the Indigenous Language Programs in Australian Schools — A Way Forward report.
The report was prepared by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), funded by the Australian Government’s School Languages Program.
The report provides a snapshot of the current situation of Indigenous language education in schools across Australia.
Over 16 000 Indigenous students and 13 000 non-Indigenous students located in 260 Australian schools are involved in an Indigenous language program.
The report reveals that over 80 different Indigenous languages are taught in schools throughout Australia.
The report found that learning an Indigenous language can enhance a range of social and academic outcomes for all students.
The Australian Government is committed to supporting languages education in Australian schools. The School Languages Program provides funding of $112 million from 2005 to 2008 to support the learning of all languages, including Indigenous languages.
The Australian Government has also committed $540 million to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes and close the gap in educational attainment for Indigenous Australians.
The Government firmly believes that all Australian students need to be proficient in English to be able to full participate in the world of work and further study.
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2 comments:
Hello good day to you!
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Audrey Morales
I am German and have found this post as I have consulted my seach engine about Australian Indigenous languages. I am a decided proponent of maintaining cultural and linguistic diversity in the world. It´s very interesting to see that also non-indigenous pupils are involved in programs for these languages.
It is a way forward, but I would suggest to go even far further.
In areas where the population consists of considerable folks of Aboriginals, I would recommend to make the study of at least one local indigenous language mandatory for all pupils. In the rest of Australia indigenous language options should be available to every pupil. The introduction into Aboriginal culture should be mandatory in the whole country. This could do a lot to foster the reconciliation.
For the Aboriginals have older and more legitim rights in Australia.
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