Language lessons languish in Aussie schools


Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 24/01/2012

Reporter: Deborah Cornwall

Despite ever stronger economic links with Asia, the number of students learning the languages and culture of our northern neighbours is on the slide, worrying educators about the effects on future generations' ability to thrive in the region.


HEATHER EWART, PRESENTER: Former prime minister, Kevin Rudd, was at the height of power when he pledged to make Australia the most Asian literate nation of the western world by the year 2020.

But four years on, critics say there's actually been a catastrophic decline in the number of students learning Asian languages, as schools across the country gear up to reopen their doors next week.

Deborah Cornwall reports.

DEBORAH CORNWALL, REPORTER: With the Asian century already upon us, dealing with our major trading partners in broken English is no longer an option.

DR JANE ORTON, CHINESE TEACHER TRAINING CENTRE MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY: We've never had a language be important, it's something nice but not important like playing the oboe or something.

(Footage of primary school children in school)

DR MICHAEL WESLEY, DIRECTOR, LOWY INSTITUTE: I call it the English speaking conceit. Expecting to be able to rely on English in any meaningful or serious negotiation with an Asian counterpart is like agreeing to play poker with someone who has a mirror on the ceiling and can see your cards.

(Footage of Kevin Rudd press conference 2008)

KEVIN RUDD, FORMER PRIME MINISTER: We'll introduce comprehensive Asian language education across the school system.

DEBORAH CORNWALL: It was the grand vision of our Mandarin speaking former prime minister that one in every six Australians would be fluent in an Asian language by the year 2020.

(Footage of high school children)

It seemed a simple proposition, but four years on Asia experts say the Federal Government so seriously underestimated the level of investment required in languages, along with a major rethink of our place in the world, it simply failed to bring the rest of the country along with it.

In the fact the number of children now studying Asian languages has dropped so alarmingly in recent years to just 5.4 per cent, there are now more students studying Latin than Chinese.

(Footage of two high school students and their teacher)

JANE ORTON: It seems to me the whole being bilingual is an issue for Australia that we haven't had to face before, because anybody who's ever been really important to us spoke English already.

DEBORAH CORNWALL: Asia experts say despite the repeated political cannot cant about Australia's special relationship with Asia, the nation has in fact remained stubbornly monocultural and monolingual.

(Footage of Julia Gillard in China speaking English)

But lifting our Asian literacy levels is now a matter of national interest.

JANE ORTON: If the Chinese economy is going to develop and if we're going to be more than just the proverbial mine, we do need to actually understand these people and talk to them.

MICHAEL WESLEY: It distresses me to think when I went through the Australian school system not once were we taught South East Asian history, not once.

DEBORAH CORNWALL: The Henry White Paper on how Australia will navigate its way in the Asian century is due to be released by mid this year.

(Footage of languages teacher teaching primary school children)

Asian language teaching will be a crucial part of its brief, in particular the failure of Education Departments to stream Chinese classes, which in the past few years have been virtually taken over by a surge in native Chinese speakers, making it impossible for students from non-Chinese backgrounds to compete.

JANE ORTON: That's exactly the situation in Chinese. It's crazy in an ordinary sense, why would you send kids who have already got such advanced Chinese back to work with kids who have been learning Chinese mostly since Year 7.

DEBORAH CORNWALL: Language educators say while native Chinese speakers have every right to use their Chinese to beef up their marks for university entrance, the students from non -Chinese backgrounds now drop out by Year 10.

JANE ORTON: Teachers are in despair because this is going to go down the zoom. And as I say, it's bad luck for them but it's also in the long term not in our national interest that that be the case.

DAWNA LEUNG, MANDARIN STARS: In countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, children are learning Mandarin, English and Cantonese or another language from day one.
Their attitude there is, you know, have to, do let's do, can do.

We owe it to these young Australians to teach them Mandarin from an early age.

DEBORAH CORNWALL: While Mandarin still isn't offered at most schools, especially primary level, there's been a huge growth in private schools teaching Mandarin driven by parents who believe it's the language of the future.

(Footage of female high school student speaking with her teacher)

KAREN WENTWORTH-PING: When I have talked about it with my friends or with other parents at school, there just isn't the interest. I have a feeling it's because our connection perhaps they feel it's stronger with Europe still. There may be a snobbishness about it.

(Footage of primary school students in class)

DEBORAH CORNWALL: Indeed for all the obstacles in trying to boost Asian literacy among schoolchildren, observers say the challenge goes much deeper.

Australians in the main remain largely disinterested in the politics and cultures of our northern neighbours.

MICHAEL WESLEY: It goes a long way past languages. Asian languages are hard. I think we need to be realistic about how many Australians are actually going to feel the interest and dedication to undertake that sort of study.

If you haven't been told anything about Indonesia in your entire school career why would you suddenly have, you know, a road to Damascus moment and say, 'I need to learn the language of this country'.

DEBORAH CORNWALL: For the next generation of Australians the new cultural meccas are less likely to be Paris and New York but cities like Kolcutta, Beijing and Seoul and the big shock for every Westerner is that English will no longer be the global passport that it was.

MICHAEL WESLEY: Are we equipping Australian kids with the skills that they will need to be able to actually spend some time there, work there, study there, join rock bands there?

Or are we going to continue giving them the same diet of education so that ultimately they will just pass through these centres like kids at a candy store window but being unable to really participate in cultural and intellectual life of these places.