In response to recent political discussions regarding the study of foreign languages in schools, Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Teacher Education lecturer, Ms Maria Bennet says, “to remain competitive, Australian schools need to move beyond a monolingual base and engage with languages other than English in order to prepare Australians to live, work and compete in a global society”. 

 

Responding to the federal Budget, Opposition leader Tony Abbott promised to urgently work towards 40 per cent of Australian students learning a foreign language if the Coalition is elected to government.

"We are supposed to be adapting to the Asian century, yet Australian study of foreign languages, especially Asian languages, is in precipitous decline," Mr Abbott said.

"The proportion of Year 12 students studying a foreign language has dropped from about 40 per cent in the 1960s to about 12 per cent now.

"If Australians are to make their way in the world, we cannot rely on other people speaking our language. So starting in preschool, every student should have an exposure to foreign languages.”

 

Ms Bennet agrees that languages have a critical part to play in Australian education.

 

“The 21^st century Australian child should be encouraged to learn another language,” Ms Bennet said. “Australia is part of a global economy with economic, political, social and cultural ties across the world. 

 

“Having a second language can give Australian students an edge in our emerging multicultural world. A person who can speak fluently in another language has the ability to interact more successfully with more people and in many more places than someone who knows only one language. Global job opportunities are enhanced as workers are able to communicate with a wider clientele providing an economic edge in the marketplace.

 

“From a child development perspective, learning a second language has a positive effect on cognitive development and academic achievement. A child’s mental development is enhanced due to the positive effect a second language has on intellectual growth. Students learning a second language demonstrate better understanding of their native language. In addition, students who are multilingual show improved higher order thinking skills, particularly abstract and creative thinking.

 

“Learning another language benefits children in other important ways by promoting cultural awareness and the development of empathy – both important to a global citizen in a multicultural world. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe stated: Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiß nichts von seiner eigenen, - ‘Those who know no foreign language know nothing of their mother tongue.