Survey of Language Policies
D. Australia
2. Issues in the Implementation of Policy a. LOTE in Primary School
The Primary Curriculum Committee in South Australia in November 1983 established a working party to investigate the teaching of languages other than English (LOTE) in primary schools. As a result of the input from the Curriculum Service Branch, ‘LOTE Programs in Primary Schools’ was published in March 1985. There are several reasons for teaching LOTE in primary schools, as stated in Resources Review by the Queensland Department of Education, Curriculum Service Branch (March 1987) as follows:
● children develop language ability more naturally in the early primary years, or even during preschool because there is a minimum interference from the mother tongue at this stage.
● a LOTE program is intended to develop an appreciation of other languages and cultures; it will be
more likely to achieve success with younger children who have had less exposure to racial prejudice.
● adolescents tend to demonstrate more self-consciousness among their peers and may find activities such as making ‘strange sounds’ more embarrassing than younger children.
● primary school children tend to enjoy activities such as singing, language development games and role play, which involve some repetition. Such activities are considered most appropriate to language practice and are more likely to result in language learning being seen as enjoyable.
Despite the rapid development of the LOTE program in primary schools, it has been reported by the Senate Standing Committee on Education and the Arts that major problems have been identified in “teacher education and in overcoming a certain amount of prejudice against teaching other languages” (1984). The Commonwealth Department of Education in the National Survey of Language Learning in Australian Schools (1983b:32) state that “in the primary schools, where there has been a greater readiness to innovate by introducing languages other than English, teacher availability was a bigger factor ...”. Therefore, a recommendation was made by the Senate Standing Committee on Education and the Arts that to expand language teaching, it is important to concentrate on the key areas of need, namely:
● the reliable supply of qualified staff;
● appropriate teacher training
● provisions for continuity of study at secondary school
● adequate supplies of teaching materials
Throughout Australia the languages other than English being taught in primary schools include: Adnamatana(sic),
Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Modern Greek, Pitjantjatjara, Serbi(sic)-Croatian, Croatian, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese (Commonwealth Department of Education Australia 1982) among others. Later on, the focus is on a core of eight languages to be nominated by each State and Territory Minister from the following priority languages:
Aboriginal languages, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Modern Greek, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese (White Book 1991).
In the National Policy on Languages (1987), Indonesian/
Malay is considered one of the languages of wider teaching.
More particularly, it was recommended for promotion due to currently inadequate resource levels. The term ‘languages of wider teaching’ according to this National Policy is
“a broad designation. It can be taken to mean that at a national level these languages warrant promotion over and above specific support for other languages since it is expected that more students will take these, that other languages and relatively more schools will teach these languages than other languages” (p.125).
b. Teaching Indonesian in South Australian Schools Indonesian is not widely used in Australia although geographically Indonesia is Australia’s closest Asian neighbour. Their geographical proximity plays an important role in the nature of the relationships between both countries however. The Federal Government in its National Asian Languages and Studies Plan shows a strong belief in the importance of gaining a familiarity with Asian cultures due to the position of Australia as a part of Asia. Therefore, in the policy of Languages Other Than English (LOTE), the Federal Government (1982) has determined four main languages to
be given priority. These are Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese and Thai (was formerly Korean).
The teaching of Indonesian, especially in South Australian schools, has experienced its ups and downs. The political and diplomatic relations between these countries as well the differences between the language policies of the State and Federal Government have affected the progress of Indonesian language teaching. For instance, in South Australia there are twelve foreign languages taught in schools. This is because South Australian society consists of various groups from around the world. This fact influences the expansion of Indonesian language teaching. It goes without saying that certain foreign languages grow faster because of the large number of people in the community who speak the languages, such as, Greek, Italian and Vietnamese.
In South Australia, Indonesian has been taught in schools since the sixties, though back then there were not as many programs as there are now. The teaching of Indonesian during that period was mainly within high schools and universities. In the seventies, it declined due to tense political and diplomatic relations which followed the Indonesian takeover of East Timor. The relationship became closer again in the eighties as Australia started to determine its position as a part of Asia. Since then, there has been a lot of progress in terms of the number of schools teaching Indonesian as the chosen foreign language. In 1990 there were 60 schools, while the latest data (1998) show that there are about 100 schools, both primary and secondary schools (but mostly primary schools) teaching Indonesian.
The development of foreign language teaching is definitely affected by the government policy. Taking into account the
educational system in Australia, which is much more flexible and decentralised, the role of policy, particularly from the Federal Government, is very important in that it requires schools to implement the teaching of foreign languages. As stated by the Indonesian Language Adviser “because of the policy, the system has to supply support and so does the State Policy”. Especially for teaching Indonesia in South Australia, its existence is greatly supported by the policy from the Federal Government since the South Australian government does not restrict foreign language teaching to Asian languages due to large numbers of migrants from a variety of non-Asian ethnic backgrounds.
After implementing the policy for several years, evaluation is essential to recognise the usefulness as well as the obstacles faced and in order to make improvements. An evaluation is very important, in order to be able to rectify the former policy to make it more applicable and appropriate for the present and predicted conditions. It is also expected to give solutions or at least strategies to the problems.
Apart from the political situation which influenced teaching of LOTE, in particular Indonesian, there have been other influences, notably the problem of teachers, the problem of resources, and the problem of funding from the government. These problems have had an impact on the development of teaching Indonesian in schools. Therefore, it is important to find solutions to these problems in order to improve the teaching practice.
Having implemented LOTE in primary schools for about a decade, South Australia is now entering the second decade.
Lo Bianco in his Report (1995) concluded that “the focus on breadth of coverage of the 1986 State Language Policy was
an unqualified success”. By taking into account the good and bad aspects of the previous policy, as identified in the Lo Bianco Report, and the issues raised by schools and other stakeholders, it has been developing a languages plan which sets policy for the next 10 years. The goal for this plan is that
“By the year 2007, all students through R-10 will be learning a language other than English in quality programs that are an integral part of a broad and balanced curriculum”. The implementation time line has been determined for the target outcomes so that:
● By the beginning of the year 2001 all schools will have planned for the long term provision of languages programs that focus on quality learning outcomes that are linked to the LOTE Statement and Profile.
● By the beginning of the year 2004 all junior primary and primary schools will have student achievement data that demonstrates growth of learning in languages, linked to the Statement and Profile and student standards.
● By the beginning of the year 2007 all schools will have student achievement data that demonstrates the growth of learning in languages, linked to the Statement and Profile and student standards (adapted from Summary of Languages Plan 1998-2007 – draft) In the implementation of this plan, as defined in the Summary of Languages Plan, schools will be supported by quality assurance, teacher supply, curriculum, and learner pathways. The following range of languages: Aboriginal languages, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Vietnamese will have support from DETE in South Australia.
Despite its ups and down, teaching Indonesian in South Australian schools has increased since it was first introduced in the sixties. The role of policy from both Federal and State Governments helps strengthening the implementation of Indonesian as well as other LOTE. Regarding problems encountered, efforts have been made to look for the solution of the problems and evaluating the relevance of policy.
