"The Coalition's Plan to Revive Foreign Language Study"
More details on this now controversial plan. Facts from the article include;
- foreign languages in schools has long been in decline
- China is Australia's biggest trading partner
- only 300 students not of Chinese heritage study Chinese in Australian schools
- Japan is Australia's second biggest trading partner
- 21% decline of students studying Japanese since 2001
- Indonesia a vital partner, but there is a danger of Indonesia will disappear from Year 12 studies in four years time
- Korea is our third largest trading partner. The study of Korean has all but disappeared from Australian schools
The Coalition Government (if elected) will reverse this trend and revive the teaching of languages in Australian schools. This is a big election promise. Already there is a great deal of discussion about this.
It was the Howard government that dismantled Australia's successful National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools program in 2002, eight years into its 12-year cycle. That program had seen a doubling in the number studying Asian languages. When the program ended, the subjects suffered..On the road to China, no Damascus conversion
Rudd took to Twitter to try to embarrass Abbott for an apparently abrupt conversion to the cause of Asian languages.
I wonder what the Government's response this promise will be?
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