How I envisage my visit….

Less Europeans....More Chinese

Meanwhile in Oz...


Australian tourism told 'Gear up' for Chinese tourism. What does this 'gear up' mean? Doesn't really say how to 'gear up'. 


Does it mean start preparing congee for breakfast for Chinese guests in hotels?

Does it mean train your staff in Chinese etiquette?  

Does it mean learn Mandarin?  Which is placed in a place of prominence... at the bottom of the article. 


More Chinese, fewer Europeans visit Australia

Are Australians too slow to understand others?

Quite a mixed bag of language related stories this week. All saying much the same thing. It seems that government is good at producing reports about learning languages and the media is good at reporting the same information in a slightly different way. 

"The pledge from Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in his Budget reply speech last month to lift the study of foreign languages dramatically, particularly Asian languages.

He said exposure to foreign languages should begin at preschool. And he committed to having at least 40 per cent of Australian Year 12 students taking a language other than English within a decade if he wins government."

Only 12% of Australian students study a language.  Australia Education is one of the worst in the world at teaching schoolchildren second languages. We are far worse than European or Asian countries.


There is a popular argument that our students must learn to speak and write English first before starting a foreign language. Research has found that second language learning can enhance skills in their first language.


Language teaching requires specialist teachers.  To achieve Mr Abbot's universities need to train a new generation of language teachers. Australia is not isolated from the rest of the world, we need to do more than talk about language learning.


Australians too slow to understand others

Right now Australia has approximately 6700 language teachers in secondary schools. A recent survey was intended to show if there were language teacher shortages. Questions have been asked in parliament about the current supply of language teachers, the past supply of language teachers and Tony Abbott's promise of language teaching in the future. 

Dilemmas of language teacher supply

Under a Coalition Government the following would happen;

"If elected, the Coalition says it would work "urgently'' with the states to make sure at least 40 per cent of Year 12 students take a language within a decade. The proportion doing so now is about 12 per cent; about 6 per cent study one of the four Asian languages."

 Our current Federal Government has recently done the following;

"Last week school education minister Peter Garrett announced funding of $870,000 for the Asia Education Foundation to help put into practice Asian literacy elements of the national curriculum."

Bernard Lane explains why Australia's tertiary institutes are falling behind with their foreign language policies.  Australia's Language Problem Video 

Highlights include;

• 60 or more reports of past years about language learning in Australian education.
• Policies keep chopping and changing
• Australian students do poorly in learning languages
• 12% Year 12 students are currently learning a language other than English
• Only 6% are currently learning an Asian priority language, Chinese Mandarin, Japanese, Korean and Indonesian
• Only 3% of year 12 students are learning Chinese Mandarin
• Of that 90% of those learning Chinese Mandarin are of a Chinese heritage background
• Mandarin hardly exists as a mainstream language in Australian education
• Mixed messages are being received by parents and students
• It is important to learn a language, however in schools language learning is not taken seriously.  This is confusing everyone.
• Language teachers are often running part-time language programs across different schools
• Streaming is a problem
• Students learning Chinese are often discouraged by competing with Chinese heritage speakers
• A profound cultural change is necessary to improve current language teaching

When will serious teaching of Asian languages in Australian schools happen?

What India Can Learn From China

Meanwhile in India...

Build roads and rail networks to improve the economy.
Look to the future and improve border infrastructure.

Taking on China

How can Australian Education compete with top performing Asian Education systems?

Is Australian education catering to the needs of what will be an Asian led century? 

The link to the report below, from the Grattan Institute, states some facts about Asian education and Australian education.

Four of the top five educations systems are Hong Kong, Shanghai, South Korea and Singapore.  Learning from these successful systems of our near neighbours and using them in Australian classrooms may improve our students lives. 

Catching up: learning from the best school systems in East Asia

Download a Copy of the Summary Report

Download a Copy of the Full Report

Download a Copy of the Media Release

The above report was received well when it was released in February this year. 

However, Nicola Yelland  Professor of Education at Victoria University has a counter argument for the above proposal.  The focus of learning in the East Asian education system is all about performing well in tests. Assumptions have been made that being the "best at testing" is something Australian education should not embrace. This states what we should not do. Yet there is nothing here about what we should do. 

Learning by rote: why Australia should not follow the Asian model of education


So do Australian children need to be able to compete with their Asian peers?  


Is Australian education catering to the needs of what will be an Asian led century?  


Are current Australian education systems encouraging students to connect, learn about and engage with Asia?


How can Australian Education compete with top performing Asian Education systems?

Australian Funding for Asia Literacy - AEF $870,000

Australian Minister for School Education, Peter Garrett announced additional funding of $870,000 to support the work of the Asia Education Foundation.

The funding for the AEF includes:

The Leading 21st Century Schools: Engage with Asia project which will receive $500 000 to support principals and school leaders develop strategies and resources to support the implementation of the Australian Curriculum and encourage students to engage with Asia.

The School to School Partnerships with Business project which will receive $170 000 to help link businesses, students, teachers and school communities within Australia and internationally, building upon the success of the Asia Literacy Ambassadors project.

The Asia Literacy Curriculum Forums project of $200 000, which will deliver forums for teachers and school leaders to share strategies, identify resources and develop best practice to support the implementation of the cross-curriculum priority of Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia in the Australian Curriculum.

Excellent news indeed. I wonder if we shall see an increase in the uptake of Asian LOTE across Australian schools, colleges and universities? 

Source of information:  Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

 

"Language skills vital in an Asia-led world"

"Language skills vital in an Asia-led world"

Ten reasons Australian students should be learning Asian Languages now.

10.  Australia's future economic prosperity depends on our ability to be part of Asia's economic growth.

9. Australian school students now perform at levels significantly lower than their Asian peers.

8. We are failing to provide students with knowledge and skills in Asian languages and studies necessary for their futures.

7.  Current Asian language education in Australia  is poor. Too few teachers, teaching inadequate programs to a small number of students.

6. By 2050 the broader Asian economy will the largest in the world.  The Australian economy in 2050 is predicted to be out of the top 20 economies.

5.  Parents should demand that schools teach increase Asian literacy and  language teaching.

4. Governments should be supporting schools that are currently or starting Asian language and culture programs .

3. Even if reforms were made now it will take between 10 and 15 years to train and employ teachers.

2. A plan needs to be put in place now with appropriate funding. This plan needs to improve the quantity and quality of Asian languages in Australian schools.

1.  If the Asian literacy, language and culture program is implemented properly the current weakness and deficit in our inability to engage with Asia, could become our advantage.


Ten things paraphrased from this source Language skills vital in an Asia-led world

10000 Chinese Language Teachers

Meanwhile in Thailand...

This is an amazing project. What an initiative by the Thai and Chinese education authorities. This is a great opportunity for two different cultures to understand each other and strengthen ties (no pun intended). Through language and culture education strong bonds and relationships can be made.

It would be good if the Australian Government took some initiative and forged a similar plan with China. Alas Australian education does not put much value in language and culture education. Australia education often lacks initiative and foresight, as we continue to do almost nothing to improve language education. In 2011 there was a slightly similar project called Australia-China BRIDGE Project which sponsored relation ships between 48 schools and 48 teachers. Unfortunately the funding for such projects has ended.

To reciprocate Thailand will send 500 - 1000 Thai language teachers to China as part of the Sino-Thai educational and cultural exchange plan. Currently, China supports Chinese language education in Thailand by sending 1200 Chinese language teachers to Thailand annually.

"Thailand asked Chinese educational institutes to send 10,000 Chinese language instructors for Thai learners as parts of a Sino-Thai educational and cultural exchange plan."

Thailand Chinese New Year 2011

Thailand requests 10,000 Chinese language teachers from China

10,000 Chinese teachers on the way

China, Thailand To Exchange Teachers

Vietnam to hire more Taiwanese teachers as interest in Mandarin grows - CNA ENGLISH NEWS

Meanwhile in Vietnam....

Vietnam to hire more Taiwanese teachers as interest in Mandarin grows

U.S. - China People-To-People Exchange

Meanwhile in America...

"The United States government is now sending more students to study in China than to any other country and welcomes more Chinese students who want to study in the United States."

"...enhancing ties between American and Chinese people at the annual U.S.-China Consultation on People-to-People Exchange, which focuses on exchanges in education, science and technology, sports, culture and women’s issues."

"The 100,000 Strong Initiative, which seeks to increase the number and diversity of Americans studying in China, has received pledges of over $15 million from private donors since its inception in 2010."

U.S. - China People-To-People Exchange

U.S. - China People-To-People Exchange

Chinese lesson Australians must learn

Found this article which outlines some of the cultural ways of doing business with Chinese.  Chinese lesson Australians must learn

Highlights from the article;

"...in China, “yes” does not necessarily mean yes, contracts aren’t always binding and sharing a meal and booze with your Chinese counterpart doesn’t make you his best new mate."

"There is more to business in China than just dollars and cents."

"Relationships are key in China, but it takes time to build trust."

"“Confucianism puts emphasis on guanxi,” says Chen. “To maintain a good relationship is important to work efficiently in China."

From The Australian Financial Review - ROBERT GUY



Chinese lesson Australians must learn

Langauge expertise isn't there in Australia

"AUSTRALIA doesn't have the expertise to fulfil Tony Abbott's grand plan to have 40 per cent of students studying a foreign language in 10 years.
Thousands of teachers may have to return to university to get qualifications necessary to teach a second language, costing the nation millions."

Well this is an alarmist report adding fuel to the languages in school debate.  There are already at least two programs for teachers to gain accreditation and qualifications to teach Chinese.

Langauge expertise isn't there in Australia

It's adieu to the French language at schools as experts advise a shift of focus from European languages

Actually it was adieu (or au revoir) to French in the 1970s in Australia.  During the 1970s Indonesian was the popular language learned in schools. During the 1980s and 1990s it was selamat tinggal to Bahasa Indonesia and konnichiwa to Japanese. Japanese (and other LOTEs) was supported and funded until 2002 when most funding from the federal and state governments was discontinued. Languages have been largely unfunded and unimportant for many schools for a decade.The past decade  has seen a rapid decline in LOTE learning in schools and universities.

So the leader of the opposition has made an election promise.  To return languages to the curriculum. Quotes from the article include;

"Mr Abbott would focus on languages of key regional partners like China, Japan, South Korea and India (see the story at right).

 UNSW school of education Professor Chris Davison said anyone considering a career in business would have a competitive edge by being fluent in Mandarin, the most widely spoken language in the world."

Asian language 'vital for syllabus'

"ASIAN languages should be compulsory for every school student because many will go on to work in Asia's fast-growing economies, says the accounting body CPA Australia."

This article in the Australian highlights some of the recommendations of the CPA an accounting body in Australia. At present there are only 300 (non background speakers) year 12 students studying Mandarin in our senior schools across the nation. The article states that learning an is vital to engage with Asia now and in the  future. 

Melbourne University's Joe Lo Bianco, an expert in language education is calling for a more moderate approach to the national curriculum with an emphasis on language learning. Lo Bianco recommends a gradual build up of language teachers and quality programs.

Asian language 'vital for syllabus' | Story & Education Stories | The Australian

Language lessons languish in Aussie schools

An Australian Broadcasting Corporation report about the current state and decline in    Asian languages in Australian schools. It highlights our former Prime Ministers goal for Asian language learning and makes comparisons to the current apathy and lack of interest in language.
 
I really wonder how much longer schools in Australia are going to ignore Asian languages. The report makes some very astute observations; lack of investment in Asian languages, now more students study Latin than Chinese, our nation is stubbornly monolingual, SE Asian history was not is is not taught in schools, education departments are unable to stream Chinese students into appropriate classes, there is a growth in private schools teaching Mandarin, Australians remain disinterested in our Asian neighbours.

We seem to be going down the very same path as schools in England.  There schools are seeing rapid declines in French and German Lack of languages in schools concerns unis

A very brief report that says it all. Watch the report or read the transcript here
Language lessons languish in Aussie schools

龙 2012 Year of the Dragon

龙

2012 Year of the Dragon begins on January 23, 2012 and ends on February 9, 2013. Apparently dragons are energetic, robust and stubborn. They  are honest and courageous, and they inspire trust. People admire them. They know how to get what they want. The Dragon is a creature of myth and legend. It is the most eccentric sign of the Chinese horoscope. 

Their generous personalities give them the ability to attract friends, but they can be rather solitary people at heart.  Their self-sufficiency can mean that they have no need for close bonds with other people. In ancient China, the celestial Dragon represents an emperor and power. In Chinese astrology the dragon is the only animal of the Chinese zodiac year that is not real. 

龙  is the ultimate auspicious symbol signifying success and happiness.  2012 is the Chinese year of the dragon. So what does 2012 hold for a person born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon? Such people double their efforts in whatever they do - work, education and other projects. Their natural talent and abilities should stand out with great results.  May the celestial Dragon bring great good luck to you. 

龙

Education Survey: China Scores Top Marks; - TIME

From Time one year ago.


"The rise of China as an economic and political juggernaut has become a familiar refrain, but now there's another area in which the Chinese are suddenly emerging as a world power: education."

Education Survey: China Scores Top Marks;  - TIME

Chinese is the new English - southindia - Hyderabad - ibnlive

Chinese is the new English apparently.  Well at least in Hyderabad, India.

Chinese is the new English - south India - Hyderabad

Free Resource - Read Chinese!

Found this free resource for learning Chinese.

"Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, these Read Chinese! materials were developed to provide online e-learning reading lessons aimed at beginning and intermediate students of the language."

Read Chinese!

Australian education in the Asian century: adapting for the world to come

News article that looks at some of the current university research. Discussion of current partnership between Wales Department of Education and Communities (Western Sydney Region), the Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau (Ningbo, China).

"The forthcoming White Paper on Australia in the Asian century is expected to provide a national blueprint for Australia at a time of transformative economic growth and change in Asia"

"The education of international students from continental Asia is particularly important for Australian education in the Asian Century."

Australian education in the Asian century: adapting for the world to come

Education Survey: China Scores Top Marks; U.S., France Lag - TIME

"Chinese are suddenly emerging as a world power: education." 

I am not surprised.
 

Education Survey: China Scores Top Marks; U.S., France Lag - TIME