Australia: Bilingual Education

[Francis Hult]

The Age

 

Taking the language leap

 

Every Wednesday after lunch at an inner-Melbourne primary school, the students follow a unfailing ritual. They make a mental leap and stop writing in English and spend the rest of the week learning in Mandarin or Vietnamese. 

 

The curriculum for the prep to year 2 students at Richmond West Primary School doesn't change; just the language.

 

The changeover is a small sign of how interest in bilingual education is on the rise, as more parents seek to equip their children with skills to live in a global economy. A report released last week by Griffith University's Asia Institute said half of Australia's population should be fluent in an Asian language over the next 30 years. But it warned the target would not be reached without a large funding boost to language tuition in schools.

 

Full story:

http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/taking-the-language-leap-20090612-c5d5.html

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