tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/asian-languages-2782/articlesAsian languages – The Conversation2023-11-14T19:07:02Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2102802023-11-14T19:07:02Z2023-11-14T19:07:02ZHow social media is breathing new life into Bhutan’s unwritten local languages<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549925/original/file-20230925-25-7tl134.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3840%2C5748&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Dechen, 40, grew up in Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan. Her native language was Mangdip, also known as Nyenkha, as her parents are originally from central Bhutan. She went to schools in the city, where the curriculum was predominantly taught in Dzongkha, the national language, and English. </p>
<p>In Dechen’s house, everyone spoke Dzongkha. She only spoke her mother tongue when she had guests from her village, who could not understand Dzongkha and during her occasional visits to her village nestled in the mountains. Her mother tongue knowledge was limited.</p>
<p>However, things have now changed.</p>
<p>With 90% of Bhutanese people <a href="http://www.bmf.bt/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Social-Media-Landscape-in-Bhutan.pdf">using social media</a> and social media penetrating all remotes areas in Bhutan, Dechen’s relatives in remote villages are connected on WeChat.</p>
<p>She is in three WeChat groups where people usually communicate through voice messages in their native language. Most WeChat users in rural parts of the country communicate in their oral native language.</p>
<p>“I learn many words. I learnt how to say a lot of things in my own language,” the mother of two now living in Western Australia told me.</p>
<p>Dechen’s story is not isolated. Social media is giving a new lifeline to Bhutan’s native languages, which do not have written script and <a href="https://www.dzongkha.gov.bt/uploads/files/articles/A_Paper_on_Language_Policy_&_Planning_in_Bhutan_by_Pema_Wangdi_c8e8caeee831129a3be15aa6e99732c2.pdf">lack proper documentation</a>. By communicating through voice messages, social media is giving Bhutanese people in both urban and rural areas a new opportunity to use their local language.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-can-the-kingdom-of-bhutan-teach-us-about-fighting-corruption-109676">What can the kingdom of Bhutan teach us about fighting corruption</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Losing Bhutan’s languages</h2>
<p>Bhutan is a tiny Himalayan nation with a population of under 800,000 people. Internet and television was introduced <a href="https://fid4sa-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/2656/1/Bhutanese_Media.pdf">only in 1999</a> and mobile phones in 2004.</p>
<p>The country has more than 20 local languages, but only Dzongkha has written text and is promoted as the national language. </p>
<p>The country struggles to promote the national language and its usage against English. Today most urban residents, especially the elites, speak English as <a href="https://factsanddetails.com/south-asia/Bhutan/People_Bhutan/entry-7897.html">their primary language</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549923/original/file-20230925-17-1tbu3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Bhutanese woman on a phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549923/original/file-20230925-17-1tbu3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549923/original/file-20230925-17-1tbu3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549923/original/file-20230925-17-1tbu3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549923/original/file-20230925-17-1tbu3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549923/original/file-20230925-17-1tbu3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549923/original/file-20230925-17-1tbu3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549923/original/file-20230925-17-1tbu3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">WeChat users can send each other voice messages in their local language.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many languages – especially minority languages – are vanishing or becoming endangered as younger generations switch to Dzongkha and English.</p>
<p>The medium of instruction in schools is mostly in English; Dzongkha is taught only as grammar and literature. Students are shamed and often punished for <a href="https://kuenselonline.com/language-policy-decolonising-the-mind/">using their local languages</a>. </p>
<p>The preservation and promotion of local languages, therefore, depends on the speakers. A language faces extinction when its speakers die out or switch to another language. </p>
<p>Linguist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PrIZwrkAAAAJ&hl=en">Pema Wangdi</a> has researched languages in Bhutan, and he told me many people are losing their native language.</p>
<p>“When we lose our language, we lose a piece of our national identity,” he told me.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549926/original/file-20230925-20-4nntn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Masked dance of Dochula Tsechu." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549926/original/file-20230925-20-4nntn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549926/original/file-20230925-20-4nntn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549926/original/file-20230925-20-4nntn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549926/original/file-20230925-20-4nntn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549926/original/file-20230925-20-4nntn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549926/original/file-20230925-20-4nntn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549926/original/file-20230925-20-4nntn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Languages are an important part of cultural identities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/dtwwEJcr8R8">Pema Gyamtsho/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Wangdi has identified there are no longer any speakers of Olekha, an indigenous dialect of Rukha in Wangdu Phodrang. </p>
<p>“The loss of a single language is a loss of a piece of our national linguistic heritage and identity,” he said. “When a language is lost, cultural traditions which are tied to that language such as songs, myths and poetry will be lost forever.”</p>
<p>Other Bhutanese languages – including Tshophu language of Doyaps in Samtse, Monpa language of central Bhutan, and Gongdukha of Mongar – are endangered and at the <a href="https://www.dzongkha.gov.bt/uploads/files/articles/A_Paper_on_Language_Policy_&_Planning_in_Bhutan_by_Pema_Wangdi_c8e8caeee831129a3be15aa6e99732c2.pdf">brink of extinction</a>.</p>
<h2>Preservation of local languages</h2>
<p>The future of the minority languages are at threat. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Bhutan">The Constitution of Bhutan</a> mandates the preservation and promotion of local languages, but there are no official efforts to preserve native languages. </p>
<p>But encouraging people to speak their native languages can have far reaching benefits in preserving and promoting Bhutan’s rich culture and tradition. Language embodies identity, ethnicity and cultural values: a thriving local language would help transfer this intangible wealth to the younger generation. </p>
<p>Social media could be an invaluable tool in this preservation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549927/original/file-20230925-17-2bc1di.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bhutanese man checking his mobile phone next a white stone wall." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549927/original/file-20230925-17-2bc1di.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549927/original/file-20230925-17-2bc1di.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549927/original/file-20230925-17-2bc1di.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549927/original/file-20230925-17-2bc1di.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549927/original/file-20230925-17-2bc1di.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549927/original/file-20230925-17-2bc1di.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549927/original/file-20230925-17-2bc1di.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Social media could be an invaluable tool in the preservation of languages.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bhutan could save its languages from becoming extinct with promotion of social media usages and language education could be done on the social media platforms. With both young and old people glued to social media, encouraging more people to use local languages in social media could generate interest among the youth to learn their local languages. </p>
<p>It could also help in documenting the endangered local languages as the older generation can record their voices on WeChat.</p>
<p>Many elder citizens feel strongly about their language and emphasise teaching their mother tongue to the younger generation and their grandchildren. Social media – joining the younger generation on platforms where they feel at home – could be the way forward.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thinking-of-taking-up-wechat-heres-what-you-need-to-know-88787">Thinking of taking up WeChat? Here's what you need to know</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210280/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tashi Dema does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Social media is giving a new lifeline to Bhutan’s native languages, which do not have written script and lack proper documentation.Tashi Dema, PhD Candidate in Language and Politics, University of New EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1610062021-06-13T20:05:46Z2021-06-13T20:05:46ZFrom 13 unis to 1: why Australia needs to reverse the loss of South Asian studies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405806/original/file-20210611-21747-z8xte.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1128%2C263%2C790%2C570&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia-Pacific#/media/File:Asia-Pacific.png">Wikipedia</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Asia is crucial to the future of Australia. But Australia has just one (small) program focused on South Asian studies across its many universities.</p>
<p>This has not always been the case. In the mid-1970s, 13 of Australia’s universities offered undergraduate subjects on South Asia (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives). Students could learn about South Asian coins at ANU and Sanskrit at the University of Wollongong.</p>
<p>Australia boasted some of the leading scholars on South Asia. ANU nurtured subaltern studies – the study of social groups excluded from dominant power structures – which became a global movement in the field of post-colonial analysis. Leading post-colonial scholar <a href="https://www.wheelercentre.com/people/dipesh-chakrabarty">Dipesh Chakrabarty</a> was based at the University of Melbourne. Other luminaries active in that period include <a href="https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/basham-arthur-llewellyn-77">A.L. Basham</a>, <a href="http://www.humanities.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/AAH-Obit-Low-2015.pdf">Anthony Low</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/robin-jeffrey-120691">Robin Jeffrey</a>.</p>
<p>But, even as the Australian university sector has expanded since the 1970s, it has withdrawn support for Asian studies, and South Asian studies in particular. There is currently only one South Asia or India program – at ANU.</p>
<p>Only five of the 40 Australian universities offer semester-length subjects on India or South Asia. Six universities offered an Indian language in 1996. Now <a href="https://www.aii.unimelb.edu.au/publications/very-short-policy-brief/strategies-to-expand-hindi-education-in-australia/">only two</a> do so.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/6-unis-had-hindi-programs-soon-there-could-be-only-1-and-thats-not-in-australias-best-interests-151096">6 unis had Hindi programs. Soon there could be only 1, and that's not in Australia's best interests</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Several universities, often supported by government grants, have launched country or regional research initiatives since 1990. The National Centre for South Asian Studies, based at Monash, is one of these. But Australian universities have not built any strong or sustainable South Asia programs for students.</p>
<h2>A trend at odds with national priorities</h2>
<p>This point sits oddly alongside a high-level commitment to South Asia in Australia. The Australian government is exploring new forms of engagement with India, including the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-13/quad-australia-us-india-japan-in-massive-covid-vaccine-deal/13245198">Quad security dialogue</a> involving India, Australia, Japan and the US. </p>
<p>At a social level, Australia is increasingly Indian. In 2019 <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/india/ies/chapter-18.html">more than 700,000 people</a> in Australia claimed Indian descent. Hindi is among the fastest-growing languages in Australia, and India is the country’s <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/india-emerges-as-biggest-source-of-skilled-migrants-to-australia">leading source of skilled migrants</a>.</p>
<p>Historically, there are fascinating connections between Australia and South Asia. The lives and work of Australia’s “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-02/descendents-remember-australias-cameleers/11890622">Ghans</a>” (cameleers) is one famous example.</p>
<p>Moving forward, Australia needs a knowledge base to match this longstanding and increasingly important commitment to India and South Asia more generally. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-lascars-to-skilled-migrants-indian-diaspora-in-new-zealand-and-australia-99288">From lascars to skilled migrants: Indian diaspora in New Zealand and Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Charge showing huge increase in Indian migration to Australia since 1960" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405808/original/file-20210611-22322-hjd0ls.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405808/original/file-20210611-22322-hjd0ls.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405808/original/file-20210611-22322-hjd0ls.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405808/original/file-20210611-22322-hjd0ls.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405808/original/file-20210611-22322-hjd0ls.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405808/original/file-20210611-22322-hjd0ls.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405808/original/file-20210611-22322-hjd0ls.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data: 2016 Census, Australian Bureau of Statistics</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Out of step with global academic practice</h2>
<p>Australian universities could learn from their counterparts in other parts of the world how to integrate area studies into their teaching. Outside of Australia, most of the top universities in the world make great play of their area studies expertise. Area studies enables people to apprehend their own distinctive humanity, anchors innovative cross-disciplinary teaching across the university, and provides a basis for re-evaluating assumptions about a person’s disciplinary field. </p>
<p>Students arriving at Oxford, Yale or Columbia know that if they are studying law, business, art, politics, education, design, technology, anthropology, economics, agriculture, military affairs or modern media, they will need to think about how to apply their disciplinary knowledge to specific places. A “whole of university” commitment to area studies teaching, including South Asian studies, has long been a key mechanism for drawing on multiple disciplines.</p>
<p>Even with small numbers of area studies majors, the world’s best universities do not see area studies as a niche endeavour. On the contrary, they see it as a central feature of their global mission. Strong universities without robust, independent, and widely accessible area studies programs open themselves up to accusations of antiquated parochialism and a poor understanding of the interdisciplinary trends that powerfully shape our world.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/axing-protection-for-national-strategic-languages-is-no-way-to-build-ties-with-asia-154555">Axing protection for national strategic languages is no way to build ties with Asia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What should South Asian studies offer?</h2>
<p>Today, South Asian studies programs in Australia should include internships, opportunities to study abroad and virtual classrooms connecting Australian students to their counterparts elsewhere. </p>
<p>Asian studies programs should also include language options, because effective communication with rising regions like South Asia is essential. Keep in mind that only <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/india/in-india-who-speaks-in-english-and-where-1557814101428.html">10% of India’s population speak English</a>.</p>
<p>At its most fundamental, good area studies and good South Asian studies allow people to understand that they are, as French philosopher <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/montaigne/">Michel de Montaigne</a> put it in an <a href="https://dl1.cuni.cz/pluginfile.php/844589/mod_resource/content/0/Michel%20de%20Montaigne%2C%20John%20M.%20Cohen%2C%20John%20M.%20Cohen%20-%20Montaigne_%20Essays-Penguin%20Books%20%281993%29.pdf">essay</a> on global education written 450 years ago “like a dot made by a very fine pencil” on the world map. It teaches them how they fit within a global whole. </p>
<p>Beyond this, area studies helps people understand and confidently engage with forms of difference and diversity. It fosters key skills for interacting with peers overseas as well as global diasporas. This includes connecting with foreign organisations, managing communications and cultivating an active sense of global citizenship. </p>
<p>Area studies allows us to develop an understanding of our common humanity across national boundaries – something Indian scholar <a href="https://anthropology.jhu.edu/directory/veena-das/">Veena Das</a> has written about in her book <a href="https://india.oup.com/product/critical-events-9780199485291">Critical Events</a>. </p>
<p>Now is the time for Australian universities to place area studies teaching at the core of an internationally engaged education. We must provide a much larger number of Australians with a deeper understanding of South Asia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161006/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Jeffrey receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Nelson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Politically and socially, Australia is fast expanding its engagement with India and her neighbours. Universities, in contrast, have wound back their commitment to South Asian studies.Craig Jeffrey, Professor of Geography, The University of MelbourneMatthew Nelson, Associate Professor, Asia Institute, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1545552021-02-08T19:06:17Z2021-02-08T19:06:17ZAxing protection for national strategic languages is no way to build ties with Asia<p>We all had hoped for a positive start to 2021, but that has not been the case for Australia’s engagement in the region. The Australian government has shown disregard for the importance of our ties with Asia by axing its commitment to national strategic languages.</p>
<p>The Commonwealth has identified the study of languages such as Indonesian as being of national strategic importance <a href="http://www.murdoch.edu.au/ALTC-Fellowship/_document/final_report/ALTC_NTF_Indonesian_in_Australian_Universities_FINAL_REPORT.pdf">since 2006</a>.</p>
<p>From 2013, the government <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/31647">committed</a> to promoting national strategic languages. These included Arabic, Indonesian, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Japanese and Korean. The list potentially included any other languages identified by the Commonwealth.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/6-unis-had-hindi-programs-soon-there-could-be-only-1-and-thats-not-in-australias-best-interests-151096">6 unis had Hindi programs. Soon there could be only 1, and that's not in Australia's best interests</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This priority list was clear recognition that Australians must improve their capacity in these languages to be equipped for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/asian-century-white-paper-experts-respond-10370">Asian Century</a>.</p>
<h2>Funding terms no longer protect languages</h2>
<p>One way the government promoted and protected these languages was through Commonwealth funding agreements with universities.</p>
<p>Every few years, the Commonwealth comes to an agreement with each university on the terms and conditions of the funding it provides. A condition of these agreements was that a university had to consult with the Commonwealth and obtain its approval if it planned to close a particular course. This included courses in nationally strategic languages. </p>
<p>A university could not close a language program involving a nationally strategic language without government approval. This condition was important symbolically as well as practically. It emphasised to universities the importance of commitment to Asian languages.</p>
<p>Funding agreements every year up to 2020 included protection for national strategic languages. This year the provision has suddenly disappeared from the agreements without consultation.</p>
<p>What this demonstrates is the nonsensical nature of the government’s new <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/job-ready">funding scheme</a> for universities. It appears to offer an incentive for students to study a language by reducing fees for these courses. In reality, the government has made it easier for universities to cancel a language program.</p>
<p>And the government is aware <a href="https://asaa.asn.au/news/statement-a-crisis-in-asian-languages/">several universities</a> have proposed closing language programs as their budgets feel the pinch from the COVID-19 pandemic. These include <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/la-trobe-s-greek-language-program-saved-by-community-cash-injection-20201217-p56ofa.html">La Trobe</a> (Hindi and Indonesian), <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/swinburne-looks-to-cut-all-foreign-language-studies-as-pandemic-bites-20201204-p56ksq.html">Swinburne</a> (all foreign languages), <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-05/asian-language-programs-fights-to-stay-hindi-indonesian/12934096">Murdoch</a> (Indonesian), <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/australian-subject-funding-reforms-struggling-deliver-results">Western Sydney University (Indonesian) and Sunshine Coast</a> (Indonesian). Removing protection for national strategic languages shows the government’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific region is mere lip service. (Since the original announcements, the programs at <a href="http://www.southasiatimes.com.au/news/?p=12112">La Trobe</a> and <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/australian-subject-funding-reforms-struggling-deliver-results">Murdoch</a> have been given temporary reprieves.)</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="La Trobe University campus" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382662/original/file-20210205-18-ed5d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382662/original/file-20210205-18-ed5d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382662/original/file-20210205-18-ed5d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382662/original/file-20210205-18-ed5d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382662/original/file-20210205-18-ed5d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382662/original/file-20210205-18-ed5d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382662/original/file-20210205-18-ed5d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The outlook for Indonesian programs appears bleak at La Trobe and several other Australian universities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/philipmallis/42843727081/in/photolist-28gXipF-a1oSbd-a13Sv5-RHfcm8-2enGqWJ-JRWy2U-HYzmGV-JUY8Px-n3VAF-n3VAK-n3WF4-2e5LHHe-2e5LDz4-Tkq4kW-971Hg-7xk2d-pvRxCQ-pgwZbd-8D6Sk1-rk4AzC-9wfVhL-pgpEov-JS3uWo-JN8umK-egJhou-egCwqP-3Ra4A-52DCuB-52DCEB-emnLvo-oSTbwZ-52DzFe-cDgMb-cDgMF-cDgLz-52DCXD-33p3wC-7DhYVa-Gn4Efq-7Pi2c7-n3VAL-6WiMUJ-pgoZxs-zpB2R6-GGCn29-GGCmV7-GJWG62-6YAgXx-8X4zM7-6WiMiu">Philip Mallis/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3-flaws-in-job-ready-graduates-package-will-add-to-the-turmoil-in-australian-higher-education-147740">3 flaws in Job-Ready Graduates package will add to the turmoil in Australian higher education</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Universities will lose by axing languages</h2>
<p>From enhanced diplomatic relations and cultural engagement to trade relations and social and religious ties, language learning has no shortage of benefits for individuals, communities and the nation as a whole.</p>
<p>Universities must acknowledge what they stand to lose if they close their language programs. Recent decisions like Swinburne’s to <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/swinburne-looks-to-cut-all-foreign-language-studies-as-pandemic-bites-20201204-p56ksq.html">close its Japanese and Chinese programs</a>, now confirmed to staff, come at a real cost to the university. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Swinburne University Hawthorn campus building" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382655/original/file-20210205-24-hd7z5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382655/original/file-20210205-24-hd7z5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382655/original/file-20210205-24-hd7z5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382655/original/file-20210205-24-hd7z5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382655/original/file-20210205-24-hd7z5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382655/original/file-20210205-24-hd7z5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382655/original/file-20210205-24-hd7z5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Chinese and Japanese language programs are casualties of course cuts at Swinburne University of Technology.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/melbourne-australia-november-9-2016-swinburne-557958172">Nils Versemann/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The best universities in Australia know they attract students by leading with world-class research. However, a shrinking number of universities can credibly lay claim to world-class research that is relevant to the region in terms of language programs and academic country expertise. Any university can pay consultants to produce a slick marketing campaign but that is meaningless if the university lacks the expertise to back it up.</p>
<p>Closing language programs could lead to a loss of international students, particularly higher degree students, on top of those already lost to COVID-related border closures. These students are often attracted by specific country expertise that Australian universities and academics have to offer.</p>
<p>Australia was once known as the mecca of the academic world for Asian studies expertise. The breadth and diversity of its language programs was an integral part of that. It’s time to rebuild that status.</p>
<h2>A blow to regional engagement</h2>
<p>By cancelling language programs, universities are forfeiting their leading role in promoting deep and long-term engagement with our region. Quite simply, the lack of commitment of many universities demonstrates a gap in deep understanding of the importance of the Indo-Pacific to Australia.</p>
<p>The region has no shortage of challenges and its political, economic and social well-being directly affect Australia. COVID-19 is a stark example of this. Australia can’t afford to be monolingual in its engagement with the region.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-english-becomes-the-global-language-of-education-we-risk-losing-other-often-better-ways-of-learning-143744">When English becomes the global language of education we risk losing other – often better – ways of learning</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>What happened to a positive start to meet the challenges of a post-2020 world? Surely our government with its <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/corporate/annual-reports/Pages/department-of-foreign-affairs-and-trade-annual-report-2018-19.aspx/annual-report-2018-19/home/section-2/promote-a-stable-and-prosperous-indo-pacific/index.html">stated ambitions</a> in the Indo-Pacific region must prioritise structural arrangements with our universities that ensure the next generation can equip themselves with the language skills they need for the Asian Century.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154555/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melissa Crouch is Vice-President of the Asian Studies Association of Australia</span></em></p>The Australian government has dropped protections for language programs at a time when universities are announcing plans to end Asian languages courses. That’s a mistake in the Asian Century.Melissa Crouch, Professor and Associate Dean Research, Law School, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1510962020-12-03T04:33:17Z2020-12-03T04:33:17Z6 unis had Hindi programs. Soon there could be only 1, and that’s not in Australia’s best interests<p>La Trobe University is in talks to <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/la-trobe-university-s-hindi-program-at-risk-of-being-axed">discontinue its Hindi program</a>, along with Greek and Indonesian. In the mid-1990s, <a href="https://www.aii.unimelb.edu.au/publications/very-short-policy-brief/strategies-to-expand-hindi-education-in-australia/">six Australian universities taught Hindi</a>. If La Trobe ends its program, Australia will be left with just one university (ANU in Canberra) that teaches Hindi. </p>
<p>This would be a significant setback for Hindi in Australia. The decision reflects a COVID-induced <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/hundreds-more-university-jobs-to-go-as-la-trobe-vic-uni-announce-cuts-20200813-p55lbo.html">budget crunch at La Trobe</a>, but also a long-term <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-hawke-to-turnbull-asian-language-learning-in-decline-47163">decline in the study of Asian languages</a> in Australia.</p>
<h2>Good relations with India are vital</h2>
<p>Hindi’s decline may seem strange, since it’s the <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2014/opinion/is-hindi-indias-new-english">official language of India</a>, with <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other/hindi/guide/facts.shtml">more than half-a-billion speakers</a>. Australians have a growing interest in India and <a href="https://www.aii.unimelb.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Report-Australian-Engagement-Indias-Higher-Education-System-Freeman.pdf">connections between Australian and Indian universities are increasing</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hindi-indias-new-english-28259">Hindi: India's new English</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Given the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-australia-china-relationship-is-unravelling-faster-than-we-could-have-imagined-145836">current tensions with China</a>, Australia’s relationship with India – and other large Asian nations – has never been more important.</p>
<p>Even before the feud with China, the benefits of improving the Australia-India relationship were <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/%7E/media/wopapub/house/committee/jfadt/India/indiach2_pdf.ashx">widely acknowledged</a>. Australia and India have <a href="https://india.embassy.gov.au/ndli/pa5009jsa.html">converging geostrategic interests</a>. There is tremendous potential for mutual benefit by enhancing economic, social and cultural ties.</p>
<p>Here in Australia, the Indian diaspora is large, <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/indian-population-in-australia-increases-30-per-cent-in-less-than-two-years-now-the-third-largest-migrant-group-in-australia">numbering around 660,000</a>, and <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/indian-population-in-australia-increases-30-per-cent-in-less-than-two-years-now-the-third-largest-migrant-group-in-australia">growing fast</a>. </p>
<iframe title="Top countries of birth for overseas-born Australian residents" aria-label="chart" id="datawrapper-chart-na9Po" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/na9Po/3/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>In the 2016 census, Hindi was <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/hindi-is-the-top-indian-language-spoken-in-australia">among the fastest-growing languages</a> in Australia. A closely related language, Punjabi, was the fastest-growing.</p>
<p>Community enthusiasm for Hindi is reflected in more than 2,400 community members signing <a href="http://chng.it/SX2NTCjzKF">a petition</a> to save the La Trobe program.</p>
<h2>Language helps bridge diplomatic gaps</h2>
<p>In 2018, University of Queensland chancellor <a href="https://about.uq.edu.au/chancellor">Peter Varghese</a>, a former senior diplomat and public servant, released his government-commissioned <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/india/ies/pdf/dfat-an-india-economic-strategy-to-2035.pdf">India Economic Strategy to 2035</a>. This report sought to guide Australia’s engagement with India for years to come. </p>
<p>Varghese noted Australia has struggled to match its enthusiasm for India with substantive engagement. Efforts to establish connections often fall short due to failures of mutual understanding.</p>
<p>The report argues “people-to-people” links between Australia and India will be as important as political linkages. They will help shape perceptions and foster mutual understanding in ways political delegations could never do.</p>
<p>Varghese was not alone. The Victoria government’s 2019 <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/victorias-india-strategy">India Strategy</a> made its first priority to “celebrate and strengthen our personal connections”.</p>
<p>Most recently, the 2020 <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/india/Pages/joint-statement-comprehensive-strategic-partnership-between-republic-india-and-australia">joint statement</a> on a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Australia and India, signed by their prime ministers, Scott Morrison and Narendra Modi, gives people-to-people connections a prominent place in “enriching all aspects of bilateral ties”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-and-india-some-way-to-go-yet-76085">Australia and India: some way to go yet</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Government talk of “people-to-people connection” has not been followed up with support for this goal. In particular, support for language programs has languished.</p>
<h2>Classes foster people-to-people connections</h2>
<p>Language education cultivates people-to-people connections. These personal connections start from the very first day of a language class.</p>
<p>Hindi classrooms in Australia have immediate positive effects for Australian students and society. Students are immersed in a complex of perspectives that reflect life in all parts of South Asia and in global diaspora communities.</p>
<p>Hindi language teachers capitalise on the bicultural experiences of students with South Asian heritage. These students are already experts in negotiating a relationship between Indian and Australian cultures. These skills make our students the best ambassadors for Australia in the “nooks” of Indian life that evade official state actors.</p>
<p>Equal contributors to our classrooms are non-heritage students who enrol in tertiary-level Hindi courses because of their personal interest in South Asia. Together, heritage and non-heritage students negotiate learning Hindi and understanding Indian culture. They form lasting friendships that deepen the ways in which Australians of many different backgrounds understand each other.</p>
<p>Cultivating culturally literate Indian-Australian and non-Indian-Australian speakers of Hindi depends on providing a learning environment that is found only in university classrooms.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/get-ready-to-learn-hindi-education-in-the-asian-century-10394">Get ready to learn Hindi: education in the Asian century</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>La Trobe’s proposal, by halving the national university-level Hindi teaching capacity, would also undermine our capacity for building human connections between India and Australia.</p>
<h2>A blow to the local Hindi ecosystem</h2>
<p>University-level Hindi programs <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=m9QRBwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=van+lier+ecology&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=van%20lier%20ecology&f=false">form part of larger language ecosystems</a>. They depend on thriving primary and high school programs. This ensures a supply of Hindi students and educators at all levels. </p>
<p>In Melbourne, <a href="https://www.aii.unimelb.edu.au/publications/very-short-policy-brief/strategies-to-expand-hindi-education-in-australia/">a Hindi language ecosystem was just starting to take root</a>. Two schools, Rangebrook Primary and The Grange College, now offer Hindi as their main language other than English. A number of energetic informal networks and societies focus on Hindi language and literature. </p>
<p>La Trobe’s Hindi conferences and events have been an important focal point for these groups over a number of years.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-languages-should-children-be-learning-to-get-ahead-74305">What languages should children be learning to get ahead?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The loss of the La Trobe program is thus not only a blow to students wishing to study Hindi at a university level, but also to this entire emerging Hindi language ecosystem.</p>
<p>While dynamic and engaging curriculums are needed to ensure sustainable Hindi programs at Australian universities, they are not enough on their own. There must also be sustained government support for establishing Hindi ecosystems in clusters around these universities.</p>
<p>One of us made this point in a co-authored <a href="https://www.aii.unimelb.edu.au/publications/very-short-policy-brief/strategies-to-expand-hindi-education-in-australia/">policy brief</a> published in 2018. It echoes <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Unlocking-Australias-Language-Potential-Hindi-Urdu-Marika-Vicziany/9781875578474">commentary</a> by others on the decline of Hindi education in Australia since the mid-1990s. Current events in Australia and in the Indo-Pacific should make it clear why we need to reverse this trend.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Update: In the months after publication of this article, La Trobe University announced its <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/la-trobe-s-greek-language-program-saved-by-community-cash-injection-20201217-p56ofa.html">Greek</a>, <a href="http://www.southasiatimes.com.au/news/?p=12112">Hindi</a> and Indonesian programs would be retained for the time being.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151096/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher L. Diamond is affiliated with the School of Culture, History, and Language in the College of Asia & the Pacific at the Australian National University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Trent Brown is affiliated with the School of Geography at the University of Melbourne and the Australia India Institute. </span></em></p>Hindi is the most widely spoken language of India and of the many people of Indian origin in Australia. The teaching of Hindi has been in decline at a time when the need for it has never been greater.Christopher L. Diamond, Lecturer in Hindi, Australian National UniversityTrent Brown, DECRA Research Fellow, School of Geography, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1038832019-02-08T15:13:01Z2019-02-08T15:13:01ZMore British children are learning Mandarin Chinese – but an increase in qualified teachers is urgently needed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257686/original/file-20190207-174864-1he8l8v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mandarin Chinese: coming to a school near you soon?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mandarin Chinese is seen as being of increasing strategic importance, and in recent years there’s been a growing number of students taking up the language in schools across the UK.</p>
<p>There were more than <a href="https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/">3,500 GCSE entries for Mandarin Chinese</a> in 2018. But it’s not just <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview">China’s global dominance</a> that makes Mandarin an appealing alternative to learning a European language. For students, it’s exciting and opens up a window into other cultures and ways of thinking. </p>
<p>Take the character for home and family 家 – which is a pig under a roof – many students are keen to find out why. New learners of the language are also always pleased to discover that verbs don’t change – so no having to remember different endings off by heart – and there are no tenses in Mandarin Chinese.</p>
<p>The learning of Chinese <a href="https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/languages-for-the-future-report.pdf">is taking off globally</a>, so there are many new and innovative resources for students. China is also keen to welcome guests and school students have been able to benefit from in-country learning – supported financially by Chinese host institutions during their stay. Many come back home and realise the opportunities to work in China or with Chinese companies in their future will be huge. </p>
<h2>Chinese in schools</h2>
<p>As a new subject in a school, Chinese teachers (whether native or non-native speaker) tend to see themselves as pioneers. And they are often under pressure to establish their departments and achieve good results. This can mean learners have plenty of extra support and are motivated by highly focused teachers.</p>
<p>Students are often taught in precisely the same way as they would be taught for a European language, despite the structural differences of Chinese. Teachers start with a communicative approach –- so learners have to get to grips with more complex characters early. For instance 我喜欢 are the characters for “I like”. </p>
<p>Given a free rein, the teacher might choose to build up simpler characters to start with eg 人 and 口 – which mean people and mouth separately. These can then be put together as a compound, meaning population 人口.</p>
<h2>Speaking and writing</h2>
<p>The UCL Institute of Education has been supporting schools to teach Mandarin Chinese since 2007. Students can also now take part in the <a href="https://ci.ioe.ac.uk/mandarin-excellence-programme/">Department for Education’s Mandarin Excellence Programme</a>, which is delivered in schools with support from a team of specialists at the UCL Institute of Education. The students learn Chinese for eight hours a week –- four taught hours and four hours of self-study – from year seven onward. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257687/original/file-20190207-174861-z43kpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257687/original/file-20190207-174861-z43kpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257687/original/file-20190207-174861-z43kpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257687/original/file-20190207-174861-z43kpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257687/original/file-20190207-174861-z43kpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257687/original/file-20190207-174861-z43kpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257687/original/file-20190207-174861-z43kpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Learning a different language can be fun for kids.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The programme is already having substantial results with 64 schools and more than 3000 pupils already on track to reach high levels of proficiency during their time at school. The first cohort of students are just joining year three of the programme and already able to speak and write Chinese to a high standard.</p>
<p>As well as delivering the programme and helping to train more Mandarin teachers, <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-and-centres/centres/ioe-confucius-institute-schools">UCL Institute of Education is running a pilot</a> for a significant project in schools to investigate the cognitive benefits of learning Chinese. We hope to discover how the brain functions differently when learning Chinese and the benefits this can have on schoolchildren.</p>
<h2>A growing trend</h2>
<p>But in all the noise about Chinese learning, perspective needs to be maintained about the numbers. In some schools Chinese is thoroughly embedded into the curriculum as a language offered alongside French, Spanish and German, but according to the British Council’s most recent Language Trends survey, Chinese is only offered as a GCSE option in <a href="https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/language_trends_2018_report.pdf">8% of state schools and 32% of independent schools</a>. </p>
<p>At A-level, numbers are increasing, but this may mask the fact that a good number of those being examined will be native speakers of Chinese – or those with family background in the language. </p>
<p>What is clear though is that given this rise in interest, many more qualified teachers of Chinese are needed – as is much more research on best practice in teaching what is a relatively new language in schools. </p>
<p>This is important, because it is vital there is wider access to and better provision of Mandarin Chinese, if more students are to learn this language. But for this to happen, more schools need to start taking it seriously – by placing it alongside the traditional “foreign” languages (French, German and Spanish) that are typically learnt in the classroom.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103883/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katharine Carruthers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There’s been a growing number of students taking up the language in schools across the UK.Katharine Carruthers, Pro-Vice-Provost East Asia, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/471632015-09-28T04:42:07Z2015-09-28T04:42:07ZFrom Hawke to Turnbull: Asian language learning in decline<p>The number of students studying Asian languages in Australia has decreased over the past decade, particularly if we consider the <a href="https://theconversation.com/six-ways-australias-education-system-is-failing-our-kids-32958">number</a> of students from Asian language backgrounds undertaking Asian languages at school. </p>
<p>Labor MPs Clare O'Neil and Tim Watts have recently raised this issue. They write in their new book, <a href="https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/two-futures">Two Futures: Australia at a Critical Moment</a>, that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Yet, after more than a decade of opinion pieces, there are fewer students studying Asian languages in Australia today than there were in 2000.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They’re not the first to notice the decline, of course. ANU academic Michael Wesley, in his 2011 book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/There-Goes-Neighbourhood-Australia-Rise/dp/1742232728">There Goes the Neighbourhood: Australia and the Rise of Asia</a> writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Since Garnaut’s call for Asian literacy in 1989 there has been a relative decline in the numbers of Australians studying Asian languages. While Japanese is still the most widely studied foreign language and demand has surged for Mandarin Chinese, the number of people studying other Asian languages is either stagnant or declining. Schools and universities have reduced their investments in the teaching of Asian languages.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The issue is also raised in the <a href="http://asialink.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/645592/australia-in-the-asian-century-white-paper.pdf">Asian Century white paper</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>By contrast the share of Australian students studying languages, including many Asian languages, is small and has fallen in recent times. Between 2000 and 2008, the share of Australian students learning a tertiary-accredited language other than English in Year 12 dropped in a time where overall student numbers increased by almost 9%. In 2008, less than 6% of Australian school students studied Indonesian, Japanese, Korean or Chinese (Mandarin) in Year 12 (AEF 2012, MCEETYA 2008). Fewer Year 12 students studied Indonesian in 2009 than in 1972 (Hill 2012). And, while Japanese remains the most widely taught language in Australian schools, student numbers fell by 16% from 2000 to 2008 (de Kretser & Spence-Brown 2010).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A Grattan Institute <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/075_jensen_oped_australian_education.pdf">study</a> cites the number of students studying an Asian language at <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/075_jensen_oped_australian_education.pdf">6%</a> in 2011, but also emphasises that many of these students derive from Asian backgrounds.</p>
<p>You need only to look at a map or glance at headlines on the rise of Asian economies to know that learning Asian languages is strategically a good idea for Australia. Yet here we are. So how did we get here?</p>
<h2>From Hawke to Turnbull: the learning of Asian languages</h2>
<p>In 1987, the Hawke government launched a national scheme to encourage enrolments and the learning of Asian languages. The Hawke government attempted to engage Australian students with their Asian neighbours by encouraging the learning of Asian studies and languages. In 1990, the Hawke government’s adoption of a number of policies and programs supporting Asian studies and languages culminated in Japanese replacing French as the <a href="http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=aer">most widely taught foreign language in Australian schools.</a> </p>
<p>The approach to encouraging the uptake of Asian languages continued into 1994, when the Keating government introduced <a href="http://www1.curriculum.edu.au/nalsas/about.htm">NALSAS</a>. <a href="http://www1.curriculum.edu.au/nalsas/pdf/strategy.pdf">Before the Howard government shelved the initiative</a> in 2002, the numbers of students studying Japanese, Indonesian and Chinese had increased dramatically.</p>
<p>In 2008, the Rudd government attempted to revisit the aims of NALSAS and unveiled the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program (NALSSP). The aim was to raise the rates of “fluent” Asian language learners to 12% of the Australian population. The program <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=F6MGCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=nalssp+ended&source=bl&ots=KFI57Ployl&sig=tAq8KoBE79HTSrxqx5aJaUHb5_0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAWoVChMIn63PjOzrxwIVohqmCh09HQ7j#v=onepage&q=nalssp%20ended&f=false">ended</a> in 2012 after funding was discontinued: the year before the Gillard government released its final budget. </p>
<p>In 2012, Tony Abbott <a href="https://theconversation.com/2bn-needed-to-achieve-abbotts-language-vision-6978">pledged A$2 billion to the learning of Asian languages</a> and promised to increase the rate of students studying Asian languages to 40%. Now <a href="https://theconversation.com/abbotts-last-speech-as-leader-no-tears-or-laughs-here-47628">Abbott is gone</a>, it will be interesting to see how Turnbull approaches the issue.</p>
<p>Despite this long history of engagement, Australia continues to have one of <a href="http://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=859">the lowest levels</a> of students undertaking study of languages during their school years, when compared to other OECD nations.</p>
<h2>More languages, fewer students</h2>
<p>The number of secondary school students studying <em>any</em> foreign language during their secondary school years has <a href="https://theconversation.com/six-ways-australias-education-system-is-failing-our-kids-32958">decreased</a> over the past decade, so it is not surprising to see the rates of Asian language completions also lessening.</p>
<p>In NSW, for example, the number of secondary students studying Asian languages has <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/students-stop-taking-asian-languages-in-senior-years-20131007-2v4cu.html">plummeted</a> over the past decade, <a href="http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/ebos/static/ebos_stats.html">falling from more than 1500 in 2000 to just 798 in 2014</a>.</p>
<p>Yet many Asian languages are offered in Australian schools: Japanese continues to be taught widely, with Mandarin, Korean and Indonesian also commonly offered. In Victoria, the only state to have mandated language learning at the primary level, <a href="http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/curriculum/Pages/languagebilingual.aspx">a number of schools</a> also offer instruction and immersion programs for community languages such as <a href="http://www.footscrayps.vic.edu.au/">Vietnamese</a> and <a href="https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/pages/View.aspx?pin=NM2HMC">Karen</a>.</p>
<p>The decline in enrolments therefore cannot be attributed to a lack of resources. It’s more likely a result of lack of interest and a perceived lack of value attached to the learning of Asian languages.</p>
<h2>Where to from here?</h2>
<p>The Hawke government attempted to engage Australian students with their Asian neighbours by encouraging the learning of Asian studies and languages. Decades later, despite decreasing levels of students undertaking Asian languages, maintaining cultural and linguistic connection with our counterparts in the Asia-Pacific region is no less important. </p>
<p>While the study of any language yields great benefits, Australia’s location in the region makes a good argument for the teaching of Asian languages. It’s time to start thinking about making language learning compulsory, emphasising the merits of learning an Asian language throughout the schooling years.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47163/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Dabrowski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s time to start thinking about making language learning compulsory, emphasising the merits of learning an Asian language at school.Anna Dabrowski, Research Fellow, Melbourne Graduate School of Education; Lecturer, School of Languages and Linguistics , The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/350972014-12-10T00:51:19Z2014-12-10T00:51:19ZLook who’s talking: Indonesian in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66416/original/image-20141205-8664-1v0oo81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A TV ad featuring an Australian woman travelling to Bali and falling for a Balinese man captures Australia's love affair with Indonesia. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Made Nagi</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recently, Indonesian language has begun to make an appearance in Australian popular media. There is evidence too that, after years of decline, student interest in Indonesian language and studying in Indonesia is on the rise.</p>
<p>International comparisons suggest that popular culture and language learning may be connected. Bollywood cinema has spread Hindi through India more successfully than the shambolic national language policy. Some argued that the growth of interest in Japanese in the 1980s was fuelled by the global rise of manga comics. </p>
<p>More recently, Korean pop music and video games have driven interest in Korean language in Australia. </p>
<h2>Rhonda and Ketut</h2>
<p>Over the past three years, one of Australia’s largest insurance companies, AAMI, has run a series of ads featuring an average Australian woman, Rhonda, who travels to Bali and falls for handsome Ketut. </p>
<p>The ads captured Australia’s love affair with Bali. More broadly, they tapped into Australia’s affection for Indonesia and Indonesians living in Australia. </p>
<p>In the final episode, to Ketut’s declaration of love in Indonesian, Rhonda responds in a broad Australian accent: “<em>saya cinta kamu</em>” (“you too”). The episode underlines a phrase that Australian girls learn on a visit to Bali – “<em>saya cinta kamu”</em> (I love you) – but shows too that Rhonda doesn’t quite know what the words mean. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pqbtR7gyYeI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">AAMI’s ‘Rhonda and Ketut’ TV ads were the first to feature Indonesian language in Australian commercials.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As far as we can tell, this was the first time that Indonesian has been used in an Australian television ad. These ads seemed to simultaneously “normalise” Bali holidays and the use of Indonesian language and cross-cultural miscommunication as part of the everyday experience of Australians.</p>
<h2>Indonesian featured in Australian TV series</h2>
<p>In addition to the Rhonda and Ketut ads, the successful ABC series <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rake_%28Australian_TV_series%29">Rake</a> also presented characters speaking Indonesian.</p>
<p>In episode seven of series three, broadcast in March this year, main character Cleaver Greene’s ex-wife Wendy suffers an emotional shock and loses her ability to speak English.</p>
<p>Propelled by memories of “Seminyak years ago”, whenever the ex-hippy opens her mouth, words come out in fluent Indonesian, albeit with a rather cute Australian accent. The series’ creators used subtitles for Wendy’s Indonesian until they introduced the daughter of Wendy’s therapist as her interpreter in episode eight. </p>
<p>The ethnicity of the therapist is not clear in the series. The daughter is Indonesian-looking and speaks fluent English with an Australian accent. </p>
<p>By episode eight, Wendy has become quite a celebrity in Indonesia. The Indonesian media send film crews to interview her, paying $50,000 for the privilege. Cleaver is perplexed. “There’s 250 million people there speaking [it] – why are they getting excited about one more?” he grumbles.</p>
<p>It is a somewhat ridiculous sub-plot, though not entirely out of character with the inanity of the series. Wendy loses her inexplicable Indonesian ability when her emotional turmoil is resolved and she reverts to speaking English.</p>
<p>We never learn whether she had previously learnt or spoken Indonesian, or whether she ever spoke it again. But for a moment in the fantasy of Australian television, Indonesian is spoken with consummate ease by a white middle-aged Australian mum.</p>
<h2>Indonesian in Australian universities</h2>
<p>The period between 2001 and 2010 was marked by a dramatic decline in interest in Indonesian language in Australian universities. Enrolments <a href="http://www.murdoch.edu.au/ALTC-Fellowship/Final-Report/">dropped by 37%</a> that decade, followed by five years of flat-lining. But now more Australian students are heading to Indonesia to study. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.acicis.murdoch.edu.au/">Australian Consortium for “In-Country” Indonesian Studies</a> (ACICIS) has announced the biggest cohort ever (76) for the first semester of 2015. The ACICIS internship program also set a record by sending 74 students to work in Indonesian organisations in January-February 2015. For the same periods in 2014, the figures were 46 and 44 respectively.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66595/original/image-20141208-16332-1i444f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66595/original/image-20141208-16332-1i444f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66595/original/image-20141208-16332-1i444f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66595/original/image-20141208-16332-1i444f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66595/original/image-20141208-16332-1i444f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66595/original/image-20141208-16332-1i444f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66595/original/image-20141208-16332-1i444f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australians who have studied Indonesian in school have a significantly more positive attitude to Indonesia than does the general population.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">DFAT</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s signature <a href="http://www.dfat.gov.au/new-colombo-plan/about.html">New Colombo Plan</a> (NCP) to encourage students to study in Asia is also having an impact. Of the 69 NCP scholarships awarded last week, ten went to students who will study in Indonesia for a semester or more in 2015 – the second-largest number to any single destination, after China. </p>
<p>In the latest round of NCP “mobility grants” (for semester or short-term programs), more than 600 of the estimated 3173 undergraduates funded will go to Indonesia, the largest allocation to any single jurisdiction. </p>
<p>Indonesian language enrolments have always been sensitive both to events in Indonesia and the Australian media’s coverage of those. The 1997 Asian financial crisis triggered falls in enrolment. The Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005 and the rise of militant Islam in Indonesia coloured <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/australian-attitudes-towards-indonesia/australian-attitudes-towards-indonesia.pdf">Australian perceptions</a> of Indonesia and its language.</p>
<p>Such negative images are now receding. Broader public interest has been generated by positive Australian media coverage of Indonesia’s new president, Joko Widodo, a “cleanskin” former furniture exporter from outside the old Jakarta political elite. </p>
<p>There is <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2014.940033">evidence</a> that Australians who have studied Indonesian in school have a significantly more positive attitude to Indonesia than does the general population.</p>
<p>Indonesian is still one of the top three most-studied languages in Australian schools. While fewer students are continuing Indonesian to Year 12, about 190,000 school students were <a href="http://www.murdoch.edu.au/ALTC-Fellowship/_document/Resources/CurrentStateIndonesianLanguageEducation.pdf">studying some Indonesian in 2010</a>. No more recent study has been published.</p>
<p>Sadly, Indonesian-language teachers in schools across Australia might not be able to show Rake to their classes, given the M-rating for the constant swearing and frequent sexual references. Wendy does not swear in Indonesian or English, but her young interpreter does take a few liberties in adding swear words in English. No swear words occurred in the Indonesian dialogue.</p>
<p>Interpreting pop culture’s inner message is always fraught. But these episodes of Rake do suggest that Indonesian is easily absorbed, that Indonesians get pretty excited when we speak their language – and that it may even be quite lucrative.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35097/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David T. Hill is the Founder and Director of the Australian Consortium for 'In-Country' Indonesian Studies (ACICIS), a non-profit consortium of 23 universities, hosted by Murdoch University, which places foreign students into Indonesian universities. ACICIS has received New Colombo Plan mobility grants to fund Australian undergraduates studying in Indonesia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Krishna Sen is a member of the New Colombo Plan reference group.</span></em></p>Recently, Indonesian language has begun to make an appearance in Australian popular media. There is evidence too that, after years of decline, student interest in Indonesian language and studying in Indonesia…David T. Hill, Professor of Southeast Asian Studies and Fellow of the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch UniversityKrishna Sen, Professor of Indonesian Studies and Dean of Arts, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/252132014-04-03T19:47:06Z2014-04-03T19:47:06ZA problematic start to the New Colombo Plan<p>About a decade ago I had a slightly prickly conversation with an Australian who had just returned from a business trip to China. As usual, I was grumbling about the legendary reluctance of Australians to learn foreign languages, especially Asian languages.</p>
<p>The businessman was genuinely bewildered.</p>
<p>“Why would you want to learn Chinese?” he spluttered. “Everyone I spoke to in China used English!”</p>
<p>This attitude is almost the norm in Australia, but it is still a small shock to hear it echoed by Senator Brett Mason, the parliamentary secretary in charge of the government’s New Colombo Plan initiative. <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/lack-of-asian-no-bar-to-joining-new-colombo-plan/story-e6frgcjx-1226871272846">At a conference</a> on Education in Asia earlier this week he acknowledged that command of Asian languages was desirable, but students didn’t necessarily need it to benefit from the New Colombo Plan program. English is the de facto language of business in Asia, he argued, and students shouldn’t be “artificially” driven into the study of Asian languages at university when there were increasing opportunities in Asia to study in English.</p>
<p>Senator Mason and the New Colombo Plan seem to be contradicting the ideals of the original Colombo Plan. In its tertiary study facets, the original Colombo Plan brought, and continues to bring, thousands of students to Australia to study for extended periods in what for most is a foreign language (English). The new Plan has started off with relatively short study placements, many of them in English-language environments. Fifteen lucky students from Wollongong University get a week in Hong Kong, and 12 even luckier ANU students get a semester of predominantly English-medium study in Japan.</p>
<p>It is possible to a limited degree to study and do business in Asia by relying only on English. But, like someone who learns his times table but refuses to do algebra, the mono-lingual English speaker can only go so far. And increasingly it is not as far as the ideal of deep engagement with Asia requires.</p>
<p>As prosperity spreads across the tiger economies of Asia a new linguistic reality is fast emerging. Except in small enclaves (Singapore, for example), growing prosperity is by-passing command of English. When an economy is booming ordinary people no longer need English to get rich. Prosperity acquires its own largely home-grown momentum. In big linguistic communities like Japan, Korea, China and Indonesia, local languages start to outstrip English in high-end trade and investment.</p>
<p>This doesn’t mean that fewer people in Asia are using English. Far from it. But it does mean that English speakers no longer dominate the growing ranks of prosperous entrepreneurs and consumers. To maximise engagement – indeed simply to reach first base – we need to communicate with this fast-growing cohort in their own terms.</p>
<p>Australia hasn’t really twigged to this yet. Certainly Senator Mason hasn’t. Like a dinosaur trapped by climate change he seems content to nibble at the margins of the new linguistic forests of Asia.</p>
<p>But let’s not carp too much. The New Colombo Plan is a very welcome initiative, though one beautifully suited to having its funding suddenly slashed at some moment of budget stress in the future. It is diverse, flexible and incremental, so it wouldn’t be fair to ridicule it for its initial small size, its partial capitulation to the juggernaut of English, and its all-too-brief pilot placements.</p>
<p>Hopefully one day (on current indications, a very distant day) it will be an antidote to the outrageous imbalance we currently see between foreign students coming to Australia and Australian students studying in Asia. Take Indonesia, for example. At any one moment only around 50 Australians - a ratio of one in every 400,000 Australians - are studying in Indonesia in accredited courses in an Indonesian-language environment. In comparison, between 15,000 - 20,000 Indonesians study annually in Australia, a ratio of around one to every 15,000 Indonesian citizens.</p>
<p>The New Colombo Plan may change this, but so far it has set the bar low. There are big challenges beyond the language issue, such as accreditation, managing work placements, selection processes, in-country support services and funding a steady increase in student numbers. Senator Mason and his staff seem to be well aware of them, and there is hope they can be solved.</p>
<p>But there is one issue that doesn’t appear to have been addressed. It is important to place a significant tranche of top students in “non-prestigious” institutions. New Colombo Plan students must not be isolated from the reality of Asian societies by seeing only the most prestigious institutions of Asia.</p>
<p>Indonesia is of critical importance to Australia (especially northern Australia) economically and strategically. But its university system is very poorly developed. Given the importance of this near neighbour, it would be short-sighted if the poor quality of its universities meant our students were not encouraged to go there, or study there was devalued. In regions like this, and in many others (Myanmar, East Timor, Mongolia and regional China) work placements and mentoring could also be especially difficult.</p>
<p>Australian universities must be explicitly encouraged to devise programs of high-quality study in university environments that may be far from high-quality. Some of our more myopic, prestige-focused university administrators may find this a hard ask.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25213/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>George Quinn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>About a decade ago I had a slightly prickly conversation with an Australian who had just returned from a business trip to China. As usual, I was grumbling about the legendary reluctance of Australians…George Quinn, Adjunct :Professor and Visiting Fellow in Indonesian studies, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/104272012-10-31T23:20:57Z2012-10-31T23:20:57ZAcross the curriculum: access to Asian languages isn’t everything<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/17109/original/sxrtf494-1351646056.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4288%2C2708&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Asian languages are important, but they should be one part of a greater focus on Asia in the curriculum.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Asian image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Despite the breadth of issues in the <a href="http://asiancentury.dpmc.gov.au/about">Australia in the Asian Century White Paper</a> released this week, so far the debate has focused largely on language learning in schools. With fewer and fewer students taking up Asian languages at all levels of education this is an important issue. </p>
<p>But there are big questions around whether this focus on access to Asian languages is all that’s needed. And how, in the first place, we can convince young Australians to learn an Asian language. After all, just because school children have access to Asian languages (<a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/online-no-substitute-for-teachers/story-fng5k1ek-1226505648897">via the NBN</a>) doesn’t mean they will sign up for them. </p>
<p>The key is to think broadly about teaching both Asian studies and Asian languages at the same time.</p>
<h2>Wider focus</h2>
<p>First, let’s look at why the focus can’t all be about access to Asian languages. The new, national curriculum has a cross-curriculum priority called “Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia”. </p>
<p>This important statement means teachers should prioritise Asian case studies and examples when developing classroom content. But how this translates into the practical application in schools is important. </p>
<p>There is a concern that principals may guide teachers to think that given the Asian language priority, there’s no need to worry about teaching Asian studies in the rest of the curriculum. But this undermines the aim of the new national curriculum and could work against language learning in the long-term.</p>
<p>If we have good Asian studies examples, students will see the benefit of learning Asian languages as part of their education.
Placing Asian case studies in history, geography, even maths, will encourage students to see the importance of Asia and could help increase demand for Asian language learning later on.</p>
<p>This cross-curriculum priority cannot just be words on a page. It will need to fund good programs to encourage teachers to study the dynamic and evolving nature of Asian society, culture and politics.</p>
<h2>Asian literacy</h2>
<p>So we need a dual focus here, to encourage an understanding of Asia as well as its languages. But that doesn’t mean, like some have suggested that Asian languages aren’t crucial, or that they <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/lost-in-translation--why-gillards-plan-wont-work-20121030-28hs3.html">should remain in the too hard basket</a>. </p>
<p>It can be hard to explain the importance of being able to communicate in another language. More intelligent, eloquent and worldly people than me have tried and failed, but here’s my attempt.</p>
<p>It is a bit like explaining to someone who can’t swim, why they should learn to. The prospect is a bit daunting, particularly if they haven’t learnt as a child. And barring an emergency, if you try hard enough, you can get by on this earth without ever needing to jump in the ocean or swim in a lake. Swimming is also taught at school, despite the fact we are not all going to be the next Ian Thorpe or Stephanie Rice.</p>
<p>Similarly, most of us aren’t going to end up as expert Indonesian linguists or completely fluent in Mandarin. You can avoid travelling overseas to non-English speaking countries, or rely on everyone speaking English when you get there, or even on translation programs when you need. But this seems to me like relying on state-of-the-art life jackets, instead of learning to breaststroke.</p>
<p>Learning a language, like swimming, can be a life-changing experience. And just as most people don’t regret learning to swim, most who have learnt another language and have used that language at some point in their lives don’t regret that either. </p>
<p>As more people learn an Asian language in the Asian Century, they’ll come to see the benefit of this skill, just as we eventually come to see the benefit of attending all those swimming classes.</p>
<h2>The challenge ahead</h2>
<p>At the front line in this battle is the decline of Indonesian languages and studies in Australia. The white paper singles out Indonesian as one of the four key Asian languages to which students should have access, but how do we encourage Australian schools to sign up for Indonesian? </p>
<p>In NSW public schools, more than 44,000 students were studying Indonesian in 1996. In 2011, that number has been reduced to only 6,000, with only 82 students studying Indonesian language in year 12 last year. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://theconversation.com/indonesian-knowledge-is-dying-just-when-we-need-it-most-5630">Professor David Hill’s report</a> has found, at the present drop-off rate, most Indonesian departments at Australian universities will die out by 2020. </p>
<p>It is partly why, when the live cattle dispute erupted last year, we didn’t have many experts on the ground in Indonesia with sound knowledge of the cattle industry. It’s essential that the government implements the recommendations in Hill’s report.</p>
<h2>Study support</h2>
<p>Long-term support for both Asian studies and languages will be key, as schools and universities won’t bother with difficult change if they think this is a flash-in-the-pan initiative. </p>
<p>As the white paper clearly explains, if we are going to negotiate future challenges, and make the most of any opportunities that might come our way in the Asian Century, we want to give our children the best education to do so. </p>
<p>Implementing long-term programs which support both Asian studies and languages concurrently will give us the best chance of success.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/10427/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross Tapsell is a lecturer in Asian studies at the Australian National University. He is co-ordinating the ANU's EngageAsia program.</span></em></p>Despite the breadth of issues in the Australia in the Asian Century White Paper released this week, so far the debate has focused largely on language learning in schools. With fewer and fewer students…Ross Tapsell, Lecturer in Asian Studies, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/103942012-10-29T19:46:39Z2012-10-29T19:46:39ZGet ready to learn Hindi: education in the Asian century<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16990/original/7ngmt66x-1351479491.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Getting Hindi into schools will be a challenged, but it's worth the effort.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">romana klee</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The rapid rise of Asia means that Australia and the world find themselves in new strategic circumstances in this century. And that has immense implications for our young people. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://asiancentury.dpmc.gov.au">Australia in the Asian Century White Paper</a> sets out an ambitious roadmap to make sure we achieve an Asia capable skill set by 2025. And that’s not a moment too soon. Five-year-olds who start school in Australia today enter the workforce in 2025 just as China and India become the world’s top economies.</p>
<p>Complacent for too long, we have needed a major change, and the white paper should give us that. This is not a government report – it is government policy.</p>
<h2>A win for language</h2>
<p>The white paper positions learning about Asia as business as usual in all schools. All children from the start of primary school will have the chance to learn about Asia including its languages, histories, geographies and cultures through the new Australian curriculum.</p>
<p>Importantly, their progress will be tracked. We haven’t had commitment to do that before - to know how our children are progressing is a vital to ensure that schools take this curriculum priority seriously.</p>
<p>All Australian schools are to be linked to a school in Asia to support language studies and to forge friendships with young people in China, Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Thailand and across the region.</p>
<p>All Australian students will have the opportunity to undertake a continuous course of Asian language study from Year 1 to Year 12 with priority on Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian and now Hindi.</p>
<p>The inclusion of Hindi as a priority Asian language is new. Currently only a handful of Australian schools teach Hindi and scaling this up will be a challenge. But the decision to include Hindi is welcome and consistent with the growing importance of India globally and to Australia. The fact that only 12% of Indians speak English has been too little understood and we have been complacent about the need to know India better.</p>
<h2>Improving schools</h2>
<p>Most importantly, the white paper’s school education objectives will be written into the upcoming <a href="http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/better-schools-national-plan-school-improvement">National Plan for School Improvement</a>. This plan is the federal government’s response to the Gonski review on school funding. It means that literacy objectives set out in the white paper are not an isolated education program. They are integrated into our national plan for improving all schools – required by all schools and all education systems. Asia capability is core, essential and necessary and the plan has funding attached to it to achieve this.</p>
<p>The white paper requires all education authorities at all levels, state and federal, to develop detailed strategies for the study of Asia and Asian languages to become a core part of Australian school education.</p>
<p>The education objectives must surely have bipartisan support taking into account that opposition leader Tony Abbott has been calling for a <a href="http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/better-schools-national-plan-school-improvement">massive scale-up</a> of young Australians studying an Asian language.</p>
<p>Bipartisan support is vital. Recent experience demonstrates that there is no short-term fix for Australian schooling. It will require substantial investment from both federal and state governments and we need a long term plan in place to guide progress.</p>
<p>If we lose this white paper’s momentum to equip our young people to navigate the Asian century, we do so at Australia’s peril.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/10394/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathe Kirby works for Asialink at The University of Melbourne. Asialink's education arm, the Asia Education Foundation receives core funding from the Federal Government to promote and support Asia literacy in Australian schools.</span></em></p>The rapid rise of Asia means that Australia and the world find themselves in new strategic circumstances in this century. And that has immense implications for our young people. The Australia in the Asian…Kathe Kirby, Executive Director, Asialink and Asia Education Foundation, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/97242012-09-27T01:27:17Z2012-09-27T01:27:17ZTeaching Asia to Australia: it’s not just about languages<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15847/original/vmmhdpkf-1348555101.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Universities play a vital role in creating a better understanding of Asia – if it is included broadly in curricula.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Julian Smith</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ahead of the soon-to-be-released Asian Century White Paper, Foreign Minister Bob Carr has said Australia needs to “<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/carr-steps-in-for-sick-gillard-to-give-new-york-address-20120925-26hwh.html">know Asia</a>” in order to prosper. </p>
<p>Delivering a speech to the Asia Society on behalf of Prime Minister Julia Gillard in New York he argued that “we’ll need Asia-literate policies and Asia-capable people”.</p>
<p>Ken Henry, who heads the Asian century taskforce, has also <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/education-system-given-a-fail-20120820-24io3.html">argued</a> that Australians should, from their earliest years, acquire the cultural and linguistic literacy to “operate more effectively in an Asian-centred world”.</p>
<p>So how do we prepare Australians who attend universities today for this new world?</p>
<p>A large decline in the uptake of Asian language courses has prompted some experts and public figures to argue for a greater emphasis on <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-get-ahead-this-century-learn-an-asian-language-6247">studying languages</a>. Without a fluent population they argue, we can’t reach Australia’s full potential in the Asian century. </p>
<p>But while learning a foreign language undoubtedly improves one’s cultural awareness, it represents only one part of the puzzle. What we need is to incorporate Asia into curricula more broadly, not just compartmentalise it into separate areas of study.</p>
<h2>More than Asian Languages</h2>
<p>Despite its proximity, Asia is a foreign continent to most Australian tertiary students. Its cuisine may be regularly sampled, its people part of everyday life and its exports a fact of life, but Asia as a natural avenue for our aspirations is an alien concept.</p>
<p>We don’t advocate that Australia emulates the Asian style of education, dominated by rote learning, especially in maths, science and reading. <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-asian-schooling-infatuation-the-problem-of-pisa-envy-9435">As Education expert Stephen Dinham</a> argues, this approach does not necessarily translate to greater innovation and creativity. </p>
<p>But universities can play a greater role in helping Australians feel comfortable with our place in and relationship to Asia.</p>
<h2>Understanding Asia</h2>
<p>But you might ask, is that not exactly what courses teaching Asian languages and Asian history already do? Yes, but it needs to move beyond compartmentalisation of knowledge about Asia and include Asian topics into all kinds of courses, whether discussing the way Asia is represented in mainstream advertising, or becoming more familiar with Asian languages’ cadences in a class on community radio. </p>
<p>Students need help to move beyond the clichés. A class on the Indian media and movie industry, for example, needs to present a full picture. One that doesn’t just examine Bollywood but looks at shows like <a href="http://www.satyamevjayate.in/">Satyamev Jayante</a>, a popular talk show that highlights social issues in India. </p>
<p>Lessons on communism and nation-states need to include comparative analyses of how these ideologies and concepts are and were lived in Asia as well as Europe. When discussing the relationship between music and identity, non-English pieces can be used to open up discussions on how technology enables the exploration of both music and culture. </p>
<h2>The Asia within</h2>
<p>Australia has some important assets for this task – the many thousands of students at undergraduate and post-graduate level from Asia trained in our higher education institutes. </p>
<p>When tapped into and shared in our classrooms their experiences become part of our shared repository of knowledge about the many Asias, from many perspectives. </p>
<p>The key to all this is the notion of initiating and recognising Asia as part of everyday life in Australia. </p>
<p>Far beyond exotic holiday destinations, Asia is where a significant part of Australia’s future lies and our university students need to become accustomed to and informed on the region’s diversity and many contradictions if we are to make sense of our place in our time within an Asian-centred world. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9724/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Leong works as a Lecturer at the Queensland University of Technology teaching in the discipline of Media and Communication.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Gomes is a Lecturer in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University.</span></em></p>Ahead of the soon-to-be-released Asian Century White Paper, Foreign Minister Bob Carr has said Australia needs to “know Asia” in order to prosper. Delivering a speech to the Asia Society on behalf of Prime…Susan Leong, Lecturer in Media and Communication, Queensland University of TechnologyCatherine Gomes, ARC Early Career Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/69782012-05-11T05:58:39Z2012-05-11T05:58:39Z$2bn needed to achieve Abbott’s language vision<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/10568/original/g6gfwswd-1336715613.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students learn Korean, one of four principal Asian languages being promoted in Australian schools. The others are Mandarin, Japanese and Indonesian.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/STR</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Language experts have applauded Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s pledge to dramatically boost foreign language education, but warn that a financial investment of about $2 billion and a long-term commitment to teacher training will be needed to achieve it.</p>
<p>In his response to the Federal Government’s budget, Mr Abbott vowed to increase the number of Year 12 students studying a language other than English to 40% within a decade. The commitment would return foreign language study to levels not seen since the 1960s.</p>
<p>Presently just 12.8% of Year 12 students take a foreign language. Of those, 5.8% are studying an Asian language.</p>
<p>Mr Abbott said he would also promote Asian languages from pre-school in a bid to improve the opportunities of Australians in the region: “We are supposed to be adapting to the Asian Century, yet Australians’ study of foreign languages, especially Asian languages, is in precipitous decline.”</p>
<p>Kathe Kirby, Executive Director of the Asialink and Asia Education Foundation at the University of Melbourne, described Mr Abbott’s commitment as a “fantastic initiative”, but warned that without substantial funding, Australia would not come close to realising it.</p>
<p>“I sat on the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program (NALSSP) reference group for three years, and we did quite a lot of work on the figures that are needed,” Ms Kirby said. “Between 1995 and 2002, we doubled the number of students studying an Asian language in Australian schools. That cost $100 million a year in today’s terms, and by the end of it there were still only 6.6% of Year 12 kids taking an Asian language.</p>
<p>"Using that dollar amount, and extrapolating to Mr Abbott’s goal, which is much, much bigger, you’d be looking at close to $2 billion over the decade.”</p>
<p>That worked out at about $66 per student per year, Ms Kirby said.</p>
<p>Without a firm bipartisan commitment to a sustained plan, the target set by Mr Abbott would remain well out of reach, she said. “And if you can’t get the states to commit to this, too, because let us not forget that it’s the states that have responsibility for schooling and not the federal government, then once again, you won’t achieve it.</p>
<p>"People have said to me, ‘Isn’t this just a ludicrously aspirational target?’ And my response to that is that in most other developed countries in the world, 100% of students study a foreign language in Year 12. China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong - and then you’ve got the European countries. In Sweden, they do three. In the Netherlands, they do three. And so on. Australia has the lowest record in all OECD countries of second-language learning.”</p>
<p>Learning a foreign language was not just about communication, she said, but about understanding another culture. “In today’s inter-connected world, people need that skill and that understanding to increase their opportunities.”</p>
<p>Yuko Kinoshita, a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Communication and International Studies, said she welcomed Mr Abbott’s “commitment to foreign language education, as I believe it has a significant impact on the multicultural society like ours, well beyond getting an extra edge in the global market.</p>
<p>"His aspiration to have "40% of high school students learning another language” is absolutely achievable. In many countries, a foreign language - most often English - is mandatory at a high school, or even primary school level. Most of our Asian neighbours have English as a part of compulsory education.“</p>
<p>Dr Kinoshita agreed that the target could only be met with a long-term commitment from the both sides of politics. "We need more qualified teachers. It takes time to foster qualified teachers with great understanding of language and culture. We also need to work out the state and national level curriculum so that the students who started learning at preschool won’t be taught the same stuff over and over again throughout their primary and high school.</p>
<p>"If we would like to have any meaningful outcome, we have to think well beyond the time span of the federal election.”</p>
<p>Ms Kirby agreed that a major injection of funding for teaching training would be needed, but said that “increasingly technology can help out. Children can have Skype sessions with children in Jakarta or China. Technologies like Skype and interactive whiteboards and other platforms where kids can be coached by native speakers in another country - they are changing the face of learning. It means we don’t need to look at our current model of language teaching, and say, ‘Here’s how many teachers we have now, we need to double or triple that.’”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/6978/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Language experts have applauded Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s pledge to dramatically boost foreign language education, but warn that a financial investment of about $2 billion and a long-term commitment…Justin Norrie, EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/62472012-04-15T20:44:35Z2012-04-15T20:44:35ZWant to get ahead this century? Learn an Asian language<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/9504/original/w3zm2t69-1334193335.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Learning an Asian language will change how you think about the world.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">no_typographic_man</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-in-the-asian-century-6391">AUSTRALIA IN THE ASIAN CENTURY</a> – A series examining Australia’s role in the rapidly transforming Asian region. Delivered in partnership with the Australian government.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Today, Dr Yuko Kinoshita looks at Asian languages in Australia, and why we should all try harder to learn them.</strong></p>
<p>Cultural attitudes are crucial for Australia in this Asian Century, specifically, the cultural attitudes of Australian young people. </p>
<p>Be it economics, business, politics, or defence, the basis of any relationship is the people behind it, who are driven by values and beliefs. Individual beliefs about cultural differences have a fundamental impact on our position in the region. </p>
<p>Australia needs people who can face unfamiliar values and practices with a healthy respect and tolerance, not arrogance and fear.</p>
<h2>Curiosity and affinity</h2>
<p>How do we foster these qualities? Language education, grounded in cultural awareness, has much to offer.</p>
<p>Quality language education is not just about gaining fluency. Rather, it challenges students to think outside their native environment, and to be curious about unfamiliar cultures. </p>
<p>In language study, students learn far more than is being taught. With skill-based training as a launchpad, they get a glimpse of life within a different cultural framework, experiencing affinity with unfamiliar worlds — and people. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/9505/original/cnqc4w4h-1334193342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/9505/original/cnqc4w4h-1334193342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/9505/original/cnqc4w4h-1334193342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/9505/original/cnqc4w4h-1334193342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/9505/original/cnqc4w4h-1334193342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1010&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/9505/original/cnqc4w4h-1334193342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1010&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/9505/original/cnqc4w4h-1334193342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1010&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ken2754@Yokohama</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Japanese, for example, we express respect or appreciation to others as an ingrained and important part of communication. Our settings are very different to those of an Anglo-Australian, or of those with other cultural backgrounds. </p>
<p>By learning about these linguistic features of culture, students efficiently develop understandings of the importance of cultural attitudes in society, rather than trying to do this through ethnographic or sociological studies. </p>
<p>In communication practice, students put this understanding into action. They get a living experience which is immediate, deep, and personalised.</p>
<p>Communicating in a language we cannot speak well is a precious experience. Struggling to communicate, feeling inadequate, getting frustrated or even frightened can forge pathways for understanding the experiences of many in our community, particularly those from non-English speaking backgrounds. </p>
<p>This empathy is crucial in engaging with our Asian neighbours, as well as in working together with fellow Australians from Asian backgrounds.</p>
<p>An understanding of the breadth and depth of cultural difference — and the possibility of bridging that gap – is the key outcome of quality language education. And you might become fluent in another language as a bonus.</p>
<h2>Languages in tertiary education</h2>
<p>With the economic and social importance of Asia giving more reason than ever for quality language education, it is nevertheless becoming more and more difficult to achieve due to the financial pressures at universities. </p>
<p>Language staff are often forced to increase class sizes, reduce face-to-face contact hours, and eliminate continuous assessments — all of which reduce effectiveness. </p>
<p>“Can’t you use modern technologies to deliver the course at a lower cost?” is a popular question from management.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/9503/original/jm57j3ns-1334193329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/9503/original/jm57j3ns-1334193329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/9503/original/jm57j3ns-1334193329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/9503/original/jm57j3ns-1334193329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/9503/original/jm57j3ns-1334193329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/9503/original/jm57j3ns-1334193329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/9503/original/jm57j3ns-1334193329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">nimbu</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Modern technologies <em>have</em> brought some exciting changes to the environment of language education in the last few decades. “Authentic” materials from each language, such as articles, blogs, and videos, are now at our fingertips. Online exercises and quizzes for students can be set very easily.</p>
<p>While creative uses of these technologies enhance students’ language learning experiences immensely, we cannot rely on them so heavily to develop well-rounded cross-cultural communication competence. To learn to communicate, students need to practice communicating: with humans. </p>
<p>Good language education costs — it cannot be done cheaply. </p>
<p>Sadly, colleagues in universities around the nation are feeling a constant pressure to cut costs and, in languages at least, this directly compromises the quality of education.</p>
<h2>National leadership</h2>
<p>The Federal Government’s NALSSP initiative (<a href="http://www.deewr.gov.au/schooling/NALSSP/Pages/default.aspx">National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program</a>) has successfully increased Asian language education in primary and secondary schools. </p>
<p>In the ACT, for instance, learners of the Japanese language increased by a stunning 254% between 2008 and 2011. Strong national leadership like this can place Australia in a better position in this Asian Century. </p>
<p>At the tertiary level, we must ensure that students who have some experience in Asian languages and culture can further extend their skills and cultural breadth. We should aspire to encourage more students to take up Asian languages and cultural studies. </p>
<p>The current funding model has seen some additional money going to universities who teach languages, but this has not always been directed at the language courses themselves.</p>
<p>We need strong leadership from government. If we want Australia to prosper in the Asian Century, we must fund educational institutions contributing to this goal, and ensure that this funding is tied to the goal. </p>
<p>Learning a language is about valuing and respecting other cultures and, perhaps more importantly, about each of us learning that we are not the centre of the universe.</p>
<p><strong>This is part one of Australia in the Asian Century. You can read other instalments by clicking the links below:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part Two: <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-great-untapped-resource-chinese-investment-6197">Australia’s great, untapped resource … Chinese investment</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Part Three: <a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-china-australia-and-asias-northern-democracies-6348">Beyond China: Australia and Asia’s northern democracies</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Part Four: <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-a-farm-on-top-of-a-mine-australias-soft-power-potential-in-asia-6328">More than a farm on top of a mine: Australia’s soft power potential in Asia</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Part Five: <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-can-lead-the-fight-against-asias-lifestyle-disease-epidemic-6239">Australia can lead the fight against Asia’s lifestyle disease epidemic</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Part Six: <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australia-needs-an-asian-century-institute-6217">Why Australia needs an Asian Century Institute</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Part Seven: <a href="https://theconversation.com/taming-the-tigers-tourism-in-asia-to-become-a-two-way-street-6198">Taming the tigers: tourism in Asia to become a two-way street</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Part Eight: <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-will-need-a-strong-constitution-for-the-asian-century-6249">Australia will need a strong constitution for the Asian Century</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Part Nine: <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-focus-on-skills-will-allow-australia-to-reap-fruits-of-its-labour-6306">A focus on skills will allow Australia to reap fruits of its labour</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Part Ten: <a href="https://theconversation.com/engaging-with-asia-weve-been-here-before-6455">Engaging with Asia? We’ve been here before</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Part Eleven: <a href="https://theconversation.com/china-india-and-australian-gas-who-controls-energy-in-the-asian-century-6243">China, India and Australian gas – who controls energy in the Asian Century?</a></strong> </p>
<p><strong>Part Twelve: <a href="https://theconversation.com/dealing-with-the-threat-of-deadly-viruses-from-asia-6504">Dealing with the threat of deadly viruses from Asia</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Part Thirteen: <a href="https://theconversation.com/defence-agreements-with-us-harm-australias-reputation-in-asia-6298">Defence agreements with US harm Australia’s reputation in Asia</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Part Fourteen: <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-asia-faces-climate-change-upheaval-how-will-australia-respond-6308">As Asia faces climate change upheaval, how will Australia respond?</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Part Fifteen: <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australia-can-become-asias-food-bowl-6202">How Australia can become Asia’s food bowl</a></strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/6247/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yuko Kinoshita works for University of Canberra, teaching Japanese Language.</span></em></p>AUSTRALIA IN THE ASIAN CENTURY – A series examining Australia’s role in the rapidly transforming Asian region. Delivered in partnership with the Australian government. Today, Dr Yuko Kinoshita looks at…Yuko Kinoshita, Senior Lecturer, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.