CANBERRA REGION LANGUAGES FORUM
Update August 2024

UPCOMING EVENTS
1. Panel Discussion: Raising children in more than one language
For families and others interested in bilingualism and bilingual education. Discussion will be led
by a multilingual panel of parents, young adults who have grown up bilingually, and educators
and academics involved in bilingual education.
•••

5.30pm-6.30pm Thursday 19 September
RSSS auditorium, Ellery Crescent, ANU
Cost: Free but registration required

Questions and input from audience members are encouraged, and there will be opportunities
for networking after the seminar. Children welcome but must be under parental/adultsupervision
To register: https://immersia.anu.edu.au/event/immersia-2024-raising-children-more-onelanguage
Organised by the ACT Bilingual Alliance in collaboration with the ANU Centre for European
Studies as part of ANU Immersia 2024.
For more about Immersia and other events in the program: https://immersia.anu.edu.au/
2. Information session: Senior secondary language programs with CIT Solutions
Understanding the challenges ACT schools face in meeting diverse preferences for language
studies, CIT Solutions offer programs to assist year 11 and 12 students whose desired
language courses are not available within their schools.
This information session is for students in the ACT, and their families, and will provide details
about 2025 senior secondary languages courses offered by CIT Solutions: Centre for Modern
Languages and explain enrolment procedures.
• 6pm Monday 23 September• Online via MS Teams• For more details and meeting link email CitsolLanguages@cit.edu.au
CIT Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Canberra Institute of Technology. Now
accredited by the ACT Board of Secondary Studies (BSSS) as a Specialist Education Provider,
CIT Solutions provide accredited senior secondary Year 11 and Year 12 programs. In 2024, thelanguages offered were French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Tamil.
••

For background information about the program see
https://actbilingual.weebly.com/uploads/4/4/9/1/4491774/cit_solutions_senior_seconda
ry_studies_program_information.pdf
For more details about 2025 arrangements, email CitsolLanguages@cit.edu.au1

RECENT EVENTS
3. Radio interview about Multilingual families in Canberra
In July, two linguists from the ANU, Ksenia Gnevsheva and Mandy Scott, spoke on ABC Radio
Canberra about raising children in more than one language, the multiple benefits of learning
other languages, and how the ACT Bilingual Education Alliance (ACTBEA) helps to celebrate
and promote multilingualism in the Canberra region.
Recording of the 18 minute discussion available athttps://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/canberra-sundaybrunch/multilingual-families-incanberra/104176432
For more information about ACTBEA see https://actbilingual.weebly.com/
For language programs at the ANU see https://study.anu.edu.au/study-options/languages
4. Mother Tongue – Multilingual Poetry
A poetry open mic, held at various locations in Canberra throughout the year, celebrating therich cultures of poetry, storytelling and wordsmithing from around the globe. The most recent
event was at Smiths Alternative in the City on 29 July
Mother Tongue is a friendly, non-competitive space where all respectful voices are welcomed
to paint pictures of culture, history and identity. No experience is required, only the willingness
to perform your own work or share a favourite poem in a language other than English, or a mixof English and non-English.
The next Mother Tongue open mic at Smiths Alternative will be on Monday 28 October
For more information, visit Mother Tongue on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/mothertonguemic and sign up to their mailing list

NEWS5. Language Education Action Plan: Language education in ACT public schools
The long-awaited Action Plan has been released by the ACT Education Directorate. Its stated
aim is to reposition language provision to further encourage and support school language
programs by implementing a model of language provision in ACT public schools which will:• meet the needs of the community• provide flexibility and richness in language provision options and delivery• provide choice for students to pursue language proficiency• support teachers with professional learning to keep up to date with their language• have purposeful and meaningful relationships with the broader language stakeholders
in the community• include a strategic approach to the recruitment and placement of language teachers• include collaboration and partnerships with stakeholders like Universities andEmbassies.
Included in the Action plan are possibilities for• recognition of language learning in the community language sector,• greater collaboration with community language schools and• support for teachers in community language schools and internationally trainedteachers to teach in ACT government schools.
Full copy of Plan available at:https://actbilingual.weebly.com/uploads/4/4/9/1/4491774/language-education-in-act-publicschools-action-plan.pdf
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6. Languages in the report of the review of Australia’s multicultural Framework
The recently released report of the Multicultural Framework Review has a chapter on language,and four of the Review’s 29 recommendations relate to languages and language services.
Recommendation 12 is to
Leverage Australia’s diversity of languages to support our economic prosperity through arevitalised language policy led by the Australian Government
Listed 6th in 10 top-priority recommendations the review panel see as ‘immediately actionable’:(https://actbilingual.weebly.com/uploads/4/4/9/1/4491774/towards_fairness__multicultural_aus
tralia_for_all__executive_summary.pdf page 17), the panel recommend the following beconsidered when developing the policy:•The formation of a comprehensive national language policy would benefit from thegovernment’s referring an inquiry to the Productivity Commission, to be concluded by
the end of 2024, to quantify and recommend intra- and inter-government action to realise
the social and economic benefits of Australia’s diversity of languages.

•The policy would also benefit from Australian Government collaboration with state andterritory governments to establish a unified approach to the national language services
strategy – this would occur in parallel with, and build on, the Productivity Commission
inquiry.

•The Panel acknowledges the government’s recent investment in community language
schools; this must be sustained and more widely promoted. Encouraging and funding
the learning of other languages at all levels of education is essential.

•Even if individuals learning another language do not achieve fluency, the effort
necessarily offers a greater awareness, appreciation and understanding of othercultures.

•Language policy should recognise that people in the community may have a preferredlanguage; all points of service delivery and information should accommodate theirpreferred language.

•The strategy could build on past efforts to create a national language policy thatemphasised multilingual Australians’ contribution to our international trade andeconomic prosperity – this capability and contribution should be quantified,acknowledged and supported.

For full wording of Recommendation 12 see Chapter 6: Language: supporting Australians tocommunicate page 86:
https://actbilingual.weebly.com/uploads/4/4/9/1/4491774/towards_fairness__a_multicultural_a
ustralia_for_all_chap_6_language.pdf
For a full copy of the review report see: https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/multiculturalframework-review/Documents/report-summary/multicultural-framework-review-reportenglish.pdf

FEEDBACK AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO FUTURE UPDATES WELCOME
Details of previous Forum Updates are available at https://canberralanguages.blogspot.com/

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