Join our wonderful team!

The German Australian Playschool in Canberra is looking for a German-speaking teacher and assistant teacher to join us for 3 days a week, starting in February 2011.

Approx 20 hours per week, Wednesdays to Fridays.

Email Lisa on spielwelt@homemail.com.au

 The program will operate at the pre-school premises of Queanbeyan South Public School from 9 am to 3 pm on Monday of each week during term. The daily fee will be $30 per child.

 For more details and to put your child on the waiting list, email admin@ailsa.org.au with the following information: Child’s name, date of birth, parent’s name and address.

The ACT Ethnic Schools Association and members of the ACT Bilingual Education Alliance are again joining forces to organise a stall at Contact Canberra, the community expo held as part of the Multicultural Festival.

Come along and see us on Sunday 7 February from 11am to 5pm at stall number 61, City Walk, right next to the children’s Merry-go-Round in Civic.

You are also welcome to publicise your language programs and resources at the stall. Last year there were a great number of enquiries, especially about classes for adults and very young children so it is a great way to promote your activities.

Please contact Marina.Houston@Canberra.edu.au or call 6201 2483 if you have leaflets or posters you would like to display or would like to help staff the stall during the day.

Raising Children in More than One Language

A free seminar for parents, grandparents,
early childhood and preschool workers, teachers, and others interested in bilingual education

Sunday 21 February
International Mother Language Day
1.30-4.30pm

• Hear from parents who have raised their children in more than one language – and from the children themselves
• Discover more about the benefits of bilingual education
• Find out about opportunities for language learning and bilingual education in the ACT

Building 2, University of Canberra, Bruce
(enter from ‘The Hub’ – see map at www.canberra.edu.au/university/maps )

FREE ENTRY & REFRESHMENTS

Bookings essential: phone Marina on 6201 2483 or email Mandy.Scott@canberra.edu.au

This project was made possible by the support of the
ACT Government’s Multicultural Grants Program 2009–10

The turnout was similar to last year’s picnic – about 25 – and keen and useful links were made  between a range of languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Italian, Russian, Indonesian and Welsh.

 Most of the children who attended were too young for the ‘how many languages can you find’ game. However, those who had a go (and their mum!!) got something out of it.  For anyone wishing to follow up on the above language connections, please contact Mandy.Scott@anu.edu.au

ACT Bilingual Education Alliance invite you to the next Multilingual Picnic in Canberra. For more details, please contact Guiliana Komnacki (0414) 269 335 or email Marina.Houston@canberra.edu.au

In an article last year I discussed the multiple benefits that young children can gain from learning a second language.  These benefits include adding to communicative and intellectual skills, and laying the foundation for successful learning of further languages later in life.

This article introduces readers to a growing area of interest among parents – bilingual playgroups.

Over recent months I have visited three language-based playgroups in the ACT.  All are providing a bilingual experience for children and highlighting the fact that speaking more than one language is a natural and fun thing to do.

First I visited the Yeppeun Byol Playgroup at Hughes, where I found a warm centre of activity and intercultural communication.  The group focuses on Korean children under school age, but includes parents of various ethnic backgrounds who have adopted children from Korea.  Food was a major part of the morning’s activities, reflecting its cultural significance and the interest of the Korean mothers in various non-Korean recipes and vice versa – The Aussie pikelets were a bit hit with the children on the day I was there!  The Korean parents take a leading role in teaching Korean songs, music, games and other activities to the children and the other parents.

The German playgroup Spiel und Spass, is held in Cook.  Again it was a busy morning, with about 20 children.  After a period of individual play and a craft activity, the group came together to sing songs from the “German songbook”, collated by and for the group over time.  Most parents have some connection with the German language, either coming from a German speaking country or having German speaking partners.

As with all playgroups, the activities allow parents to get together as well as the children.  One mother told me of her pleasure at being able to speak her native language with others.  Another, a non-German speaker, was attending to broaden her own and her child’s experience.

I also visited a Chinese playgroup, which is held in the homes of various parents.  This was less structured than the other groups, and a happy, boisterous atmosphere was the order of the day.  Again, food was an important part of the activities.

The mothers were all Chinese and obviously enjoyed being able to discuss family and life issues in Mandarin.  Not that the group does not welcome non-Chinese: others are welcome – though as with the two previous groups, culture and language maintenance was the guiding aim.

There is a place in Canberra for language-based playgroups which focus on English-only families.  These are springing up in other cities across Australia as parents realise the value to young minds of being exposed to more than one language.  Canberra is a highly educated city with a talented multilingual community – and plans are already afoot for new bilingual playgroups here.

One of the Chinese parents at the existing playgroup is thinking of starting a group which will focus on non-Chinese families, where parents and children can experience a Mandarin-speaking environment and learn Chinese songs and cultural activities together.

An experienced preschool teacher from Belgium has also just moved to Canberra and is exploring the possibility of starting sessions for teaching French or Dutch to young children.

So: watch this space!

Playgroups are ideal environments for introducing children to a new language in a fun way.  Parents can also be fully involved and can continue activities in the chosen language with their children at home if they wish.

Mandy Scott has a PhD in Linguistics, speaks several languages and is an active supporter of languages education; she can be contacted at mandy.scott@anu.edu.au This article first appeared in PlayACT, the newsletter of the ACT Playgroups Association, in 2008

The German Australian Pfadfinder Scout Group will take children aged 6 and up, and will be accessible to north and south side families as their Scout Hall is in Turner.  Pfadfinder is the German word for Scout and it literally means “path finder”.

“We’re very excited to be starting up this bilingual Scout group this year.  2008 is the Year of the Scout, and it is also the International Year of Languages, so it is very appropriate,” said ACT Scouts’ Chief Commissioner, Mr Neville Tomkins.

Group Leader Lisa Stephan said, “The new Scout Group builds on existing children’s German language groups, including a playgroup for 0-5 year olds and the German Australian Playschool for 3-5 year olds.  With the new Scout group, Canberra can now cater for people from birth to adulthood looking for fun and educational activities in German.”

“My aim is to have the kids begging to go to Joeys, Cubs and Scouts every week, as they will be having so much fun!” said Leader, Jens Stephan.

The group’s scarf colours will be red and yellow.  Many scouts in Germany have yellow scarves; and red is the common colour which appears on the flags of Australia and the German speaking nations, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The Group is non-religious and is open to children from all spiritual traditions.  Its aim is to develop children’s self-confidence, practical skills and values which will help them make an ongoing positive contribution to their community.

There is a pre-Scouting group for 5 year olds, who attend Scout nights with their parents and enjoy the exciting program too.

Families wishing to add their child’s name to the lists for 2009, 2010 or 2011 should contact Lisa Stephan on 6251 7743 or spielwelt@homemail.com.au

Sunday 7 December 2008  11am-2 pm

Black Mountain Peninsula, off Lady Denman Drive, Acton, ACT
(near the Children’s Playground)

Come and

• Help celebrate our multilingual community and the International Year of Languages
• Talk to parents raising their children to speak more than one language
• Hear some of the many  languages spoken in the Canberra region
• Find out more about learning languages

Bring family and friends, your picnic, and something to sit on

ALL WELCOME!

For more details, please email Marina or phone Mandy on 0408 089 235 (mobile)

Download poster in PDF format
Download poster in MS Word format

If you are anywhere near Canberra this week you should try to make it to this very special event set up to celebrate the International Year of Languages.

Apart from more than two dozen stalls representing organisations and language learning opportunities, and as well as information on up to 20 weekend ethnic schools representing a wide range of languages, there is a spectacular range of workshops and seminars on language topics.

There are so many sessions there will sometimes be up to six running simultaneously in different venues.

I don’t know how you choose between sessions on topics as diverse as reviving and preserving indigenous languages, how the latest technology can help language learning, the role of non-verbal languages, oral language learning, written language learning, early childhood education, adult education, policy development, careers information – it’s an amazing line-up.

Click here to download the Draft Program in Word format

Click here to download the Draft Program in PDF format