• 02Feb

    CANBERRA SEMINAR: Raising Children with More than One Language

    ACT, All, Carers, Parents, Resources, Teachers, Uncategorized No Comments

    UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA
    Australia’s Capital University

    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

    Tags: , , ,

  • 11Dec

    Canberra Multilingual Picnic

    9. All ages, ACT, Cantonese, Events, Everyone, Indonesian, Italian, Mandarin, Parents, Russian, Uncategorized No Comments

    Source: Mandy Scott

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    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.

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     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

  • 23Nov

    Melbourne Language Picnic: Call for Volunteers

    All, Uncategorized 5 Comments

    Come join the Melbourne Language Picnic team; you won’t be disappointed! Get to know a great bunch of people and promote languages education in Australia.

    March 21st (Harmony Day) is the date for next year’s Language Picnic in Melbourne. At the moment Angela, Brigitte and Elizabeth are working on the project arranging funding, the venue (Collingwood Children’s Farm) and community involvement. However we require more volunteers to help make it a fantastic day and promote languages education at the same time.  

    After funding, probably the most important ingredient is community involvement. We need volunteers who would like to help with setting up games, story readings and representing the different language communities that exist across Australia.

    Please feel free to join in and register your desire to help either by joining us here at “Lingo” and alternatively if you want to register your support really quickly you may like to visit us at melbourne languages picnic

    We look forward to meeting you, one and all!

  • 04Nov

    DON’T CUT OFF OUR TONGUES!

    Indigenous, Uncategorized No Comments

    Check the link below for recent developments on the issue of bilingual education in the Northern Territory.

    Expert blasts bilingual education changes

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/07/2678651.htm

    Tags: , , ,

  • 07Oct

    SUSPENSION OF YEAR 12 SMALL CANDIDATURE LANGUAGES

    7. Years 11-12, All, Everyone, National, Uncategorized No Comments

    Source: Victorian School of Languages

    Since the Public Meeting on this issue in August, the following action has been taken:

    1. A Press Release was prepared and circulated with some media reports.

    2. The matter was raised with the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. A delegation made up of Professor Michael Clyne, Pandora Petrovska, Frank Merlino and Stefan Romaniw, met with the Acting CEO of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, Mr David Howes on September 15, 2009.

    The outcome of that meeting was as follows:
    Continue reading »

  • 29Aug

    DON’T CUT OFF OUR TONGUES!

    Indigenous, NT, Uncategorized No Comments

    In September (14 or 18), the ABC Four Corners program will present a documentary on the Lajamanu Two-Way language programme, one of the NT bilingual programmes that is due to be dropped.

    Please join in a ‘postcard’ mail-out campaign to lobby against this decision. There are two types of postcards:

    - ‘Don’t cut off our tongues’ , addressed to Paul Henderson (NT
    Chief Minister).
    - ‘Reinstate bilingual education’, addressed to our MP Julia Gillard.

    The postcards will be available in a couple of weeks. To support this initiative, please contact Greg Dickson, either by email (greg.dickson@batchelor.edu.au) or
    c/- Centre for Australian Languages and Linguistics
    Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education
    Katherine Annexe
    PO Box 1896
    Katherine NT 0851

    and let him know which version and how many postcards you want. Distribute them amongst your friends, family and contacts, and ask them to forward on to the targeted parties.

    Any other questions can be directed to Felicity Meakins via email, felicity.meakins@manchester.ac.uk.

    Tags: , ,

  • 22Aug

    Foreign languages: Learn early

    All, Spanish, Uncategorized No Comments

    Allysia Finley, 13 July 2008

    Public schools aren’t helping students compete with foreign counterparts

    The Register recently ran a story on HABLA, the Home-based Activities Building Language Acquisition program, which aims to help teach toddlers from low-income, Spanish-speaking families English and Spanish by sending language coaches into their homes.

    HABLA is based on the premise that the more children communicate at a young age, the more quickly they develop language skills.

    While the program remains controversial because of its bilingual approach, recent studies by the Brookings Institution suggest that improving toddlers’ native linguistic skills helps them more easily learn English.

    Regardless of the arguments for or against HABLA, its premise – that children best learn languages when they are young and that frequent communication is necessary for language acquisition – should be considered in constructing foreign-language education in America.

    Most public school students do not begin studying foreign languages until high school, and then it is usually to fulfill a graduation requirement. After all, it is difficult to see any reason to study a foreign language since much of the rest of the world is becoming fluent in English. Read more

    Reprinted from Languages Education in Australia newsletter 21 August 2008

   

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