INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF LANGUAGES

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (15:15): My question is directed to the Minister for Education and Children's Services. Minister, what are South Australian schools doing to recognise the International Year of Languages?

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH (Adelaide—Minister for Education and Children's Services, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (15:15): Can I thank the member for Ashford for her question. I know she supports language education and is a great supporter of multiculturalism as well. This year, as members would know, is the United Nation's declared International Year of Languages. Its significance is that it not only promotes diversity and global understanding but, incidentally, promotes the globalisation of various economies, by promoting the learning of second and third languages and, in addition, helps child development by promoting the skills that are inherent in learning a second language.

South Australia, I am pleased to advise the house, has taken up the challenge to promote the importance of learning one of the many different languages offered in our schools very seriously. This includes students studying new languages and students doing maintenance studies in their first language, if that is other than English. Currently there are around 50 different languages that students can choose to study, including 10 different indigenous languages.

Students have the option of studying these languages at one of the 192 ethnic schools that are run by community groups or at the specialist School of Languages, which provides language education to 1,300 students, in 23 different languages. In 2007 almost 103,800 students were studying languages other than English in government schools.

This includes more than 5,000 students at over 40 schools studying one of the 10 Aboriginal languages, and many more students taking part in first language maintenance. This may interest the member for Unley because he has shown an interest in a term called 'mother tongue programs', which are not used under that term any more and are now called first language maintenance programs.

First language support is offered in Aboriginal languages, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Indonesian, Japanese and Spanish. There is also an expectation that when many newly arrived African students take up their places in South Australian schools these programs will be extended to those new and emerging African languages.

Language education forms an important part of the international partnerships that our government forms with oversees governments. In particular the department has formed partnerships through memoranda of understanding agreements with France, Greece, Germany, Italy and Spain. These agreements set out the commitment both by South Australia and the partner country in supporting language programs and developing cultural understanding.

For example, the MOU with the Spanish government includes the appointment of a Spanish language adviser, funded by the Spanish government for five years, to teach Spanish and provide professional development opportunities for local Spanish teachers. This is of enormous benefit to the more than 6,000 students in South Australia who learn Spanish, in 61 schools across the state. Similarly, the German government provides a German adviser who supports 13,000 students learning German, in 95 schools.

South Australian schools have certainly embraced the idea of an International Year of Languages, with schools across the state being involved in a range of events that benefit language education. For instance, some of the events include a languages conference, which is being facilitated by the department in June. In the western part of the city there will be a languages expo at Le Fevre High School in March; and the Multicultural Education Committee is developing a full calendar of activities across the whole year.

Learning a second language, of course, opens up many opportunities in employment and trade, but it also helps students study other subjects at school and incorporates the skills that they need to commit to an understanding of the English language and be full members of civil society. So, learning a language is important on many levels, and I suppose that there would be no-one in this chamber who would not support the Year of Languages as a UN year, and support efforts in our local schools.