INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF LANGUAGES

Ms SIMMONS (Morialta) (15:20): The year 2008 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Languages. I was very pleased to be able to open the South Australian Language Teachers Association Conference on 14 June this year. The message that languages matter was driven with passion and intelligence, and in this state we can be confident that the teaching of languages to our children is in safe hands.

I was interested to learn that more than 50 per cent of the approximately 7,000 languages spoken in the world are likely to die out within a few generations and that 96 per cent of these languages are spoken by a mere 4 per cent of the world's population. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given pride of place in education systems and the public domain, and fewer than 100 are used in the digital world. It is said that when languages fade so does the world's rich tapestry of cultural diversity. Opportunities, traditions, memory, unique models of thinking and expression, which are valuable resources for ensuring a better future, are also lost.

At school I studied French and Latin, both of which have proved invaluable in my studies throughout my life. Currently, I am studying Italian in my spare time, encouraged by the many Italian constituents in Morialta. I come from South Wales and as a child I was actively discouraged from speaking or studying Welsh. During this time the Welsh language was definitely under threat.

Uncle Lewis O'Brien, a much respected Kaurna Elder, welcomed delegates to the conference. This was most appropriate as Uncle Lewis has done much to try to save the Kaurna language in this state and to encourage other indigenous groups to save their language by talking to their elders and taping their conversations in order to ensure that language is written down and correct pronunciation is retained.

Research shows that the link between literacy and language is vital for the survival of a language. The United Nations has stated that 'the ability to read and write with comprehension and to think critically are key outcomes of quality education'. Education itself is a human right, a tool for learning and a vehicle for transmitting knowledge. It also helps build identity in a culturally diverse but globalised world.

I decided to come to Australia and become an Australian citizen because of the strong commitment in our country to celebrate cultural diversity and promote cultural harmony, instead of pushing immigrants to assimilate—which is the policy in many other western countries, including the United Kingdom and the US.

I am proud that the electorate of Morialta is one of the most multicultural electorates in this state. As a government we in South Australia encourage ethnic groups within our community to celebrate and promote other languages and cultural practices through funding to schools and community organisations in order to keep traditions of language, dance, food and celebration alive. We do this because we believe that sharing one another's culture is a fair more successful approach to achieving social harmony than trying to force people to become the same.

We know that literacy in a child's local language is a gateway to learning and participation, and that the appropriate use of languages in literacy provision and education has a beneficial effect on access to learning, inclusion in schools and learning outcomes. The use of mother tongues in education impacts positively on children's attendance, their attitude to their studies and the early drop-out rate experienced by low achievers.

We know this from our own experience in the lands. Good language skills are crucial for good literacy. Some 774 million adults worldwide cannot read or write—and two-thirds of these are women. In addition, more than 72.1 million children who should be in school are not. Literacy is crucial for economic, social and political participation and development, especially in today's knowledge societies. It is a key to wide-ranging benefits, including critical thinking, improved health and family planning, HIV/AIDS prevention, children's education, poverty reduction and active citizenship.

The United Nations International Year of Languages is an important initiative and I congratulate Kris Paul, President of the Modern Language Teachers Association of South Australia, his committee and all our language teachers for their involvement in this conference and their ongoing devotion to the profession. As many members in this place know, it is an amazing feeling to be able to communicate with another person in their native tongue. It is something we all appreciate when we are on the receiving end.

Time expired.