A community meeting held at Toowoomba created a surge of new interest for involvement in language projects. The Toowoomba Languages Expo and Planning workshop was coordinated by the Yugambeh Museum, Language Heritage and Research Centre at Beenleigh and attracted over 45 participants over the 1st and 2nd of December. (more…)
The Age: by Russell Skelton and Jewel Topsfield
AUSTRALIA’S human rights watchdog has accused the Northern Territory ALP government of threatening the existence of the world’s “longest surviving continuous culture” by severely restricting the teaching of Aboriginal languages.
Tom Calma, the nation’s race discrimination commissioner, said yesterday that the decision to mandate four hours of English in a five-hour school day would destroy bilingual teaching programs and prevent written culture being passed on to future generations.
The Minister for Education, the Hon Julia Gillard, today released the Indigenous Language Programs in Australian Schools — A Way Forward report.
The report was prepared by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), funded by the Australian Government’s School Languages Program.
The report provides a snapshot of the current situation of Indigenous language education in schools across Australia.
Over 16 000 Indigenous students and 13 000 non-Indigenous students located in 260 Australian schools are involved in an Indigenous language program. (more…)