Languages

Timeline_Languages

The Australian Curriculum: Languages is designed to enable all students to engage in learning a language in addition to English. The Australian Curriculum: Languages recognises that language learning is for all students in Australian schools, with individual students bringing their own linguistic and cultural background to their learning, whether this is English or the target language or various combinations of languages.

The Australian Curriculum: Languages includes the development of language-specific curricula and a Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages. The organisation of the curriculum addresses the key variables of learner background in the target language and time on task. It also takes account of the different entry points into languages, across Foundation to Year 10, which reflects current practice.

Draft Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Languages

The draft Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Languages for Arabic, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Modern Greek, Spanish and Vietnamese, along with the draft Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages, are being released for public consultation during May 2013 according to the following schedule:

13 May 2013 – French, Indonesian, Korean
20 May 2013 – Modern Greek, Spanish, Vietnamese, draft Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages
27 May 2013 – Arabic, German, Japanese.

The draft materials are available online through the Australian Curriculum consultation website until 25 July 2013. This website is designed to enable users to register and provide feedback through an online survey.

Online consultation on the draft Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages will be supplemented through a series of face-to-face meetings in 18 key sites across the country. These meetings aim to engage local communities and seek targeted feedback on the draft Framework. Community consultation dates and locations will be published here once finalised.

This consultation period provides an opportunity to give feedback on the language-specific curricula and the Framework as listed above, as well as the overarching aspects of the Languages Learning Area that apply to all languages (including the Preamble, Rationale, Aims and Organisation of the Languages Learning Area). ACARA encourages participation from all stakeholders with an interest in languages.

Following consultation, the draft Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Languages for the languages listed above will be revised for ACARA Board and Ministerial approval prior to publication on the Australian Curriculum website.

Information Sheet

View the Australian Curriculum: Languages Information Sheet

View theFramework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages Information Sheet

Draft Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Languages for Chinese and Italian

The draft Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Languages for Chinese and Italian was released for public consultation from 19 December 2012 to 12 April 2013.

This consultation period provided all stakeholders with an opportunity to give feedback on the overarching aspects of the Languages Learning Area that apply to all languages (including the Preamble, Rationale, Aims and Organisation of the Languages Learning Area), as well as feedback on the draft Chinese and Italian curriculum documents.

The draft Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Languages for Chinese and Italian is currently being revised in consideration of the feedback received during consultation and the revised curricula will be considered for approval by the ACARA Board and by Ministers in late 2013.

Writing of the Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum

Following national consultation, including discussion with state and territory curriculum authorities, the ACARA Board has agreed on a schedule for development of the Languages Learning Area up to the end of 2013.

The ACARA Board agreed that (except for Chinese and the Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages) the F-10 curriculum for each language to be developed by the end of 2013 will be pitched to the dominant cohort of learners for that language in the current Australian context. Teachers may however choose to use the F-10 curriculum for a specific language to cater for learners of different backgrounds by making appropriate adjustments to differentiate the learning for these students.

The languages for which F-10 Australian Curriculum will be developed by the end of 2013 are:

A Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages
Arabic and Vietnamese (pitched to learners who have some background in the language)
French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Modern Greek and Spanish (pitched to second language learners)
Chinese (three learner pathways to be developed to cater specifically for second language learners across F-10, background language learners across F-10 and first language learners in Years 7–10).

Writing is currently underway on the Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages, as well as on the F-10 Australian Curriculum for Chinese and Italian. Public consultation on draft F-10 Italian and F-10 Chinese (all three pathways) is scheduled for December 2012 through to April 2013. The draft Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages is scheduled for consideration by the ACARA Board in March 2013 and subsequent public consultation through June 2013.

Writing commenced for Arabic, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Modern Greek, Spanish and Vietnamese in October 2012. Draft F-10 curricula for these languages are scheduled for public consultation from May 2012 through July 2013.

Further work will be undertaken to determine the process and timelines for developing Australian Curriculum in additional languages beyond those listed above (in the first instance, Auslan, classical languages, Hindi and Turkish).

Composition of the Languages Advisory Group - Writing Phase

Composition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Advisory Group.- Writing Phase

Shaping of the Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum

The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages paper provides broad directions for the development of languages curriculum.

The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages was endorsed by the ACARA Board after revisions were made following consultation and was published in 21 November 2011.

Stakeholder consultation on the draft Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages was conducted from 31 January 2011 to 11 April 2011. ACARA received 2150 survey responses from a wide range of stakeholders representing many languages, including teachers, principals, parents, students, academics, professional associations, state and territory education authorities, and the general public. The consultation report provides analysis of the feedback received in the surveys along with more than 150 formal submissions.

The draft Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages Consultation Report

Languages Initial Advice Paper

The ACARA Board appointed Associate Professor Angela Scarino as the lead writer for development of the Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages. Dr Jakelin Troy was appointed to write the Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages sections of the paper.

The development of the Initial Advice Paper was supported by a Languages Advisory Group and an Expert Group for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages.

The Initial Advice Paper was made available for targeted consultation at a National Languages Forum, on 25 October 2010. Approximately 150 people with expertise and/or interest in languages education from across Australia participated in this national forum. Consultation feedback from the forum was analysed and used to inform the development of the Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages.

Biography of Associate Professor Angela Scarino

Biography of Dr Jakelin Troy

Composition of the Languages Advisory Group - Shaping Phase

Composition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Expert Group- Shaping Phase

Languages position paper

ACARA identified key issues to be resolved prior to drafting the Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages. Some of the key issues identified that required resolution included defining an appropriate rationale for learning languages and shaping the design and structure of the languages curriculum.

In developing a position paper for the languages curriculum to address these key issues, ACARA was assisted by a reference group, which included academics, school leaders, teachers, members of professional associations and curriculum experts.

Composition of the Languages Reference Group