Language teaching boost
Tess Livingstone
May 29, 2006

FOREIGN language teaching is to be stepped up in Queensland's state schools.
Education Minister Rod Welford said yesterday that the percentage of Year 12 graduates with a language other than English had fallen since 2000 to 7.6 per cent, a slide he wanted to see reversed.
As a first step to reversing the trend, Mr Welford announced a trial scheme in the West Moreton region (Brisbane's outer southwest).
In the scheme, primary and secondary state schools will pool their language teaching resources to give as many students as possible access to a language.
"I personally feel that languages are a fantastic way to strengthen and broaden a person's education and cross-cultural awareness and many students will have the opportunity to use the skill in their post-school life," Mr Welford said.
He said he had wanted to extend the Goss government's initiative of 15 years ago in having all Year 6, 7 and 8 students studying a foreign language, but a chronic shortage of language teachers made it impossible.
Mr Welford studied French to Year 10 and German to Year 12 and said he had used them "a little" while visiting Europe.
He said Education Queensland was considering measures such as students travelling several times a week for language teaching at schools that had the teachers, and possibly hiring foreign language speakers on a part-time consultancy basis.
The minister said these approaches were preferable to other teachers, with little or no language background, attempting to take on the job.
Mr Welford became aware of the chronic shortage of language specialists when he asked for foreign language study to be made a core part of the primary curriculum, but was advised this was impossible because of lack of teachers.
While Queensland's closeness to Asia made languages such as Chinese, Indonesian and Japanese particularly important, Mr Welford said European languages were also important in an age of increased travel.
He said patterns across the state varied between schools.
At Bulimba State School in Brisbane, all children in Years 1-7 study Italian, while Mansfield and Benowa state schools both offered "French immersion" programs in which students learn general subjects in French.
Ferny Grove State High School offers a similar program in German.