In this article, Anne-Marie Morgan, Deputy Head of School and a member of the English, Languages and Literacies Education team in the School of Education at the University of New England, and of the Languages, Literacies and Literature Research Network, presents highlights from the Summer AFMLTA National Languages Conference (20th, Melbourne,…

Languages teachers are all aware of the significant advantages and benefits learning a language provides, and believe in the importance of second language acquisition. However, why is it that languages teachers need to justify learning a second language and work hard to encourage more students to see the importance of learning a language and to…

In recent debates about curriculum, Young (2008, p. 101) has proposed school learning must involve initiation into the "powerful knowledge" of the disciplines that underpin subject domains, thereby "giving students the tools to think the unthinkable". Opponents query whether such knowledge is available in subjects such as…

Despite the recent Australian Government commitment to supporting schools in growing students into global citizens, language educators cannot rely on this alone to attract new language students. The Young Language Ambassador Program is a new initiative that started in August 2014. The Young Language Ambassador Program is a partnership between…

Queensland second language immersion programs have been in existence for three decades, and are part of a growing number of additive bilingual education programs in Australia. Most prominently, many new Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programs have been established particularly in Victoria over the past few years. This focus on…

"New Courses 2012" refers to a new course structure adopted by the University of Western Australia, which has established a three-year general Bachelor degree followed by professional degrees. Since its introduction, enrolments in languages have increased, in a context in which languages across Australia have found themselves "under…

The following is the text of the Horwood Address delivered by Associate Professor Lesley Harbon from the University of Sydney at the AFMLTA Biennial Conference in Canberra 2013. The focus of the Address is accomplished teaching of languages and cultures, known to us all through the AFMLTA's work on Professional Standards published in 2005.…

Evaluation is an important aspect in communication in any language as it not only functions to express language users' evaluative stance but also to construct and maintain relations between interactants. In the teaching of languages in addition to English, paying attention to evaluative language contributes to an understanding of the…

The idea of "powerful knowledge" has been developed by Young (2008; 2010; 2012; 2013), who argues for a subject-based curriculum. This notion has created widespread debate within the fields of sociology of knowledge and the sociology of the curriculum. Young's work takes a social realist perspective to describing the academic disciplines…

One of the thorniest aspects of teaching languages is developing students' vocabulary, yet it is impossible to be "an accurate and highly communicative language user with a very small vocabulary" (Milton, 2009, p. 3). Nation (2006) indicates that more vocabulary than previously thought is required to function well both at spoken and…

Early years and primary teachers have a unique opportunity to apply their strong teaching practices, classroom management and understanding of childhood literacy development to teaching a language. This paper reports on a project from Independent Schools Queensland to increase language programs in schools by retraining classroom teachers.…

The decision by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) to develop language-specific curricula marks an important shift for the teaching and learning of languages in Australia. This decision brings with it a number of important considerations in developing language-specific curricula. It is necessary, for example, to…

While there is much that Australia has done well with respect to languages education, many problems still persist in terms of mainstream provision of quality languages programs, attaining real outcomes and gains in language learning, and in relation to retention of students studying languages through to the senior years of school. The success of…

The use of songs and music in the Languages classroom is common practice. Research literature contains positive statements about music as a cognitive, linguistic and affective enhancer. Music and Languages risk becoming marginalised in the Western Australian curriculum due to curriculum pressures. Reduction of time in these learning areas could…

In language learning, there is much evidence to suggest that heritage language (HL) learners exhibit learning needs and profiles that are distinct from non-HL learners. In the case of Chinese language teaching in Victoria, this issue is particularly pronounced because of the loose eligibility criterion that divides students into the streams of…