The Australian Labor Party have promised to invest $6 million over four years in community language schools, if reelected today.
This commitment to languages in Australia will enhance and increase access to quality language education in Australia.
The funding – to be given to Community Languages Australia (CLA) to expand their current role and focus on key languages – will benefit around 500 community language schools and approximately 90,000 students but will also add to a better understanding of language, tradition and culture for Australian society.
The ALP, through the Minister of Education Bill Shorten said that they are supporting language education in order to ensure the “maintenance of heritage languages and links to culture”.
The policy will also benefit partnerships between community language schools, their local community, mainstream schools, parents and caregivers.
The funding will be used for teacher professional development and will provide community language teachers the opportunity to obtain a Certificate IV in teaching and assessment. This will improve the quality of teaching and enhance the learning experience at these schools.
The funding will also be used for extra teaching resources, such as textbooks, and will increase access for students to community language courses in key languages.
