A HING A GUA Teaching Languages GESIN T in the Primary … · 2013. 9. 12. · Julie Browett with Anne Spencer Julie Browettwas for many years a primary classroom and languages teacher.She

Julie Browettwith Anne Spencer

Julie Browett was for many years a primary classroom and languages teacher. She is a former languagescurriculum consultant with responsibility for supporting Tasmanian primary schools in introducinglanguages programs. Julie now lectures in Languages and Literacy Education at the University of Tasmania,and has written several professional learning programs for Australian languages teachers.

Anne Spencer was at the time of writing a project manager for languages at the Asia EducationFoundation, with responsibility for the development of national resources and professional learningprograms in languages education. She was formerly an R–12 consultant in languages and studies of Asiaand has worked as a classroom teacher and teacher of languages at both the primary and secondarylevels. Anne is currently a project manager with Curriculum Corporation.

Teaching Languages in the Primary SchoolExamples from current practice

Teaching Languages in the Primary School: Examples from current practice is a practical

resource for teachers, school leaders and curriculum advisers. It is designed to inform and

support the planning, implementation and maintenance of effective languages programs in

Australian primary schools. The book advocates the active involvement of school leaders

and the development of partnerships between languages teachers and classroom teachers

in the building of sustainable languages programs.

The resource presents thirteen approaches to languages teaching and learning. These will

be useful for schools wishing to introduce new languages programs or enhance the quality

and sustainability of existing languages programs. The approaches are based on research in

schools, including interviews with teachers and school leaders across Australia.

They are organised around three themes:

Focus on curriculumFocus on learners and languagesFocus on organisation and support

Each approach is organised under five headings:

FEATURES

A CLOSER LOOK

IN ACTION

GETTING STARTED

GOING FURTHER

A wide range of ideas and practical suggestions is provided to encourage, support and

enrich your school’s languages program.

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Teaching Languages in the Primary School


ISBN-13: 978-1-86366-617-6ISBN-10: 1 86366 617 6SCIS: 1257264

Published by Curriculum CorporationPO Box 177Carlton South Vic 3053AustraliaTel: 03 9207 9600Fax: 03 9639 1616Website: http://www.curriculum.edu.au

Copyright© Commonwealth of Australia 2006This work is copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes subjectto the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source and no commercial usage or sale. Reproduction for purposes other than those indicated above, requires the prior written permissionfrom the Commonwealth. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should beaddressed to Commonwealth Copyright Administration, Attorney General’s Department, RobertGarran Offices, National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600 or posted at http://www.ag.gov.au/cca

DisclaimerThe views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Australian GovernmentDepartment of Education, Science and Training.

AcknowledgementThis product was funded by the Australian Government through the National Asian Languages andStudies in Australian Schools (NALSAS) Strategy, administered by the Department of Education,Science and Training.

Edited by Marion Russell and AssociatesDesigned by Sharon Carr, Graphic DivineIllustrations by Kate AshforthPhotographs by Daniel O’BrienPrinted in Australia by Impact Printing (Vic.) Pty Ltd

Acknowledgements vi

About this book 1

Introduction 2The 21st century context 2

An emphasis on intercultural language learning 3

Building a sustainable languages program 5

Using this book 6

Focus on curriculum 9Transdisciplinary teaching and learning 10

Languages and literacy: shared and guided reading 14

Languages and literacy: analysing visual texts 18

Information communication technologies 22

Focus on learners 27The early years of schooling 28

Success for boys 30

Transition from primary school to high school 32

Focus on organisation and support 37Developing a whole school approach 38

Operational considerations 42

Engaged leadership 46

Bilingual and immersion programs 50

Distance delivery 54

Partnerships beyond the school 56

Further resources 61

Bibliography 63

Appendix: Participating schools 65

Contents

The authors wish to acknowledge the generous professional contributions of all who participated in the creationof this book, particularly Greg Ashman, University of Tasmania and Jill Bignell, Department of Education,Tasmania.

Participating schoolsThis book certainly would not have been possible without the teachers and school leaders who gave time fromtheir busy schedules to provide the researchers with the information they needed.

It is important to note that the approaches to languages programs featured in this book are not case studies ofparticular schools. Rather, the authors have fused elements of programs gathered from a number of schools toproduce descriptions of successful practice that reflect a particular focus. A full list of participating schools canbe found on p 65.

Development of the Teaching Languages in the Primary School resource has been managed by the Asia EducationFoundation (AEF) on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training(DEST). The AEF is a foundation of the Asialink Centre at The University of Melbourne and CurriculumCorporation funded by DEST. More information about the AEF, including contacts in each State and Territory,is available at www.asiaeducation.edu.au.

The Project Advisory GroupMs Judy Gordon (Chair), representing the Australian Government Department of Education, Science andTraining (DEST)Mr Tom Croker, representing the Australian Principals Associations Professional Development Council(APAPDC)Ms Louisa Rennie, representing the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC)Ms Rita Tognini, representing the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers’ Associations (AFMLTA)Ms Sue Tolbert, representing State Government education jurisdictions

The Project Management TeamMs Christine McKenzie, Curriculum CorporationMr Richard Laurie, Curriculum CorporationMr Kurt Mullane, Asia Education Foundation

Thanks to Mr Jim Dellit, University of South Australia, for his early work on this book.

Teaching Languages in the Pr imary Schoolvi

Acknowledgements

This book is designed to help primary languages teach-ers, class teachers, school leaders and curriculumadvisers plan and implement effective and sustainablelanguages programs in Australian primary schools.

It provides examples and practical ideas drawn fromcurrent practice to address issues that affect primarylanguages programs. Key issues identified by recentnational1 research and consultation2 with schoolleaders, languages teachers and representatives of education authorities include: • support from school leadership for languages pro-

grams• community support for languages education• effective pedagogy for primary learners, including

linking across curriculum areas• time allocation and continuity of programs to high

school• resourcing languages programs, particularly in rural

and remote areas.Teaching Languages in the Primary School aims to stimulate professional reflection by presenting a rangeof ways to consider policy development, curriculumplanning and teaching and learning practices in rela-tion to languages education in primary schools. Itstrongly advocates the active involvement of schoolleaders and promotes partnerships between languages

teachers, class teachers and members of the commu-nity while at the same time recognising that localneeds and circumstances will influence decisionmaking.

Thirteen approaches to enhance the quality andsustainability of languages programs are presentedwhich will be useful for schools wanting to introducenew languages programs as well as to enrich existingprograms. Each approach supports interculturalunderstanding as an intrinsic part of language learn-ing, especially through helping students to developinterpersonal communication skills in another lan-guage. Students consider how culture affects languagestructure and use and how language influencesculture. They also learn to reflect on their own lan-guage and culture and question their assumptionsabout how they and other people interact in the world.

These approaches were developed by surveyingschools and interviewing teachers across Australia.Elements of programs from different schools werefused to produce descriptions of successful practice forparticular areas. They are organised within threethemes:

• Focus on curriculum

• Focus on learners and languages

• Focus on organisation and support.

About this book

1About this book

1 Review of the Commonwealth Languages Other Than English Programme 2002, pp 156–166.2 A National Seminar on Languages Education for School Leaders was held in Melbourne 30–31 May 2002 to exchange views on the teaching

of languages in Australian schools, identify the factors affecting the delivery of quality languages programs and develop a ‘commitment toaction’. It was the first national gathering of school leaders, language teachers and representatives of education authorities held on languageseducation in Australia.

The importance of developing Australia’s linguisticresources in preparing its future citizens for successfulparticipation in a rapidly changing world was firstrecognised nationally in the National Policy onLanguages (Lo Bianco, 1987). This was reflected in the1989 National Goals for Schooling, which identifiedLanguages other than English as one of eight keylearning areas. The 1999 National Goals for Schoolingreaffirmed languages as a key area of learning andhighlighted the importance of providing a local,regional and global dimension to the learning experi-enced in school by our young people.3

The National Statement and Plan for LanguagesEducation in Australian Schools 2005–20084 emphasisesthe fact that education in a global community bringswith it an increasing need to focus on developingintercultural skills and understanding. It affirms the

important role languages education can play in leadingstudents to reflect in meaningful ways on their role inthe world, the language and culture that shape themand their values and attitudes.

These national developments reflect internationaltrends in languages education. In its materials for theEuropean Year of Languages in 2001, the Council ofEurope emphasised both intercultural competenceand the contribution of languages teaching and learn-ing to education for democratic citizenship and thedevelopment of tolerance and understanding betweenpeoples. This in turn has influenced school and highereducation curricula developed in Europe in recentyears.

The figure below illustrates how languages learningequips Australian students with the skills to make con-nections with local, regional and global communities.

The 21st century context

IntroductionIntroduction

GlobalBy providing

students withfrequent and varied

opportunities formeaningful interactionswith peoples of theworld, learninglanguages developsstudents’ ability to

become linguisticallyand culturally

competentparticipants in

the globalcommunity.

RegionalAustralian students require the skills, knowledge,

values and understanding to beable to interact with the people

of the Asia-Pacific region,which is home to 60 per cent

of the world’s population.Engagement with thelanguages and culture of theregion provides opportunitiesfor linguistic, social, creative

and intellectual developmentand assists students to

understand their roles andresponsibilities as members

of the regional community.

LocalAustralia’s diverse linguistic and

cultural environmentcan enrich the languageprogram and provideopportunities forstudents to apply

their learning inauthentic contexts.

Languagesand

communities

Teaching Languages in the Pr imary School2

3 Goal 3.54 Developed through the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA)

and recently endorsed by all Ministers of Education, The National Statement and Plan is available for download at http://www.mceetya.edu.au/mceetya/default.asp?id=11959.

Teaching any language necessarily involves teachingculture – culture shapes the way language is structuredand used.5 As reported by McLaughlin and Liddicoat(2005), intercultural language learning is developingas a key direction in languages education both inAustralia and elsewhere. One of the key goals of inter-cultural language learning is to move beyond culturelearning as factual knowledge about culture to a criti-cal engagement with diversity through language.6 Itinvolves purposefully helping learners to notice,analyse and reflect on their own culture and languageas well as the target language and culture.

The National Statement and Plan for LanguagesEducation in Australian Schools 2005–2008 highlightsthe capabilities developed through intercultural lan-guage learning. Learners:

• communicate, interact and negotiate within andacross languages and cultures

• understand their own and others’ languages, thusextending their range of literacy skills, includingskills in English literacy

• understand themselves and others, and understandand use diverse ways of knowing, being and doing

• further develop their cognitive skills through think-ing critically and analytically, solving problems, andmaking connections in their learning.

(p 3 National Statement and Plan for Languages Education in AustralianSchools 2005–2008)

Related principles and pedagogyAs cultural groups intermingle across the world as aresult of ‘extensive migration and tourism, worldwidecommunication systems for mass and private com-munication, economic interdependence and theglobalisation of the production of goods’ (Risager1998, p 248) there is more opportunity and a strongerneed for language learners to be familiar with theexperiences and perspectives of other cultures. Inter-cultural language learning gives Australian studentsopportunities to develop such familiarity with theexperiences and perspectives of other cultures.

The principles and pedagogies of intercultural lan-guage learning listed on the following page are thosereported by Liddicoat, Papademetre, Scarino andKohler (2003) as featuring in successful teaching andlearning practices across the curriculum.

These principles and pedagogies form a foundationfor building links between languages learning andother curriculum areas and for catering for the diver-sity of learners in the classroom.

Linking languages learning to other curriculum areasassists students to build coherent and sophisticatedunderstandings about culture and interculturality.

Schools working successfully in transdisciplinaryways do so without compromising learning outcomes(see pp 10–13 for suggestions on how to build trans-disciplinary connections within languages programs).

n

5 ‘Getting Started With Intercultural Language Learning: A Resource for Schools’, p 6; Commonwealth of Australia 2005.6 McLaughlin, M and Liddicoat AJ 2005, ‘In the Context of Intercultural Language Learning’, Babel, vol 40, pp 5–11.

An emphasis on intercultural languagelearning

3Introduct ion


Adapted from Liddicoat, Papademetre, Scarino and Kohler (2003)

Principle Pedagogy

Active construction • is task-oriented

• includes the use of effective questioning

• caters to the requirements of individual learners

• incorporates graphic organisers and other visuals that help to connect understandings

• encourages a gradual shift from the descriptive to the conceptual

• highlights particular linguistic and sociocultural considerations.

Making connections • is designed in line with learners’ development and builds on previous knowledge

• combines learning of language and culture with the development of understandings across the curriculum

• encourages learners to explain, integrate and inquire

• builds connections across texts and contexts.

Social interaction • facilitates interactions that promote intercultural communication

• builds accuracy, fluency and complexity

• includes interactive talk as an essential part of all tasks

• includes scaffolding to extend the intercultural connections individual learners are making

• involves listening to learners and incorporating their responses into the conversation

• includes making comparisons across a range of languages, cultures and contexts, using multiple examples (cultures, conceptual systems and sets of values).

Reflection • includes reflecting critically on one’s own attitudes, beliefs and values

• involves conceptualising connections between languages and cultures

• mediates the processes of developing multiple perspectives on language and culture in all societies and acting in non-judgemental ways

• highlights comparing, analysing and synthesising aspects of language and culture from a universally human perspective.

Responsibility • involves setting personal goals and self-monitoring

• fosters engagement with difference and includes awareness of multiple perspectives

• investigates ethical uses of knowledge.

The continuing high quality of a school’s languagesprogram depends on the school’s leadership providingclear direction, active promotion, strong support andsound management.Australian schools with successful, lasting languagesprograms possess the following characteristics:

• Languages programs have a stated rationale,purpose and clearly defined outcomes that aredeveloped by teachers and the school leadership,owned by all staff and communicated by them tostudents and parents.

• Time is allocated for frequent and regular languageslessons and resources are allocated and distributedto languages learning on the basis of its being a keyarea of learning.

• Choice of language reflects the local context, availability of teachers and resources, student background and the need for program continuity.Whenever possible schools work together toimprove continuity across levels of schooling, so asto retain students’ engagement and promote reten-tion of languages learning, particularly at transitionpoints.

• Languages programs are an integral part of thewider curriculum and create pathways to higherlevels of intercultural learning. Languages teacherswork within the school’s overall curriculumcontext. Their work is supported by all staff.

• Languages learning is meaningful, relevant andapplied, so that students have intrinsic motivationto continue learning. The languages and culturesthat students already have are acknowledged andvalued.

• Teaching methods and strategies suited to students’enthusiasm and interest at each level of schoolingare clearly articulated. The relevance of the lan-guage to students, and evidence of their progress inthe language are used as indicators of successfulprograms.

• The school encourages all its teachers to participatein the sort of ongoing professional learning in lan-guages education that develops their own linguistic,cultural and pedagogical proficiencies.

• The languages teacher is a valued member of theschool and has a collegial community with whom todevelop skills and pedagogies. Time for teachers toplan together and to make connections across theschool is planned and allocated. Languages teachersare located in teaching teams so that they can shareinformation about effective teaching practices andparticipate in whole school curriculum planning.

• A strong profile for the school’s languages programis developed through the involvement of membersof the school community. When there is pride in and ownership of the program by the school’s community, languages programs are strengthened.

5Introduct ion

Building a sustainable languagesprogram

For guiding whole schoolplanning on languages programsThe approaches featured in this book are presented insuch a way that they support teachers, school leadersand curriculum advisers in planning and implementinga quality and sustainable languages program that suitstheir needs and circumstances.

Features sets out the conditions and actions that characterise the successful implementation and sus-tainability of the particular approach.

A closer look presents an explanation (or an extendedexample) of a particular aspect of the approach.

The three sets of questions below provide a usefulguide for discussion or professional reflection whenlooking at each approach.

In action presents a snapshot of practice or a set ofpractical ideas drawn from the experiences of schoolsusing the approach.

At this point your school group can consider the fol-lowing questions:

• How does this approach connect to our schoolcontext?

• What do we already have in place that couldsupport this approach?

• What changes would we need to make to supportthis approach?

• What ideas from this approach could be adapted forour particular circumstances?

• In what ways could this approach enrich our exist-ing languages program?

• Is this approach possible and appropriate for thisschool?

Getting started offers suggestions for introducing theapproach into your school.

At this point your school group can consider the following questions:

• What is realistically achievable for us?

• Who needs to be involved in discussion and deci-sion making?

• How can the school leadership support thisapproach?

• What resources are needed to make this work?What are our priorities?

• What needs to happen? Who will be responsible?What will be our milestones of progress? What isour timeline?

• Who can help us? What else do we need to find out?

Going further is directed at schools that are alreadyundertaking the particular approach and are consider-ing a further step in implementing the approach.

At this point your school group can consider the fol-lowing questions:

• What successes have we had to this point?

• What is helping to sustain our languages program?

• How embedded is the program in the life of theschool?

• What ideas from this approach can help our students’ languages learning?

For professional reflectionIndividuals and groups of teachers approach profes-sional learning in diverse ways.

Below are suggestions for use of the book by fivetypical readers.

• If you are participating in a formal professionallearning session, you will be asked to progressthrough this book in a particular way, according tothe aims of the professional learning session.

• If you are the principal of a primary school that doesnot yet have a languages program, consider movingto Focus on organisation and support after readingthe Introduction. In the first three approaches des-cribed in that section there are ideas for developinga whole school vision and approach to the languagesprogram, practical suggestions for timetabling and


Using this book

resourcing the program, and suggested ways of sup-porting the work of the languages teacher.

• If you are a languages teacher who would like towork more collaboratively with classroom teachers,turn first to Focus on curriculum. The approachesdescribed there provide starting points for develop-ing ways to connect languages learning to otherareas of the curriculum.

• If you are a languages teacher with an interest in thelearning needs of particular groups of students,Focus on learners is a good place to start. Thereyou will find suggestions for teaching young learners

of languages, boys in languages programs, and pro-viding languages learning pathways for students attransition points in their schooling, including theirtransition from primary to high school.

• If your school already has a ‘Languages team’ estab-lished to coordinate the languages program, thisresource can assist you in strengthening yourprogram. You may like to focus on the GoingFurther sections in particular.

For all readers, the final Further Resources and Bibli-ography provide further sources of information aboutlanguages learning in the primary school.

7Introduct ion

Focus on curriculum

us on urriculumFocus on curriculumIn Focus on curriculum you explore: • a transdisciplinary approach to languages teaching and learning that establishes strong

connections between languages programs and other curriculum areas

• approaches to languages and literacy education that adopt guided and shared readingstrategies or use authentic visual texts in languages programs

• possible uses of information communication technologies to enrich languages programs.

The four approaches to primary school practice described within this section highlight howstudents develop understandings about:

• the relationship between language and culture. As language (including visual language)and culture are viewed as intertwined, learning experiences are designed to integrate thetwo

• both the target language and culture and their own language and culture. Studentsexamine stereotypes, challenge assumptions and develop a capacity to reflect on anddeal with cultural differences.

Transdisciplinary teaching and learningTransdisciplinary teaching and learning encouragesstudents to develop deep understandings in more thanone area of learning. Approaches that are trans-disciplinary thus increase students’ capacity to makeconnections across the curriculum and between disciplines.7

In transdisciplinary learning, a languages program issupported by a collegial approach to teaching. Eacharea of learning is acknowledged as possessing its ownbody of knowledge, skills and processes. Teachers bringtheir strengths in various disciplines to a collaborativeplanning and teaching process.

In the school featured below, the languages teacherworked with a Years 5–6 classroom teacher to plan aunit that connected students’ Japanese learning toother curriculum areas. The languages teacher foundthat the process of planning and teaching this trans-disciplinary unit resulted in:

• feeling less isolated and marginalised from the restof the teaching staff

• feeling that other teachers valued languages educa-tion more highly

• appreciating the opportunity for collegial discussionabout teaching practice.

FEATURESThe languages program becomes connected to othercurriculum areas in the following ways:

• The languages teacher and classroom teachers workcollaboratively to plan and implement units.

• Teachers plan to develop students’ conceptsthrough visiting those concepts across the languagesprogram and other curriculum areas. Students’learning becomes more holistic.

• Student learning is based around ‘significant issues,tasks, questions or problems’.8


7 ‘Transdisciplinary Learning’ as viewed on 20 December 2005 at http://www.ltag.education.tas.gov.au/planning/learnteachassess/transdisc.htm8 ‘Transdisciplinary Learning’ as viewed on 20 December 2005 at http://www.ltag.education.tas.gov.au/planning/learnteachassess/transdisc.htm

For me, the most valuable aspect ofworking with a team to take languagesinto the everyday classroom was being

able to share with like-mindedpractitioners, seek clarification, workcollaboratively and share the load.

A CLOSERLOOKA concept is ‘an organising idea’ that is broadenough to encompass a variety of examples.Concepts are often captured in one or two words(Erickson, 2002).

Concepts that link languages and other areas oflearning include those shown in the illustration.

As teachers repeatedly present these concepts tostudents over the years of schooling, students areable to build a progressively complex understand-ing of them. As Erickson (2002, p 51) remarks:

As they progress through the grades, studentsbuild conceptual structures in the brain as theyrelate new examples to past learnings. Thismeans that teachers, in writing curricula, need toidentify conceptual ideas, often stated as essen-tial understandings, that are developmentallyappropriate for the age level of their students.

IN ACTIONAt a small rural school, the Japanese languageteacher and the Years 5–6 classroom teacherplanned a unit together. The unit centred on con-cepts of identity, place and culture.

As a key part of the unit students were pre-sented with the following real-life task:

Local businesses are planning to bring Japanese

tourists to ourtown to enjoy a

unique experience. Tomake the most of this experience

the Japanese visitors will need abrochure to help them enjoy their stay here. Localbusinesses have agreed to display the brochure andour task is to create one that is both welcomingand informative.

The languages teacher worked with students to decide what forms of Japanese language wereappropriate for the brochure. The classroomteacher assisted students to identify the places tobe featured in the brochure and to develop thecomputer publishing skills needed to produce thebrochure.

As students worked to produce their brochuresthey:

• learnt how to use Japanese language for their set task

• gained knowledge about the features of an effective tourist brochure

• demonstrated understandings about how the place where they live and their lifestyle contribute to their sense of identity

• considered how to represent their community to Japanese visitors

• developed their awareness of stereotypes – in representing their own town and its inhabitants, and in the assumptions that they made about their Japanese visitors.

11Transdisc ipl inary teaching and learning

LanguageB e h a v i o u r

C h a n g eC

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C o m m u n i t y

C u l t u r e

C o n t i nu

i t

y

Di v

er

sit

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te

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ct

i on

sI d

en

t i t yI n t e r c u l t u

r a l i t y

Interdependence

L a n g u a g e

Wo r l d v i e w s

V a l u e sSystemsB e l i e f s

GoalsUnderstandingStudents will be able to:

• understand that their identity is shaped by theenvironment that they live in

How does growing up in a place influence who we are?

• understand how to deconstruct cultural stereotypes

Is anyone typical? How do you represent a culture to othercultures and how do you do this without creatingstereotypes?

• demonstrate an understanding of interculturalitythrough the production of a brochure for visitingJapanese tourists.

How are considerations about a target audiencerepresented in choices made about content and languageuse?

Language skill-buildingStudents will be able to:

• deconstruct and critically analyse the features of abrochure

• research facilities and attractions in the localcommunity

• produce a brochure in the target language. (They willwrite two or three linked sentences about each topicusing well-rehearsed language to convey simpleinformation.)

Tuning inStudents identify places of significance for them in thelocal area and reflect upon why they are important tothem. They reflect about how where they live influenceswhat they do and how they think about their identity.

Finding out, sorting out and going furtherStudents work with photographs to identify stereotypedrepresentations of Australian and Japanese people andplaces. Students challenge their assumptions aboutJapanese tourists.

Taking action• Students design a brochure for Japanese visitors to their

community, written in Japanese.

• Students investigate local tourist brochures andbrochures from Japan.

What is the purpose of a brochure? What is the genre of a brochure (considering, for example, language, tone,audience, purpose, structure)?

• They challenge stereotyped representations of people,places and cultures.

• They identify the features of brochures.

• They brainstorm what to include in their brochure.

What is useful? What is interesting to a Japanese tourist?

• Students become aware of the intended audience’sculture and expectations. They understand howlanguage use relates to culture and expectations.

What would a Japanese tourist expect to find in our town?

What would they be surprised to find?

• Students edit their work.

Why have we included these things? What do they tell theJapanese visitor about us as a community? Is it a truerepresentation of who we are?

Is our use of Japanese language appropriate and correct?

• Students explain the ideas behind their work to others.

What new language did we learn? What did we findinteresting or surprising?

What would we like to know more about? How can thislearning help us in the future?

• Students are given a scenario to show their capacity forin-depth thinking. For example:

A new student arrives from another country. How couldyou help him or her settle into our community? Whatlanguage knowledge and cultural knowledge would helpyou?


Identity and place – transdisciplinary unit planGuiding questionsHow does where I live influence who I am? How can I represent my culture to others without using stereotypes?

GETTING STARTEDIf transdisciplinary teaching and learning interests you,then consider the following course of action:

• Form a group with your colleagues to read, discussand build shared understandings about trans-disciplinary teaching and learning.

• Decide on ideas or concepts that can be richlyexplored through combining languages educationand other curriculum areas.

• Agree on a planning format. State the languageslearning outcomes and education skills to be builtthrough the unit as well as the outcomes from othercurriculum areas.

• Use alternate staff meeting times for year-groupteachers and the languages teacher to plan trans-disciplinary units. Be realistic about the amount ofcollaboration and time that will be required. Ensurethat languages learning remains central to the unitsbeing planned.

GOING FURTHERIf you are ready to move further with transdisciplinaryteaching and learning:

• Explore ways to plan and conduct significant trans-disciplinary teaching more often. Organise commonnon-contact times across year groups and includethe languages teacher.

• Share your developing understandings about trans-disciplinary teaching and learning with othercolleagues during staff meetings.

• Ask your students to keep a learning journalthroughout the course of a transdisciplinary unit.Have students reflect on their levels of engagementwith learning, and especially with languages learn-ing. Use their reflections to guide the planning offuture units.

13Transdisc ipl inary teaching and learning

What does thismean to me?

Why did the authorwrite this? What does

this text do to me?

Code breakerLearners make sense of the codesand conventions of texts.

Text user Learners understand the purposes of a variety of texttypes for different cultural and social functions.

How do I crackthis code?

What do I dowith this text?

Text participant Learners make meaning from texts.

Text analyst Learners understand that texts reflect their creator’s purposesand sociocultural background. Learners challenge assumptionsmade about them as readers.

In this approach, languages learning is considered anintegral part of the school’s approach to literacy. Thelanguages teacher and the classroom teacher worktogether within the established structures of theirschool’s reading program, with the languages teacherusing reading material in the target language. As stu-dents’ knowledge of the target language deepens, theycompare its structure and usage to their own language.In doing so, they develop a heightened awareness oflanguage and a metalanguage – a language for talkingabout language. As a result they become more self-directed and confident in their languages learning,both in the target language and in English.

The languages teacher and the classroom teacherbase their reading program on Luke and Freebody’sfour roles of the reader (see Winch et al 2004),

developing tasks and activities around each role asillustrated in the figure below.

FEATURESThe languages teacher and the classroom teacher:

• use a wide variety of reading material in the targetlanguage

• include target-language texts as a part of regularclassroom resources

• develop students’ reading strategies in both languages

• articulate the connections between languages andliteracy development

• talk with parents about the links between languagesand literacy learning.

Languages and literacy: shared andguided reading


The languages teacher starts by including sharedreading sessions in languages lessons using a big book. The languages teacher chooses a book that isabove the students’ independent reading level in thetarget language, so that there are reading challengesfor students to meet with the support of the whole

class. In the example shown here, the languagesteacher assists students to develop strategies forreading a narrative text in the target language. As the students’ language proficiency increases, more ofthe instructions and questions can be in the target lan-guage.

15Languages and l i teracy

Let’s look at the front cover.

• What sort of book is this? How do you know?

• What do you think this story may be about? Where might it take place? What clues give you that idea?

• Who/what might the characters be?

• What could they be doing?

• Predict what might happen in this story.

• Which words support what you think?

• Where is the title of the book? How do you know that?How do we say the title?

• Who is this book written for? What makes you think that?

I’m going to leave this book in the languages learning centre inyour classroom. You can:

• Match the pictures to the print.

• Order the story parts.

• Fill in the missing words.

• Write captions for the pictures.

• Describe and illustrate a new character. Use our adjective chart tohelp you. How would this character change the story?

• Read the story to a partner.

Listen as I read. Join in the repeated parts.

• Use the pictures to help you to make sense of the words and whatis happening

• What will happen on the next page?

• I didn’t know this word. Lets’ think about how I could have workedit out …

Now read with me.

• Which words tell us that … ?

• How can we tell that this happened in the past?

• I’ve covered some words with sticky notes. Let’s see if we canwork out what they are. (A focus could be a particular languagefeature such as pronouns, conjunctions, adjectives or prepositions)

• How do the pictures help us to understand what is happening?

• Why is (character/place/item/symbol) shown this way? Why is itincluded?

A CLOSER LOOK


The school had a guided reading program operating inmost classrooms. The languages teacher decided towork within this established program structure. In theguided reading sessions the languages teacher workedwith small groups of six to eight students. Each studentand the languages teacher had a copy of what was beingread. Reading material was organised into ability levelsso that students worked with texts that were only justbeyond their reading ability in the target language.

OrganisationEach class in the school had a dedicated, one-hourlanguages lesson each week. In addition, languageswere the focus of two half-hour, guided reading ses-sions a week – which formed part of the class’s regularliteracy teaching block.

Each class was divided into four guided readinggroups on the basis of shared learning needs. The lan-guages teacher worked closely with each group once afortnight. The other three groups worked on related

tasks, supported by the classroom teacher. The organ-isation of the groups was displayed on a task board as shown below. The task board used target-languagevocabulary, initially supported by picture clues, asshown in the figure below.

Typically the languages teacher would:

• introduce the new reading material by asking ques-tions about the title, illustrations, headings, texttype, text origin, who wrote the text and why. Theteacher would then ask about cultural aspects thatmay need clarification. Students made predictionsabout content and language.

• support the reading of the text by prompting the useof reading strategies and emphasising reading formeaning

• revisit the text with a teaching emphasis on one ofthe four roles of the reader

• invite students to respond to texts thorough a rangeof oral and written activities.

Task Board

Group Tuesday (Week A) Thursday (Week A)

Purple With languages teacher Order and caption pictures

Green Partner reading With languages teacher

Orange Writing centre – own poster Partner sharing

Yellow Oral cloze with partner Art centre – instructions

Tuesday (Week B) Thursday (Week B)

Purple Writing centre – character Partner reading

Green Word sorting Map creation

Orange With languages teacher Poster questions

Yellow Partner reading With languages teacher

IN ACTION

Choose an activitywhen you havefinished

Listening post

Vocabulary game

CD-ROM

Read languages booksour class has written

Independent reading

Languages learningcentre

A good way to start the process of recognising that languages learning supports literacy learning is for thelanguages teacher, teachers with literacy teachingexpertise and a classroom teacher to form a team tovisit classrooms in which shared reading and guidedreading is conducted successfully, and to plan together.To ensure that the whole staff and parents understandhow languages learning supports literacy learning, consider doing the following:

• Ask a languages curriculum advisor and a literacyexpert to lead staff professional development withsenior staff, teachers and teacher aides.

• Hold an information session for parents.

• Develop an information leaflet for parents.

• Talk to senior staff about:

– a budget to buy a variety of reading material inthe language that your school teaches

– scheduling languages reading sessions at the sametime as the usual literacy teaching times

– introducing the program to one year level at a time.

• Take enough time to gather and sort reading materials – all in the target language – into sets andlevels before teaching starts. Make sure you have:

– texts that are big enough for a whole class to see(for example, big books and posters)

– sets of six to eight copies of children’s magazines

– everyday texts such as tickets, business cards, CDcovers, maps, menus, greeting cards, toy packetsand food packaging. (Colour scanning is usefulfor making multiple copies.)

– multiple copies of target-language readers, atvarious reading levels, that have content to inter-est your students

– websites, CD-ROMs and other digital material (ifthe classroom has several computers).

GOING FURTHER• Report to parents about the development of reading

strategies used in the literacy program.

• Develop a home reading program that uses readingmaterial in both languages. Parents may requireaudio materials in the target language to supporttheir full participation in such programs.

• Invite an author or illustrator who works in thetarget language to a Book Week event.


GETTING STARTED

Languages Learning Centre – Classroom set-upSupportive

displays (posters)

Noticeboard for parents,

withinformationabout homereading and

pamphlets totake away

Bilingualdictionaries

Target-language

readers inthe reading

corner

Target-languagereading

resources, in tubs, forgroup use

Visual texts are a form of communication found in all cultures. They appear in many media. Examplesinclude films, CD-ROMs, television, websites, signs,cards, advertisements, picture books and works of art.As shown below, visual texts can be used in languagesclasses to investigate ideas about language and culture.

FEATURESIn this approach, languages teachers choose visualtexts from the target culture that show culture asvaried and changing. The visual materials should rep-resent:

• past, contemporary and emerging aspects of theculture

• diverse cultural groups, including minority ethnicgroups and youth culture.

Students become aware of the role that culture playsin the design of visual materials and in the ways thatvisual texts are interpreted and understood.

A CLOSER LOOKAnalysing the relationship between visual texts andtheir cultural context involves examining the role ofthat culture in:

• how a visual text is created

• how a visual text is interpreted.

Languages and literacy: analysing visualtexts

The viewerof the text has:

• a cultural context

• beliefs and values

• personal experiences

• interests

• a world view

• a purpose for viewing the text

• an active role in how the text is read.

The creatorof the text has:

• a cultural context

• beliefs and values

• personal experiences

• interests

• a world view

• a purpose for creating or viewing the text.


In this classroom the languages teacher and the class-room teacher worked together to plan and teach aseries of lessons about rites of passage, including birthdays. These lessons formed part of a study of celebrations around the world in which students learntthat beliefs and traditions vary from place to place andover time.

As a starting point the languages teacher helpedstudents to write in the target language about howthey celebrate their birthdays. The students wroteabout their various family and cultural traditions in aclass big book that they illustrated with digital photo-graphs.

The class teacher then worked with students, usingthe KWL strategy to record what they already Knewabout birthday celebrations in places where the lan-guage they were learning is spoken, and what theyWanted to know. At the conclusion of the unit stu-dents would record what they had Learned.

The students decided to ask students in their sisterschool how they celebrate their birthdays. The stu-dents also agreed that they would find information onthe Internet to compare with information that stu-dents in their sister school provided. The languagesteacher helped students to write questions such as thefollowing, in the target language:

• Do you celebrate your birthday?

• Which birthdays are special?

• How do you celebrate birthdays?

• Where do you have your celebrations?

Students asked their sister-school friends to send themsome birthday cards they had received and then con-tributed birthday cards from their own homes to forma class collection.

Working with birthday cardsIn the sequence of work (shown on the following page)students carried out listing, tallying and surveying inthe target language. They emailed students in theirsister school in the target language.


IN ACTION

Make sure that your collection of visual texts containsauthentic material from the target culture. Gather awide range that represents a variety of cultural sub-groups. Ask yourself questions about your collectionlike:

• Are minority groups represented, or just the domi-nant cultural group?

• Are people shown to be individuals, with diversephysical characteristics, clothing and occupations?

• What and whose experiences, histories and her-itages are included, and which are omitted?

• Are the settings diverse (for example, architecture,fauna and flora, rural and urban)?


Working with birthday cardsImmersion Students sorted the birthday cards brought from home into categories according to type of

picture on each, eg children’s toys, children’s activities.

They sorted the cards from their sister school in similar ways.

Prediction Students predicted the sorts of messages that might appear on the cards from the sister school. They read the language on the front of the cards and the birthday wishes inside.

Deconstruction

Students notice and analyse Students asked questions about both sets of cards, including:features of visual texts

• Who was the intended recipient of this card? What is their gender? What is being • They ask questions about assumed about the card recipient?

the purposes of visual texts.• Who chose the card? Can we tell? What might have attracted them to this card?

• They investigate influences on the people who had • What is shown on the card?created the visual texts.

• How do colour, line, drawing style, medium and placement of objects affect the message?• They evaluate how they

interpret and react to the • How are boys and girls shown? Why are they shown that way? What are they shown to cards, and how their own enjoy? What settings are they shown in? What are they wearing? What are they doing? cultural background affects Who and what is shown with them?them as a viewer.

• Which items shown on the cards from our sister school don’t we recognise? What don’t we understand? Why is that the case?

• What is shown to be important (eg appearance, actions, relationships)?

• Who is not shown on the cards? Who has been left out? Whose reality is being presented?

• What are the similarities and differences between the two sets of cards?

• Would the cards from our sister school suit students in our class? How do they suit what we think we know about the students in our sister school? What else do we need to ask them?

Reconstruction Each student created a card showing how they do celebrate their birthdays.

Taking action Students sent the cards that they made to students in their sister school. They included a message in the target language. They asked their sister-school students to send back cards that gave an accurate representation of their birthday celebrations.

GETTING STARTED

• Is there any evidence that the text creator’s purposewas overt propaganda or the stereotyped represen-tation of a minority group?

(For further ideas, see Anstey & Bull 2000, pp217–22.)

You can find authentic visual texts from the targetculture in the following ways:

• Contact languages bookshops and browse throughonline catalogues.

• Ask languages teaching colleagues for recommen-dations.

• Use personal contacts, online discussion groups,professional associations and language curriculumadvisors.

• Contact libraries including teacher resourcecentres.

• Inquire if embassies have materials available.

• Ask people who are travelling to relevant countriesto bring back everyday texts.

• Search for suitable websites, using links on lan-guages teaching websites.

GOING FURTHERContact teachers in a sister school and arrange toexchange examples of visual texts, especially everydaytexts that may not be readily available otherwise, forexample:

• catalogues, flyers, posters, signs

• CD covers

• packaging (for toys and food)

• maps

• greeting cards and postcards

• magazines and comics.

Authentic visual texts are useful for investigating

ideas about language and culture.

‘Spirited Away’ courtesy of Madman Entertainment Ltd P/L. © 2001 Nibariki–GNDDTM. All rights reserved. www.madman.com.au/studioghibli

Cover of Femina reproduced with permission of Femina

Languages and l i teracy 21

Information communicationtechnologies

The increasing availability of school Internet accessfor students opens new possibilities for them to linkwith other users of the target language. The use ofinformation communication technologies (ICT) inlanguage classrooms allows students to:

• use familiar ICT for new purposes

• gain new skills with ICT in using them for languagelearning.

Languages teachers play a crucial professional role inensuring that the integration of ICT into languageslearning is educationally sound. They evaluate theappropriateness and effectiveness of available tech-nologies, deciding when and how to use them withtheir students.

FEATURESLanguages students use a range of ICT to:

• practise language skills

• learn and experiment with new language

• access authentic information or texts

• create new texts in the target language

• plan and communicate their languages learning

• communicate with other language speakers locallyand globally

• self-manage aspects of their learning.

Languages teachers use a variety of ICT to:

• create student interest and motivation

• personalise languages learning to suit the learningstyles and interests of individuals or groups of students

• provide access to examples of authentic languageuse

• create networks of communication with target-languages users for their own use and for the use oftheir students.


Students find it motivating to useonline technology to practise

their languages skills.

A CLOSER LOOKThe table below lists some computer applications suited to classroom learning processes, along with possiblelearning activities for languages classrooms.

23Information communicat ion technologies

Application Learning process Opportunities for languages learning Instructional Build skills Input and practice of language in structured contexts

CD-ROMs developed for Practise and reinforce skills. Reinforce vocabulary through practice in a variety of formats.languages teaching and learning

Obtain feedback through inbuilt quizzes.

Content-based Access to ideas and Immersion in examples of language use for noticing and information exploring linguistic and cultural features

Websites Explore nature of content Use with a valued-added component such as a web quest to and point of view. explore information from or about the target country.

Research information.

Information-based CD-ROMs Access reference material. Access information and authentic texts from the target and DVDs culture. Use these for critical literacy tasks.

Simulation games Explore a simulated world. Take part in simulated scenarios, taking on a role.

Use the target language for problem solving.

Learning objects Enter a virtual learning Use the target language in a virtual context.environment.

Generic software Extend ideas Plan language use

Observe language use while interacting with others

Reflect on language use

Email programs Communicate with Establish email buddies with another class in the target another class. country, or with another Australian class learning the same

language.

Mind-mapping software Plan a piece of writing. Collect ideas and vocabulary to create a text.

Connect ideas. Record thoughts about languages and cultures.

Spreadsheets Make a graph of collected Graph results of surveys carried out in the target language.information.

Internet forums Share ideas and information Use password-protected discussion boards to communicate via a secure forum. with other learners of the same language.

Generic software Create and transform ideas Experiment with language

Create ‘output’ in various media

Receive feedback

Online chat Contact other learners. Interact in real time with other language learners.

Print out chat dialogue for further learning.

Word processing Publish ideas and Use for presenting language activities, eg a travel brochure, information for an audience. flyer for an event, item for a school newspaper.

(continued)

During a trip to South Korea a languages teacher madepersonal contact with a primary school teacher inSeoul. On returning to Australia the languagesteacher continued contact with the Korean teachervia email. The two teachers agreed to carry out a jointproject with their Year 4 classes. They decided on thetopic of ‘spare time after school’ for their students toexplore together. The Australian languages teacherlisted the Korean language items that the studentswould need to learn. The teachers agreed on thelength of time that the project would take and when itwould be carried out. They kept in mind that theirschool systems had different academic years andholiday periods.

The students in the Year 4 classes compared theirafter-school play activities. They exchanged digitalimages of the spaces in which they play. Grade 6 ‘com-puter buddies’ assisted the younger Year 4 students toscan drawings that they had labelled in Korean. These

were exchanged as email attachments. Aware of howlanguage use reflects cultural ideas about status andrespect, the local students thought carefully about thelanguage that they should use to communicate withthe Korean students.

Students compared the range of activities thatAustralian and Korean students took part in duringtheir spare time after school and tried out some of theactivities that they hadn’t experienced before. Theyinvited members of the local Korean community tohelp them and learned associated Korean language.Students reflected about what they enjoyed doing,what felt unusual and why this was the case.

Students compared the places in which they playand challenged the ideas that they previously heldabout those of their own age in Korea. They decidedthat they would like to make contact with students ina rural area in Korea to see whether there were differ-ences in play activities within Korea.


Presentation programs Create an electronic book. Use written text and oral language.

Create a book in the target language for a younger student.

Compile a class-authored book such as an anthology of poems in the target language.

Drawing programs Design and present materials. Design book pages, cards, posters.

Generic software Share ideas Refine language use

Interact in the language

Share language produced in various media

Reflect on language use

Presentation programs Create a slide show that Create a multimedia slide show that incorporates sound, includes digital images. visuals and written text, for sharing with other students or

parents.

Web page creation programs Create a showcase of work Share language work with other students and parents.to share on an intranet.

Create a school website.Create a web page in the target language about the school and its community.

Videoconferencing programs Interact with other learners Interview an expert in any field, using the target language.and experts.

Connect with another group of students using the same language.

Video-editing programs Manipulate ideas using Record student work, provide students with feedback and multimedia. then allow them to edit the video in response to the feedback.

Use video for student self-assessment.

IN ACTION

GETTING STARTEDAt your school:

• Investigate State and Territory education websitesfor resources that support the integration of ICTinto the curriculum.

• Tap into languages teacher networks where col-leagues evaluate, create and share ideas about using ICT. Your local Modern Language TeachersAssociation is one such network.

• Consider your students’ existing knowledge aboutand skills with ICT. Plan for students to use thesetechnologies in new ways in languages lessons.Introduce new technologies to them for use inauthentic languages learning tasks.

• Gather ICT resources for languages. Contact yourlanguages advisor for suggestions about language-specific CD-ROMs.

• Talk with technology officers at your school aboutinstalling programs that support scripted languages.

• Allow yourself sufficient time to become familiarwith ICT resources.

• Consider management strategies for use of ICTwithin your classroom, for example, a computerbuddy system.

GOING FURTHERInvestigate interactive games and programs that con-textualise linguistic and cultural concepts or placethem in virtual learning environments. All Australiangovernments and the New Zealand government haveestablished The Le@rning Federation to developdigital materials for use in schools. The Le@rningFederation’s ‘learning objects’ support primary schoollanguages programs in Indonesian, Japanese andChinese.

Have a close look at these learning objects with aview to incorporating them into your teaching program.

25Information communicat ion technologies

Focus on learners

us on learnersFocus on learnersIn Focus on learners you explore how to: • use the literacy practices of the early years for students learning other languages

• consider the needs and characteristics of boys as languages learners

• make the transition between primary and high school languages programs an excitingand successful experience.

Students have a variety of learning needs and learning styles. Students come from diversecultural backgrounds and have divergent opinions about the value of learning languages.After even a short time in a languages program, students have different levels of languageproficiency. These sorts of factors present challenges for languages teachers.

The three approaches to primary school practice described within Focus on learners high-light the sorts of language teaching strategies that cater for the particular needs of:

• students in their first years of schooling

• boys as language learners

• students moving from primary school to high school, especially in relation to:

– the need for teachers in both sectors to share information about each student’s languages learning history

– the learning needs of students at different stages of cognitive development.

The early years of schoolingBecause literacy is about language, the study of a secondlanguage has been found to assist in the development ofliteracy, language and communication skills. Learnersdevelop and advance their skills and strategies fordecoding and making meaning from words. The studyof a second language also develops their flexibility andcompetence in dealing with language concepts.9

Many languages teachers report that starting lan-guages education early has a positive effect onstudents’ languages skills, their attitude towards otherlanguages and cultures, and their self-esteem. Theseteachers carefully choose pedagogy, content andresources to maximise students’ success in languageslearning in the early years.

FEATURESWhen schools implement a languages program in theearly years:

• Languages teachers connect their pedagogicalapproaches to those used in other areas of the cur-riculum. They follow similar structures to those usedby the class teacher in organising the class, particu-larly with students in their first year of school.

• Students gain an understanding of how languageworks. The languages program complements the lit-eracy program through making comparisons withthe first language and including similar strategies.

• Oral and aural language are emphasised. Learningtakes place in the languages class and at othertimes, such as in the playground within other curriculum areas.

• The approaches teachers choose are learner-centred and process-oriented. Students areencouraged to take risks, share learning anddevelop independence.

• Teachers assist students to make connectionsbetween the languages and cultures that they arelearning. From the beginning students connect withlanguages in real-life contexts.

A CLOSER LOOK• Learning rap in the target language introduces

students to greetings, feelings and names of familymembers. They transfer the language they learn inthe rap to a simple role-play that they can act out.More advanced students can compose a rap athome with assistance from older siblings.

• Students measure weight and height, tell the timeand learn about numbers, money and spatial con-cepts in the target language.

• Students use their own toys to prompt communica-tion modelled by the teacher, describing the toys toeach other as part of a guessing game.

• Year 1 and 2 students work in peer-tutoring groups,learning to ask and respond to questions in shortsentences and use appropriate cultural gesturessuch as bowing when they greet each other.

• Students commence their ‘show and tell’ by greet-ing the class in the target language.

IN ACTIONIn one school the languages teacher joined the earlyyears classroom teachers for curriculum planning sessions and to share strategies for developing literacy.The languages teacher visited early years classesduring general lessons to identify learning strategiesthat could be transferred to learning languages.

The languages teacher built on the qualities thatmany children at this age exhibit, such as spontaneity,curiosity and a desire to communicate and interact,particularly about topics that are familiar, includingself, family and friends, and activities that involveimagination.

The group of teachers decided to focus on speaking,listening and action-related communication such assongs, rhymes, finger plays and games. Props in the playcorner from the target language and culture includedmenus for take-away food, entry tickets, shopping lists


9 Commonwealth of Australia 2003, ‘Linking Languages and Literacy’ as viewed on 20 December 2005 athttp://www.curriculum.edu.au/nalsas/pdf/link_lang_lit.pdf

and hotel laundry lists to accompany the dress-up box.The reading area featured picture books, books madeby the students in the target language and big booksthat incorporated literacy learning strategies.

The teachers developed and encouraged activitiesin and out of school time to extend the students’ useof the target language. Younger students worked inpairs with a ‘buddy’ from a senior class each week foractivities such as reading and playing games. Parentswere provided with strategies to support their childsuch as encouraging prediction and self-correctionduring target-language reading practice at home.

GETTING STARTEDIf your school is planning to implement a languagesprogram in the early years:

• Organise information sessions for parents on therole of languages learning in the development oftheir children’s literacy.

• Design information booklets for parents thatpresent the vocabulary and structures that the stu-dents are learning, and that suggest ways to supporttheir children’s language development.

• Ensure that classrooms provide extensive visual and

tactile support for learning the target language, forexample, picture charts, word walls and felt letters.

• Support classroom teachers to use the target lan-guage in everyday interactions.

• Invite teachers and the principal to use words ofencouragement in the target language when speak-ing with students.

GOING FURTHER• Offer introductory language sessions for parents to

learn alongside their children.

• Invite languages teachers to attend professionaldevelopment in literacy for the early years and earlyyears teachers to attend one languages networkmeeting or professional learning session each year.

• Develop joint excursions with the class teacher. Forexample, if the class is studying folktales aboutanimals, then a trip to the zoo could be a lively wayto learn to use the target language to describeanimals from the target country and region.

• Hold a book launch of student-made class big booksand invite families to attend. Titles could include:‘Coming to school’, ‘I like …’

29The ear ly years of school ing

In the early years oral and aural language

are emphasised.

Concern about the educational achievement of manyboys, particularly in the area of literacy, is a matter of national concern. Since 2003 the AustralianGovernment has introduced a number of initiatives tosupport schools in their efforts to help boys achievetheir potential.10 The strategies described in thissection are drawn from schools which have developedeffective teaching and learning practices to engage boysin the languages program by using the guiding prin-ciples developed through national research. Each ofthese strategies works well for girls as well as for boys.

FEATURESThe following general teaching and learningapproaches have been shown to support boys in theirlanguages learning:

• Provide a supportive environment in which boyscan take risks and meet challenges.

• Provide activities for a range of learning styles.Include a variety of resources suited to visual andkinaesthetic learners as well as those suited to audi-tory learners.

• Incorporate texts that appeal to boys’ interests,including popular culture, non-fiction texts with pho-tographs, diagrams and drawings. Include authentictexts and those with an element of humour.

• Use ICT wherever possible across all tasks, from infor-mation gathering to the publication of boys’ work.

• Include tasks that require cooperation, encourage asense of belonging and build self-esteem through therecognition of boys’ personal strengths and abilities.

• Incorporate active learning tasks in which boys areasked to solve problems, including tasks that involveboys in construction and creative work.

• Break down the lesson into a variety of smaller tasksin which boys can succeed quickly and that togetherbuild into overall meaningful tasks.11

A CLOSER LOOKIt takes whole school collaborative planning todevelop strategies to promote learning success forboys, including their languages learning.

It is important to include:

• practical, hands-on activities that are relevant andconnected to the real world of boys

• ways to challenge boys through higher-order andconceptual thinking

• ways of encouraging boys to ask questions, evaluateevidence, look at alternative explanations and per-spectives and generate constructive solutions

• negotiation of content with boys and flexibilityabout the format of student work.

Teachers need to use a range of learning strategies to broaden the ways in which students view them-selves as learners. For example:

• Use of Gardner’s multiple intelligences allows students to work in ways that best match theirlearning strengths.

• Use of rubrics for peer-assessment and self-assessmentencourages students to develop responsibility andself-awareness in learning.


Success for boys

10 For further information, seehttp://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/policy_initiatives_reviews/key_issues/boys_education/default.htm

11 Adapted from ‘Guiding principles for success in education boys’ as viewed on 20 December 2005 at http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/policy_initiatives_reviews/key_issues/boys_education/guiding_principles_in_educating_boys.htm#Introduction

Include activities that requiremovement such as a treasure hunt

in the target language.

IN ACTIONThe languages teacher and the Year 5 teacherattended a professional development session aboutboys and learning. Together they decided to incor-porate what they had learnt about boys’ education intoplanning the Year 5 languages program. They werekeen to gain the involvement of males who couldsupport and encourage boys’ languages learning.

The languages teacher contacted a neighbouringhigh school to arrange for senior boys to join the lan-guages program in the primary school on a regularbasis. Both age groups responded enthusiastically totasks that linked languages learning with sport, trans-port, computers and comics. In one activity, pairs of students identified sporting heroes and favourite

entertainers. They used the Internet to find informa-tion about their heroes and then wrote profiles aboutthem in the target language. Using the Internet, students investigated the languages that their heroesspoke. They discussed how knowledge of other languages would help their heroes when they wereplaying sport or enjoying their leisure time while competing in other countries.

The students issued invitations for male teachers to attend their languages lessons and to take part in small-group languages learning tasks like games,computer-based skills practice and making items usingsimple instructions written in the target language. Thelanguages teacher and the students assisted theirteacher visitors to use the target language.

GETTING STARTEDAsk questions like:

• What classroom activities do our boys typicallyengage in? What do they talk about and read about?

• How can activities that are difficult for some of ourboys to engage with be presented in another way?

• What do our boys use language for outside ourschool setting? How can those uses of language beincluded in our languages classroom?

GOING FURTHERIn your school, you may wish to consider the implications of the findings of national research intoboys’ education which found that in some learningareas boys may work better in single-gender situations.In these settings, achievement is more likely to be seenas ‘cool’, desirable and something to be celebrated andboys reportedly become more cooperative, engaged,confident and willing to take risks academically.

31Success for boys

A Sports Day on which all activities, instructions and interaction

take place in the target language and culture

Some schools are part of a cluster of primary schools inwhich students have the opportunity to continuelearning the same language at their local high school.In that situation the languages teachers at all theschools in the cluster can more easily manage a transi-tion of students from primary school to high schoolthat allows students to build on their previous lan-guages learning.

FEATURESWhereas there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ way of managingthe transition of students from primary to secondarylanguages programs, the following ideas serve as a guide:

• The feeder primary schools and the high schoolestablish a curriculum pathway for an agreed lan-guage.

• There is clear, frequent communication betweenlanguages teachers in the school cluster. (Buildingtrusting, collegial relationships takes a commitmentof time.)

• The school leaders support funded interschool visitsfor the languages teachers to develop mutual under-standing about their different teaching contexts.

• Information on students’ language learning inprimary classes is passed to the high school in aconcise format.

A CLOSER LOOKThe following mind map was developed by languagesteachers in one cluster of schools to summarise thetransition issues.

Transition from primary school to high school


Transition issues

languages teachers

resources

students

school andcommunity

multilevel teaching

communication about our students

& programs

tracking &communicating

prior learning?

some outdated

which forprimary?/secondary?

information for parents

promotion oflanguages

provision of pathwaysfor languages

support of otherstaff for languages

timetabling

our professionallearning

ongoing staffing

who can assist us?

sharing?

who are they?

sometimes bored grouping of

students in classes

engagement?

new studentsto the cluster

Languages teachers help resolve the above trans-ition issues through the following measures:

• Go on interschool visits and sit in on languageclasses so as to develop understandings about eachothers’ teaching practices and contexts.

• Agree to communicate regularly about the use ofteaching resources so that students do not use thesame materials time after time.

• Ask for help from languages curriculum officersabout developing multi-level teaching and learningstrategies.

• Actively promote languages education within thebroader school community as a life-long activityand a viable subject choice.

• Agree on a format for tracking students’ prior language learning.

IN ACTIONAt the end of the first year of working together ontransition issues, the languages teachers in a schoolcluster planned the introduction of a student tutoringprogram in which pairs of Year 9 high school studentswould work with small groups of Years 2–3 primaryschool students.

In the following year, as planned, the high schoolstudents visited their allocated primary school classduring their weekly double language lesson. Pairs ofYear 9 students took responsibility for designing a taskto assist the Years 2–3 students with their languageslearning. Tasks included:

• making vocabulary-building games, with instruc-tions in Indonesian

• reading aloud from books written in Indonesian

33Transit ion f rom pr imary school to high school

Create forms for tracking students’ prior

language learning.


• writing their own books together

• assisting the younger students to find useful web-sites and helping them to develop reading strategiesfor finding information in simple Indonesian onlinetext

• setting up email exchanges between the Years 2–3Indonesian classes across the cluster.

The high school languages teacher chose Year 9 stu-dents to take part in the program because it was theirfirst year of Indonesian as an optional subject and theyhad sufficient languages skills to successfully partici-pate in the program. The Year 9 students were assessedon their task design, their reflections (written inIndonesian) on the conduct of the sessions, and theirdemonstration of collaboration and problem solvingwith the younger students.

The high school teacher visited each primary schoolwhere the Year 9 students were tutoring. This allowed

the teacher to make observations about the pedagogyof languages teaching and the characteristics of lan-guage learners in primary schools. Because the Year 9students were responsible for working with the smallgroups of primary students, the two languages teachersand the classroom teacher could roam between groupsto assist and to observe. They found valuable time totalk together during the sessions.

All the teachers found the experience to beextremely worthwhile. In particular they mentionedthat all the students had a sense of purpose aboutlearning Indonesian. As well, the teachers themselves:

• came to understand more about each other’s lan-guages teaching contexts and pedagogies

• identified ways in which students progressed in theirlanguage learning from Year 2 to Year 9

• found a manageable forum for ongoing discussionand collaboration among themselves.

Visits by high school students to the primary school

languages classroom encouragethe transition process.

GETTING STARTEDArrange a meeting with the languages teachers in yourcluster of schools to discuss questions such as:

• What transition issues does our cluster face?

• How can we record our students’ prior languagelearning so that it can be readily passed on to thenext year level and from primary school to highschool?

• What do we understand ‘intercultural languagelearning’ to mean? Do we share the same meaning?

• How does our languages program link to the rest ofour school’s curriculum?

• For what purposes do we assess students’ languagelearning? How do we assess their language learning?Let’s look at some student work samples together.

• How can we cater for the diversity of learners?

• How do we handle the multiple ability levels in ourclassrooms?

• What interests our students? How can we maintainthat interest across the year levels?

• What kinds of authentic texts do we use? Whatother resources do we use?

GOING FURTHERIf you already have a transition process in place, yourcluster of schools could consider the following devel-opments:

• Survey or interview students about their experienceof transition by asking students at various yearlevels:

– how they find their languages learning experi-ences

– what they see as the benefits of languages learn-ing

– what interests them in languages learning.

• Develop a languages curriculum document for thecluster that helps you to plan the development ofyour students’ languages learning from year to year.

• Arrange for students in the final year of primaryschool to join in a high school languages lesson.

35Transit ion f rom pr imary school to high school

Careful planning by high school and primary school

languages teachers assist students’ transition.

Focus on organisation

and support

s on anisationd support

Focus on organisation

and supportIn Focus on organisation and support you explore: • three related approaches to supporting languages programs, each of which deals with

leadership vision as well as details of program operation

• ideas for establishing a bilingual or an immersion program, or for using distance deliv-ery to deliver a languages program

• how to enrich languages learning through forming partnerships beyond the school.

The six approaches described within Focus on organisation and support highlight theimportance of developing a whole school policy on languages learning, along with actionsthat support the policy, especially:

• the need for teachers, school leaders and members of the school community to acceptjoint responsibility for developing an intercultural perspective

• linking the learning of language and culture with the development of interculturalunderstandings across the curriculum

• scheduling sufficient time and allocating adequate learning spaces and other resourcesto support languages learning

• planning for learners to continuously build on their previous knowledge

• promoting and forming partnerships beyond the school to provide opportunities forstudents to explore authentic intercultural spaces

• supporting the work of languages teachers.

Developing a whole school approachA languages program is most successful when thewhole school understands and supports its purposeand operation, and when school leadership engagesmembers of the whole school community in develop-ing a shared vision for the languages program.

The languages teacher plays a pivotal role in theinitial planning of the languages program, and there-after in working with classroom teachers to connectthe languages program to the rest of the school curriculum. The work of the languages teacher can be supported by a languages advisory group, whichshares responsibility for the program’s operation andachievements.

FEATURESAll teachers in the school have a shared understandingof the links between:

• languages education and other areas of learning

• the pedagogies of languages teaching and those ofother areas of the curriculum.

All students in the school:

• are taught a chosen (target) language

• make discernible progress in learning that languagefrom year to year over the full span of primaryschooling.

The languages teacher works with classroom teachersto link the languages program to other aspects of thecurriculum. Strategies to support the development ofintercultural understanding become an integral part ofcurriculum planning and teaching practices.

A CLOSER LOOKThe school principal and the languages teachersdecide to form a languages advisory group comprisinginterested classroom teachers and representatives ofthe parent body and co-led by the languages teacherand a member of senior staff. This languages advisorygroup reports once a term to the school council andcommunicates more widely through the school’snewsletter, information leaflets and intranet.

The advisory group provides continuous input andsupport to the languages teacher and the program by:

• writing a school vision, rationale and plan for lan-guages learning, using ideas drawn from the wholeschool community

• publicising the school vision for languages learningon the school’s website, in the school plan, in theweekly newsletter and as part of a display aboutschool purposes in the entrance foyer

• organising ongoing professional learning aboutintercultural language learning for all teachers, forexample, inviting a languages curriculum officerand local speakers of the language to talk to the staff

• arranging languages classes for interested teachersand other school community members

• monitoring the languages program in terms ofstudent learning outcomes and the extent to whichlanguages education is linked to the life of theschool.


IN ACTION

One school’s story

39Developing a whole school approach

MayThis school is the closest primary school to the mainuniversity campus in our city. Increasing numbers ofoverseas students taking courses at the universityenrol their children at the school. During the past fewyears the school population has become even moreculturally diverse as refugee families have settled insurrounding suburbs. Last year, teachers at the schooldecided that students needed to understand moreabout languages and cultures. As well, the learning oflanguages was being promoted as a priority curricu-lum area by the relevant education authority. Forthese reasons the school decided that it was a goodtime to introduce a languages program.

The whole staff committed to two initial sessions ofprofessional learning about languages education, ledby a languages curriculum advisor, designed to raiseawareness of the benefits of learning languages.Interested members of our school community wereinvited to attend.

At the professional learning sessions the surprisinglevel of diversity in the cultures and languages withinthe school community was revealed. Structuredactivities encouraged staff and parents to examinetheir own cultural identity and how culturally influ-enced ideas, attitudes and values affected ourinteractions with other people in the school setting aswell as in the community.

They then brainstormed the intercultural capaci-ties that students would need for living in increasinglydiverse cultural contexts. They agreed that theywanted students at the school to feel comfortable inmixing with people from other cultures with differentlanguages. The staff and parents agreed to develop awhole school rationale and plan for implementing alanguages program.

At the end of the two days of professional learningthe school formed a languages advisory group tosupport the introduction of a languages program. Thegroup will meet monthly during the first (planning)year and twice a term after that. The group is co-ledby a senior staff member and the languages teacher

(the current Year 3 teacher who is able to teachIndonesian). As Indonesian is the language taught atthe local high school, students will have a pathwayfor their languages learning beyond primary school (seepp 32–35 for more information on transition issues).

JulyThe languages advisory group visited other schoolswith Indonesian programs to find out how they operate(see pp 42–45 for information on timetabling andother operational issues). It was agreed that the lan-guages program should start in the Year 3 classes nextyear and expand to Years 4–7 over the subsequentfour years. Other schools advised that a staged intro-duction of the languages program allows us to planmore thoroughly and to gather necessary resources.

September to NovemberThe languages advisory group invited the languagescurriculum advisor to attend an after-school staffmeeting. The advisor helped the whole staff to identify useful links between languages education and other learning areas (see pp 10–13 for more information on transdisciplinary approaches). At a subsequent Year 3 planning meeting the languagesadvisor worked with teachers (including our languagesteacher) to plan learning that would support our students’ intercultural understandings across the curriculum. The Year 3 teachers emailed teachingsequences to the languages advisors, who providedthem with feedback.

Early next year the school intends to invite the lan-guages curriculum advisor back to the school to helptrack students’ progress in learning the language, andto evaluate how well the languages program links tothe other learning programs of the school. The schoolwill also look at ways to report students’ languageslearning progress to parents.

In special staff meetings held each term the schoolwill also plan the languages program beyond Year 3and deal with any issues that arise with the expansionof the program.

GETTING STARTEDInvolve the whole school in the development of yournew languages program by discussing:

• How will a languages program benefit our students?

• Which languages and cultures are already present inour school community?

• Which languages are appropriate for our schoolcommunity to learn?

• What is our understanding of intercultural learning?

• What are the key ideas about intercultural under-standing in our current curriculum? How will thelanguages program link to these? How will languageslearning develop these?

• What structures for thinking about identity wouldwe like our students to have?

• What skills, capacities and understandings will ourstudents need if they are to participate in interculturalcontexts when they leave school?

• How will we build and maintain continuity in ourlanguages program?

GOING FURTHERYou could strengthen the whole school commitmentto the languages program by:

• using the target language on a daily basis – in schoolnewsletters, on the school website, on schoolsignage and on your canteen menu

• using the target languages at school events such asassemblies, school fairs and award presentations

• incorporating sessions about the languages programinto information evenings for parents

• reporting to parents about students’ languageslearning.

• holding school community events that feature yourtarget language and culture(s), for example:

– a school book fair in which your students’ work isauctioned (Items could include class big bookswritten in the target language.)

– an exhibition of art in traditional and contem-porary styles, including student-made items andpieces borrowed from central curriculum librariesor museums. Ask your students to use the targetlanguage for writing the artists’ biographies andlabels for the artwork.


Our school’s vision for languages learningOur students will develop understandings to help theminteract with people from other cultures.

Our students will acquire skill in communicating in theIndonesian language.

Our students will understand and value diversity inlanguages and cultures, including their own, and willdevelop intercultural sensitivity and skills.

DoubleDay Primary School

41Developing a whole school approach

Our school’s visionfor languages learning

Our students will develop

understandings to help

them interact with people

from other cultures.

Our students will acquire

skill in communicating in

the Indonesian language.

Our students will

understand and value

diversity in languages and

cultures, including their

own, and will develop

intercultural sensitivity

and skills.

Upcoming events at our school

Here’s your chance to learn some Indonesian!

• Support your child’s Indonesian learning and be able togreet Indonesian visitors to our school.

• Add a new dimension to your next holiday!

Our school is holding classes for adults who are absolutebeginners. The classes will cover how to:

• greet people

• introduce yourself

• eat out

• ask for directions

• shop in stores and markets

• and other everyday topics decided by the group.

Contact the school for more details and to registeryour interest.

Apa kabar?(How are you?)

Selamat pagi(Good morning)

The school’s decisions about the allocation of timeand teaching resources to the languages program affectthe success of the program, including its sustainability.Such operational decisions also influence how thework of the languages teachers is supported, how theyfeel about being part of the school, and their ability todeliver an effective program.

FEATURESIn schools with successful languages programs:

• Enough time is provided for students to make dis-cernible progress with their languages learning. It isrecognised that languages learning is cumulativeand that proficiency is developed through frequent,regular experiences with the language.

• Whole school curriculum planning provides forcontinuous development of students’ languageslearning from one year to the next.

• There is a budget for quality resources.

• Responsibility and accountability for the success ofthe languages program extends beyond the lan-guages teacher to the school leadership andmembers of the school community.

• The languages teacher is treated as an integral partof the life of the school and its community, and issupported to maintain professional networks withother languages teachers.

A CLOSER LOOK

StaffingModel 1: The languages teacher is also a classroomteacher who teaches languages as part of the regularclassroom program. The languages teacher shares theteaching of that class with a teaching partner, whichallows for the languages teacher to be released fortwo days a week to teach languages in other classes.Other classroom teachers support the languages

program. Whole school and year-level planning sessions are held both after school and in schoolmeeting times.

Model 2: The school has two languages teachers. One(full-time) teaches the target language only to theirown class. The second (part-time) delivers the lan-guage program to other classes. This model provides acollegial relationship for languages teachers within theschool.

Model 3: The languages teacher delivers languagelessons across a cluster of primary schools in whicheach school appoints a support teacher who has somelanguages skills. Each school allocates time for thesupport teachers and the languages teacher to consultwith each other. There is consistency in the languagesprogram across the cluster.

SupportWhen they are the only languages teacher on staff,languages teachers often report feelings of professionalisolation. They feel that the program will succeed orfail on their efforts alone. Schools can support theirlanguages teachers (especially sole languages teachersin the school) by:

• forming a steering committee that advocates lan-guages learning and shares in ‘big picture’ planningand accountability for the program

• class teachers being prepared to follow up duringthe week

• facilitating networking opportunities with languagesteacher colleagues

• supporting the languages teacher to apply for schol-arships to countries where the target language isspoken

• supporting the languages teacher to participate inlocal and interstate professional learning activities

• teachers and school leaders showing interest andpreparedness to learn a little of the target language.

Operational considerations


Resource materialsAny languages program, particularly a new one,requires an annual budget for buying up-to-date mate-rials to replace outdated and worn resources. Types ofresource materials should include:

• multimedia, eg DVDs, CDs and computer softwareand hardware

• classroom resources such as languages dictionaries,posters and reading materials in the target language

• library holdings that support the languages program

• teacher reference materials

• display materials, including those for regular class-rooms that help to immerse students in a richlanguages learning environment

• adequate, secure and well-organised storage.

43Operat ional considerat ions

Existing resources such as listening posts can be used

in languages classes.


In many cases the languages teacher worked acrossseveral schools or was a part-time member of staff. The following examples show ways in which schools

responded to the factors that affected the languagesteacher’s capacity to deliver a quality languagesprogram.

IN ACTION

I need to find strategies to help me feel more included in

life of the school; I feel likecolleagues don't fully understand

what I do; I sometimes missimportant information because

I can't be at staff or otherinformal meetings.

There are so many classes to prepare for ... How am I going to

collaborate with all the class teachers?How am I going to track and report

the progress of all my students?

In this example, the languages teacher worked part-time withinthe school.

The school responded in the following ways:

• A languages teaching team, comprising classroom teachersand the languages teacher, was formed. A full-time teacher onthe team was appointed to manage the flow of informationbetween the languages teacher and other teachers in theschool.

• A school-wide professional learning plan for languages wasdeveloped, in which the languages teacher took a strong role.

• A member of the school leadership team was appointedadvocate for the languages program.

• The languages teacher was included in the school’s inductionprocedures.

• The languages teacher was provided with computer access,included on school email lists and assigned a pigeonhole forreceiving regular school communications to staff.

In this example the languages teacher worked across a clusterof schools.


• Staff meetings and team planning meetings were held inalternate weeks on a day when the languages teachercould be present.

• Some planning meetings brought together all teachers inthe cluster so that they could develop collegial networks,plan collaboratively and share good practice.

• The languages teacher was allocated some time from theteacher aide.

• Aspects of assessment and reporting were shared amonglanguages teachers and classroom teachers.

GETTING STARTEDInvolve the languages teacher, senior staff and class-room teachers in discussion of questions such as:

• Which approach to program delivery best fits thelearning needs of our students?

• How much time do we need to allocate to languagesfor our students to make discernible progress?

• How will we plan the development of students’ lan-guages learning from one year to the next?

• What teaching resources will be available for ourlanguages program?

• How will we promote the value of languages learn-ing in our community so that budgetary commit-ments to the languages program will be maintained?

A languages teacher may need extra support duringthis planning process, especially if they have nottaught languages before. They need to recruit furtherprofessional and personal capacities to meet the newdemands. Your school can support your languagesteacher during this planning period by:

• providing the languages teacher with extra non-contact time for collaborative, collegial discussionand planning

• allocating additional teacher-aide time to the lan-guages teacher for the preparation of resources

• allowing the languages teacher time to visit schoolswith successful language programs

• providing time and funds for your languages teacherto attend relevant professional learning.

GOING FURTHERIf your languages program is already up and running,you could examine your program in the following areas:

• Do students’ languages learning outcomes indicatethat enough time is being provided for them toprogress well in their languages learning?

• What is the currency and quality of the school’s lan-guages resources?

• Do we have a whole school plan for students tocumulatively develop their skills in the target lan-guage from one year to the next and to have theirprogress recorded concisely for reference at the nextyear level?

• Is there adequate support for the languages teacher,including support for them to develop wider profes-sional networks?

45Operat ional considerat ions

Will I have to attend staff meetings at all my schools?

Will I have to do duty in all of my schools?

Where will I store all my teaching resources?

In another example the languages teacher worked across a clusterof schools.


• A duty statement was developed in consultation with thelanguages teacher, and revisited regularly by the clusterleadership team.

• The languages teacher’s attendance at staff meetings andprofessional learning were planned by the group of principalswith a view to maximising the languages teacher’s opportunitiesto make contributions and obtain professional growth.

• The cluster leadership team reviewed expectations aboutplayground duty and other responsibilities so that it reflectedthe proportion of time part-time teachers spent at each school.

• A work space with secure storage and online access wasallocated to the languages teacher.

• A section of the teaching resource library was dedicated tolanguages resources, properly catalogued and borrowingmonitored.

So what does engaged leadership

mean?

A successful languages program depends on schoolleadership being committed to the program, activelyadvocating languages education and taking a stronginterest in the conduct of the program.

FEATURESTo demonstrate active support of a languages program,school leaders need to:

• articulate a vision for the languages program

• understand the pedagogy being employed withinthe languages program

• provide practical, operational support.

A CLOSER LOOKCommitted school leadership is a key component of aneffective and sustainable languages program.

Engaged leadership


Looks likeThe school leader:

• ensures that languages educationappears in school policy documents and

curriculum statements• attends key planning meetings

and professional learning connectedto the languages program.

Sounds likeThe school leader:

• advocates the values of the languages programwithin the school

• addresses community groups such as service clubsand the local council about the benefits of languages

education to the local community and beyond it• regularly reports on initiatives and successes of

the languages program• often greets students and visitors

in the target language.

Feels likeThe school leader:

• creates a school culture that is supportive of languages education

• ensures that the languages teacher does not feelisolated from the rest of the school

• works alongside the languages teacher to make presentations to staff meetings and

the school council.

IN ACTIONA principal in one school encouraged the languagesteacher to develop leadership capacity by:

• allocating the languages teacher a leading role in ateam of teachers and support staff

• giving the languages teacher control and accounta-bility for some aspects of the program budget

• inviting the languages teacher to present informa-tion about the languages program to members of theschool community

• asking the languages teacher to mentor beginningteachers of languages

• providing the languages teacher with a voice inschool decision-making processes

• encouraging the languages teacher to have activeinvolvement in professional associations

• supporting the languages teacher in making anapplication for a promotion position.

GETTING STARTEDThe following suggestions offer ways for school leadersto engage with and support a languages program.

Creating a vision• Become informed about current policy develop-

ments in languages learning, at the national, stateand system levels.

• Become familiar with the rationale for languageseducation within Australia’s multilingual and multicultural society, and within an increasinglyconnected world.

• Consider the long-term opportunities offered bylanguages education to students.

• Lead the school staff in developing a school-widevision for languages education.

47Engaged leadership

The languages teacher attends a school council meeting

to discuss the school’s languages program.

Pedagogy and curriculum• Read about general developments in languages

teaching and learning (see ‘Further resources’ and‘Bibliography’).

• Lead the development of a whole school approachto languages learning.

• Consider designing the curriculum so that lan-guages education is linked to other curriculum areasand develops student learning over all year levels.

• Invite a languages education expert to lead a wholeschool professional learning session.

Operation• Talk with leaders in other schools about what makes

for success in their languages programs.

• Form a languages program steering committee forthe school.

• Carefully read ‘Operational considerations’ on pp 42–45.

• Learn some phrases in the target language for usewith staff, students and visitors.


The school principal praises her students using

Japanese language.

DoubleDay

Primary School

Western Australia

Phone 61 8 900 9000

Email [email protected] Black

Principal

School leaders with experience in languages programsrecommend making contacts beyond the school as a way of giving students and teachers an additionalsense of purpose, and providing opportunities todevelop intercultural capacity. They suggest thatschool leaders:

• take a leading role in developing sister-school relationships with schools in the target-language

country or Australian schools teaching a program inthe same target language

• participate in school tours to visit countries inwhich the school’s target language is spoken

• host exchange students, teaching assistants andother visitors from the target-language country athome.

49Engaged leadership

GOING FURTHER

DoubleDay Primary School

Fiona Black

Principal 61 8 900 9000

[email protected]

Bilingual and immersion programsThrough immersion and bilingual learning programsstudents become functionally proficient in the targetlanguage, master content taught in the target languageand heighten their understanding and valuing of otherlanguages and cultures.

The positive effects of bilingualism and intensiveimmersion programs have been well documented andinclude increased self-esteem, positive attitudes tolearning, positive identity, development of thinkingand problem skills as well as increased literacy andmetalinguistic awareness.

Bilingual education is any form of education in whichtwo languages are used to teach content from otherareas of the curriculum. It helps develop and maintaina student’s first language, which is particularly impor-tant for students whose proficiency in it may be fading.

Immersion language programs are a form of bilingualeducation used when the target language is not thestudents’ dominant language. The target language isused to teach curriculum content for at least one-third

of the school week. Through the target language stu-dents learn skills and content in key areas of learning.

In both types of programs, languages are both a keyarea of learning and a learning mode. The target lan-guage is used as a means of daily interaction, teachingtopics and skills in key areas of learning such as maths,science, the arts, physical education, music and studiesof society and environment, and for cross-curriculumemphases such as literacy and thinking skills. In someschools all classroom interactions take place in thetarget language for part of the day, for example, fromthe beginning of the day until the morning break.

Teachers use the target language to present grammarand linguistic structures, introducing them incidentallyas required to develop students’ understanding. Theyencourage students to notice linguistic differences andto compare their first language with the target language.

Significant intercultural language learning occurs inthese programs because teachers encourage studentsto be immersed in and reflect on new cultural situations.


I have two little boxes in my head and I can slip in and

out of both my languageseasily now.

FEATURESSchools that offer successful bilingual and immersionprograms find that these programs demand extensivecommitment of expertise, time and dedication by allstaff and strong support from the wider school com-munity.

• It is essential that at least one teacher has advancedcompetence in the target language.

• The school requires significant, system-levelsupport and resources.

• Teachers hold information sessions for parents toinform them of the benefits of bilingual educationand how the program operates within the school.

• All staff engage in professional learning related tolanguages pedagogy.

• Curriculum delivery in the lower primary years isguided by literacy practices that include language-focused learning centres in classrooms, sharedreading and take-home reading books in the targetlanguage.

• Authentic communication content is providedthrough a wide range of resources, including ICT.

• Bilingual assistants act as role models and assistwith program delivery and the design of resources.

• The program links to opportunities for languageimmersion in the broader community.

• First-language speakers, including volunteer assis-tants drawn from universities and TAFE colleges,are a valued part of the program.

• Strong sister-school relationships are established toprovide students, parents and teachers with oppor-tunities to interact with people from variouscultural contexts.

A CLOSER LOOKTeachers note that the application of the target lan-guage, and the frequent reinforcement of students’knowledge through daily use leads to advanced under-standing. Students use the target language readily intheir responses and are confident in their ability tomake meaning without understanding everything.

They become effective language mediators for theirpeers and learn extensively from them.

Students continually make language and cultureconnections in both their first language and thetarget language. They quickly achieve an advancedlevel of linguistic and intercultural knowledge andskills. They achieve excellent results in the targetlanguage and also improved results in English literacyand numeracy.

IN ACTIONThe school staff together planned a successful bilin-gual program. Their collaboration ensured that therewere connections between the content of the curricu-lum, but not overlap. They participated in professionallearning centred on languages and other key areas oflearning and on the cognitive development of thechild.

Teachers utilised bilingual immersion websites andjoined online communities to network with colleagues,gain ideas, locate information and ask questions.School management allocated adequate time forteachers to prepare tasks and experiences that wererich in content and that presented challenging,achievable concepts and skills.

At least once each year staff share understandingsand reflect on the benefits of the program. Theyconnect the school’s experiences to relevant research.The following is an excerpt from a Year 2 unit onwater. All teaching took place in the target language.

WaterExamples of guiding questions

• How do we use water?

• What do we understand about water from storiesand information books?

• How can I explain what I find out about water toother people?

• How can I work out how much water we use?• How do we use water now and how could we use it

more wisely?

• How can I find out about water and what it meansto lack water?

51Bil ingual and immers ion programs


Examples of learning experiences (conducted in thetarget language)

Students:

• complete a task on how we use water in the house –and label pictures

• use flashcards to create sentences to describe pic-tures showing water use

• read descriptions of how people use water andunderline key words

• use key words to write their own sentences

• present charades of how we use water

• unjumble sentences about using water (in pairs)

• write a diary entry on how they use water during theday and indicate the time of the day

• brainstorm what they do at the beach, using sup-porting flashcards

• match words on flashcards with pictures of what wedo and see at the beach

• read short text about children at the beach andwhat they do, and then sequence the story bymatching sentences with the correct pictures

• create sentences in pairs about what they do at thebeach and share them with the class

• complete a task about what they see and wear at thebeach

• write about ‘A Day at the Beach’ in small groups

• read a short text about going to the beach inAustralia and in the target country

• brainstorm safe behaviour at the beach and discussthe reasons for it.

GETTING STARTED• Form a languages planning team of committed staff,

including leadership and the languages teacher. As a team consider how to ensure that all membersof the school will support immersion teaching and have ownership of the program. This mayextend to forming a wider consultative group withrepresentation from the parent body and other community members, teachers, teacher assistants,other members of school leadership and studentsand conducting information forums for the schoolcommunity.

• To ensure the successful implementation of theprogram, plan to introduce it over several years.This may mean starting with, say, a whole schoolapproach to languages learning and then pro-gressing to a bilingual immersion program onceadditional staff and resources are secured.

• The planning team and school leadership eachneeds to carefully consider how the commitmentrequired by all staff will be achieved and maintainedand ascertain what support is available at the systemlevel.

• Allow the time and budget to source or createresources for teaching aspects of curriculum areas inthe target language and ensure that new staff takepart in an induction program.Students learn about

water and sustainability throughthe target language.

• Throughout the stages of planning and monitoringprograms, make collaborative decisions with schoolstaff about how students of varying abilities andthose new to the school will be supported. Decidehow the school culture will ensure that other languages and cultures as well as the immersion lan-guage are valued.

GOING FURTHERIf your school already has a bilingual or immersionprogram under way you could consider these ideas forenrichment:

• Provide comprehensive beginners’ classes forparents and staff members who do not speak thetarget language.

• Develop transition arrangements with kinder-gartens and secondary schools.

• Provide activities such as immersion languagecamps, student exchanges and immersion days.

• Investigate the possibility of parents or members ofthe community assisting teachers to create resources.

• Provide opportunities for students and teachers tospend time in the target-language country, perhapsthrough a scheme developed with a sister school.

• Investigate hosting exchange students, which canlead to long-term friendships for students, familiesand teachers.

• Plan for the recruitment of teachers with confidentcommunication skills in the target language.Consider the possibility of exchange teacherarrangements with the target country.

• Participate in target-language networks beyond theschool.

53Bil ingual and immers ion programs

To see the level of language that students can attain when given theopportunity, support and challenge

is fantastic!

Distance deliveryDistance delivery of language programs is particularlyuseful for schools unable to recruit a languages teacherto visit the school regularly. This situation can arise inboth rural and urban schools. Education departmentsin each State and Territory can provide further infor-mation on the distance education services available toprimary schools.

FEATURESLanguages teachers who deliver distance programssuggest that distance delivery works best when:

• there is frequent ‘live’ communication (via tech-nology) between the languages teacher and students

• the teacher uses material that is interesting and rel-evant to students

• the languages teacher visits the students at theirschool from time to time

• the classroom teacher talks with the languagesteacher regularly about the program and helps stu-dents to manage their languages learning.

A CLOSER LOOKIn a school in an isolated town a group of eight studentsis learning Chinese. The area has strong business con-tacts with China and a cultural heritage that reachesback to the first development of mining in the area. Thelanguages teacher, located several hundred kilometresaway, delivers the languages program using a combina-tion of print materials and telephone- and computer-based communication (learning technologies).


Learning technologies Use in the languages programsWeb application (eg WebCT, The languages teacher makes contact with the classroom teacher and with Blackboard) customised for teaching students via email. Work is exchanged as email attachments.and learning, using:

The teacher and students have live ‘conversations’ in writing using the chat tool;• email and chat they leave messages and ideas for each other on an electronic noticeboard or

• Whiteboardforum.

• files uploaded as course content.Teaching and learning materials are placed online.

Internet-based video conferencing Internet videoconferencing allows live, personal contact between the languages using web cam teacher and students.

Telephone with a speaker Phone use provides clear sound during videoconferencing. Individual students and the languages teacher speak on the phone at a separate time of the week.

Software such as word processing The languages teacher uses tracking or highlighting tools to provide feedback on work produced by the students. Students make further changes after feedback is received.

Internet sites, including languages Students use websites that have language practice activities. They also devise their teaching sites and game-making sites own puzzles and games.

Audio CDs with accompanying Students complete interactive activities. They are able to listen to, pause and websites repeat information as needed.

Videotapes and audiotapes Students record their conversations with each other in the target language. They use the tapes to reflect on their language use. Tapes are sent to the languages teacher, who gives feedback.

Each week the group of eight students has half anhour of live contact with the languages teacher, usinga videoconference link. Each student also has a weeklyhalf hour of individual attention using email, onlinechat or the telephone.

The languages teacher helps the students todevelop their skills in speaking, listening, reading andwriting in Chinese, using the variety of learning tech-nologies listed below.

IN ACTIONThe role of the classroom teacher was crucial to thesuccess of the Chinese language program deliveredfrom a distance. The classroom teacher organised anarea of the classroom where the students could use thelearning technologies and work individually, in pairs or in small groups. The classroom teacher immersedstudents in the language by displaying posters, studentwork, books and magazines. The classroom teachersupervised and encouraged students by joining in lan-guage learning activities and, importantly, saw to theoperation of the learning technologies and acted as‘trouble shooter’ when equipment failed.

Occasionally there were interruptions to theroutine delivery of the languages program. Teachers onthe receiving end of the link let the deliverer know ingood time about occurrences such as excursions,camps, illness or technical failure.

GETTING STARTED• Develop a clear vision about what your school

wants to achieve from a languages program.

• Visit other schools where the languages program isdelivered by distance.

• Talk with the languages teacher about how class-room teachers can support the program.

• Allow time for classroom teachers and the lan-guages teacher to share expectations, to plantogether and to evaluate the program.

• Arrange a visit to the school by your languagesteacher.

• Organise technical support to install, maintain andupgrade your equipment and software.

• Clearly display contact phone numbers and Internetaddresses.

• Allow time for teachers and students to experimentwith, and practise using, the learning technologies.

• Purchase supporting classroom resources likeposters, books, dictionaries, CD-ROMs and DVDs.

GOING FURTHERIf you already have a languages program delivered bydistance, consider the following further developments:

• Arrange for classroom teachers to visit your lan-guages teacher. During the visit, have the classroomteacher connect to your school so as to experiencethe link from the other end.

• Invite parents to take part in a videoconference linkwith your languages teacher. Use the opportunity toexplain the purpose of the program and what makesit work well.

• Make contact with languages learners in other schools,or with target-language speakers. Set up email links.

• Build links with target-language speakers, usinglearning technologies.

55Distance del ivery

Partnerships beyond the school

Forming partnerships with target-language users in the local and global community enriches a school’slanguages program. Schools that have formed suchpartnerships report:

• Partnerships bring benefits to students by providingopportunity to communicate with target-languageusers beyond the school.

• It is valuable to form a management group of inter-ested staff, including a member of the schoolleadership team, for partnership work. Staffmembers develop a sense of ownership of the lan-guage program through planning and participatingin the associated partnership activities.

• It is wise to start with exploring the potential of theimmediate school community and the expertiseavailable within the school, including students, staffand families.

• Partnerships can be built gradually, with some part-nerships restricted to students at a single year level.

FEATURESSchools support the languages program by drawing onexpertise beyond the school in ways that include:

• involving the local community groups in languageand cultural activities

• participating in festivals and cultural events in thecommunity

• conducting school-based multicultural assembliesand culturally specific events

• promoting students’ languages achievements in thecommunity

• engaging with overseas students and valuing theircontributions to the school

• appointing a teacher from overseas as a languageassistant

• organising exchange opportunities in the target-language country for students and staff

• networking with languages colleagues in other insti-tutions

• providing a high level of ICT access and support.

A CLOSER LOOKPartnerships in the local communityStudents work with local organisations to, forexample:

• design business cards in the target language for localbusinesses

• make posters on healthy eating (using the targetlanguage) for display in the local fruit shop

• read their own short stories, written in the targetlanguage, on community radio

• publish articles, written in the target language, andphotos in local papers and teachers’ professionaljournals.

Partnerships with language communitiesStudents communicate with languages communitiesbeyond the school through the use of videotapes andaudiotapes, the creation and exchange of CD-ROMs,and through web-based applications such as email andchat.

PenpalsStudents write to neighbouring schools where thesame language is being studied, and to schools over-seas. Teachers use copies of the replies for languageactivities and students take them home to share thereplies with their parents.

Community members in the schoolCommunity members work with small groups withinthe classroom to provide additional opportunities forstudents to communicate and interact in the targetlanguage.

Partnership with specialistsTeachers and students invite to the school specialistswho share students’ interests. The specialists commu-nicate with students in both the target language andthe first language.

Exchanges and visits

• Students participate in established exchange pro-grams.

• Students from sister schools visit the school.


• Teachers take part in relevant exchanges and studyprograms.

• Language interns support languages programs.

• International students and other visitors to thecommunity are invited to visit the school.

To ensure that an exchange experience is highly posi-tive for visitors, the school needs to:

• offer orientation sessions for host families

• encourage staff, students and the community tomeet and welcome the visitors and support them inadjusting to the school and the community

• ensure that visitors are encouraged to participate inthe languages classroom and in other learning areasand be involved in school and community activitiessuch as excursions and camps.

IN ACTIONThrough cross-curricular investigations teachersexplored with their students the nature of their localcommunity using guiding questions such as:

• What are the cultural and linguistic backgrounds ofthe members of our school and what does this meanfor our school community?

• What are cultural stereotypes and how do theyaffect our perceptions of others?

• How do people from other countries view us andthe place we live? In what ways is it different fromthe way we view ourselves and our place?

• How does growing up in a place influence who weare?

• What does it mean to be multicultural and/or multilingual?

Students took a significant role in involving the com-munity in their languages learning and shared theirlearning with them by:

• surveying teachers and families about links with thetarget language and country (for example, relatives,travel, friends, study) and with other languages andcultures, displaying these links on a map that waslocated centrally

• inviting members of the target language communityto open days such as Grandparents’ Day and BookWeek celebrations

• interviewing members of the target culture about anaspect of their everyday life (They recorded theinterview, made notes with assistance, and usedthem as the basis for further inquiry.)

• exploring existing business, trade and local councillinks between their community and the targetcountry and identifying the languages in whichthese groups conducted their activities.

Principals took a leading role in promoting the impor-tance of languages and building language partnershipsbeyond the school by:

• displaying their eagerness to learn and use the targetlanguage

• keeping a prompt-card handy that had phrases to use with students, visitors to the school andmembers of the community

• accompanying school groups on overseas visits tolearn the target language in more depth

• promoting the school’s role in teaching languagesand developing intercultural understanding at localcouncil meetings and through networks such asprincipals’ associations.

GETTING STARTEDIf your school wishes to establish partnerships beyondthe school then discuss with staff:

• What kinds of interactions do students and staffcurrently have with target-language communities,personally or through reading, the media or theInternet?

• What are some features of the communities towhich our students belong?

57Partnerships beyond the school

The community values the importance of languages teaching

and sees its relevance in the education of our students.

• How do we use languages learning as an opportunityfor students to explore what is happening in theworld?

• How do we promote and increase understanding ofthe importance of languages and culture learning inour community?

• How do we increase understanding of the value oflinguistic and cultural diversity in our community?

GOING FURTHERIf your school already has established partnershipsbeyond the school, consider the following ways ofextending and strengthening the connections.

Visit a sister-schoolStudents in senior primary years, accompanied by thelanguages teacher and other members of staff, visittheir sister school. In preparation, students and staffare supported to identify and acquire the language andcultural competence they will need. On their return,they share their experiences with other students, staffand the community.

Arrange student exchangesStudent home-stays are organised with families withinthe school and the broader community. Extensivepreparation and discussion with students before theyvisit the country and before exchange students arriveis critical to the success of these activities. Some


Working with a visitingJapanese intern makes students’

language learning ‘live’.

exchanges may be directly reciprocal, with two familieshosting each other’s child.

Visit a sister-townSome communities are closely involved with a sistertown through, for example, their town councils.Members of council, the business community andcommunity groups can be encouraged to accompanythe school’s students and staff on a visit to the country.

Investigate community resourcesEmbassies and consulates are a source of authenticresources such as newspapers and publications and

some offer competitions that provide a new avenue forstudents’ learning.

Develop avenues for parent involvementEncourage parents and members of the community toattend a series of workshops in which they can learnthe target language. These sessions focus directly onintercultural language learning that enables partici-pants to interact effectively with others when visitingthe target-language country or supporting visiting students and interns to participate in the local community.

The involvement of the communityhas been a great impetus for the

languages program.

59Partnerships beyond the school

Professional learning A train-the-trainer professional learning program isavailable to support the use of Teaching Languages inthe Primary School resource. This professional learningtargets:

• curriculum advisers and languages officers

• primary school principals, leadership teams andprincipals’ associations

• primary school languages teachers and classroomteachers

• languages teachers and representatives of professional associations

• pre-service educators.

The program can be downloaded as a PDF document from the Asia Education Foundation(AEF) website athttp://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/public_html/downloadable_materials.htm.

Professional learning focused on InterculturalLanguage Learning and a valuable support document, ‘Getting started with Intercultural Language Learning–A Resource for Schools’are also available for downloading at http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/alplp.

Professional associations andassociated publicationsThe Australian Federation of Modern LanguageTeacher Associations (AFMLTA) has member bodiesin each State and Territory. The AFMLTA website(http://www.afmlta.asn.au) provides links to Stateand Territory modern language teacher associations,many of which have their own newsletter. TheAFMLTA’s refereed journal is Babel.

Online resources and referencesState and Territory educationwebsitesLinks to the websites of all State and Territory education authorities can be accessed through the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training website athttp://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/organisations_contacts/.

Professional LearningProfessional learning materials developed under theNational Asian Languages and Studies in AustralianSchools Strategy (NALSAS) can be accessed athttp://www.curriculum.edu.au/nalsas/p_learning/prof_learning01.htm.

Australian Federation of Modern TeachersAssociations http://www.afmlta.asn.au

Asian Languages Professional Learning Project http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/alplp/

Education Network Australia (EdNa)http://www.edna.edu.au

AsiaEdnet (a national collaborative project for all educators interested in studies of Asia and Asian languages)http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/network/index.htm

Engaging Young Australians with Asia in AustralianSchools http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/pdf/engaging_statement.pdf

Further resources

Further resources 61

Languages Education National Statement and Plan for Languages Education in Australian Schools 2005–2008 (MCEETYA)http://www.mceetya.edu.au/mceetya/default.asp?id=11959

‘National Asian Languages and Studies in AustralianSchools Strategy’ (NALSAS)http://www.curriculum.edu.au/nalsas

The Final Report on the Development of Standardsfor Teachers of Indonesian Projecthttp://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/publications_resources/profiles/indonesian_standards.htm

Report on Intercultural Languages Learninghttp://www.curriculum.edu.au/nalsas/pdf/intercultural.pdf

Center for Applied Linguistics: Early ForeignLanguage Learning (US)http://www.cal.org/earlylang

Center for Advanced Research on LanguageAcquisition (CARLA)http://www.carla.umn.edu/index.html

National Centre for Languages (UK)http://www.cilt.org.uk

Assessment for Learning (Curriculum Corporation)http://cms.curriculum.edu.au/assessment

‘Linking languages and literacy’ (NALSAS brochure)http://www.curriculum.edu.au/nalsas/pdf/link_lang_lit.pdf

The Le@rning Federation (Curriculum Corporationand education.au)http://www.thelearningfederation.edu.au/tlf2

National Advisory Centre on Early LanguageLearning (United Kingdom)http://www.nacell.org.uk/index.htm

Ñandutí – a resource on foreign language learning inYears K–8. (USA)http://www.cal.org/earlylang

‘Guiding principles for success in educating boys’(DEST)http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/policy_initiatives_reviews/key_issues/boys_education/guiding_principles_in_educating_boys.htm#Introduction

‘Bibliography of Resources on bi-lingualism’ (NationalCentre for English Language Teaching and Research(NCELTR) at Macquarie Universityhttp://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/resources/bilingualism.html

Research Centre for Languages and CultureEducation (University of South Australia)http://www.unisa.edu.au/rclce

Research Unit for Multilingualism and Cross-Cultural Communication (University of Melbourne)http://www.rumaccc.unimelb.edu.au


Anstey, M & Bull, G 2000, Reading the Visual, Harcourt,Sydney.

Australian Federation of Modern Languages Teachers’Association 2005, Professional Standards for TeachingLanguages and Cultures.

Beare, H 2000, Creating a Future School, Routledge, NewYork.

Breen, M, Briguglio, C & Tognini, R 1997, ‘Becoming alanguage teacher in the primary school’, ConferenceProceedings of the AFMLTA Eleventh National LanguagesConference, Modern Languages Teachers’ Association ofTasmania, Hobart.

Browett, J 2002, ‘Critical literacy and visual text: windowson culture’, Impact, vol 11, no 2, pp 24–8.

Browett, J 2004, Asian Languages Professional LearningProject, Phase 2, Supporting Asian Languages withinSchools: Resources for Participants, Asia EducationFoundation, Melbourne.

Byram, M & Morgan, C 1994, ‘Teaching and learning:Language and culture’, Multi-lingual Matters,Clevedon, UK.

Carr, J 1999, ‘From “sympathetic” to “dialogic”imagination: cultural study in the foreign languageclassroom’, in J Lo Bianco, A Liddicoat & C Crozet eds,Striving for the Third Place: Intercultural Competencethrough Language Education, Language Australia,Melbourne, pp 103–12.

Carr, J 2005, ‘More thoughts on the usefulness of tasks inthe multi-level language classroom’, Babel, vol 39, no 3,pp 31–6.

Cosgrove, P 2002, ‘Opening address’, in Working Togetheron Languages Education: A National Seminar, ProfessionalDevelopment Council of Australian PrincipalsAssociations and Commonwealth Department ofEducation, Science and Training, Melbourne.

Crozet, C, Liddicoat, A & Lo Bianco, J 1999, ‘Interculturalcompetence: From language policy to languageeducation’, in J Lo Bianco, A Liddicoat & C Crozet eds,Striving for the Third Place: Intercultural Competencethrough Language Education, Language Australia,Melbourne, pp 1–20.

Curtain, H & Dahlberg, C 2004, Languages and Children:Making the Match, Pearson Education, Boston.

Dellit, J 2002, Making Languages Work: School Models toConsider, South Australia Department of Education,Training and Employment, Adelaide.

Dellit, J 2005, Getting Started with Intercultural LanguageLearning: A Resource for Schools, Asian LanguagesProfessional Learning Project, Asia EducationFoundation, Melbourne.

Department of Education, Science and Training 2002,Linking Languages and Literacy: Information for Parentsand Teachers, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

Department of Education, Science and Training 2003,Boys’ Education Lighthouse Schools Program: Final Report,Curriculum Corporation, Melbourne.

Erebus Consulting Partners 2002, Review of theCommonwealth Languages Other than English (LOTE)Program, Department of Education, Science andTraining, Canberra.

Erickson, HL 2002, Concept-based Curriculum andInstruction: Teaching beyond the Facts, Corwin Press,California.

Gibbs, D & Philip, R 2004, ‘Taking off with onlinelearning’, EQ Australia, vol 4, pp 37–8.

Kohler, M, Browett, J & Harbon, L 2004, Asian LanguagesProfessional Learning Project, Phase 1, LanguagesMethodology: Resources for Participants, Asia EducationFoundation, Melbourne.

Kramsch, C 1993, Context and Culture in LanguageTeaching, Oxford University Press, New York.

Liddicoat, AJ 2002, ‘Static and dynamic views of cultureand intercultural language acquisition’, Babel, vol 36, no 3, pp 4–11.

Liddicoat, A, Papademetre, L, Scarino, A & Kohler, M2003, Report on Intercultural Language Learning,Department of Education, Science and Training,Canberra.

Maloney, R 2004, ‘20 years of language success’, Babel, vol 39, no 2, pp 3–7.

MCEETYA 2005, Pedagogy Strategy: Learning in an OnlineWorld, Curriculum Corporation, Melbourne.

MCEETYA 2005, National Statement and Plan forLanguages Education in Australian Schools 2005–2008,DECS Publishing, Adelaide.

McKay, P 2000, ‘Language learning and literacydevelopment’, Babel, vol 35, no 2, pp 10–19.

McLaughlin, M and Liddicoat, AJ 2005, ‘In the Context of Intercultural Language Learning’, Babel, vol 40, pp 5–11.

Bibliography

63Bibl iography


McRae, D 2001, Change is a Journey, not a Blueprint:Teacher Stories of Change, Asia Education Foundation,Melbourne.

Ministry of Education 2002, Learning Languages: A Guidefor New Zealand Schools, Learning Media, Wellington.

Moloney, R 2005, Bilingual Immersion Group (BIG)Newsletter, no 1, International Grammar School,Sydney.

Moloney, R, Richards, M, Howard-Shibuya, L & Genua-Petrovic, R 2005, ‘Bilingual Immersion Learning, ACase Study: International Grammar School’, in Seizingthe Future, Australian Federation of Modern LanguagesTeachers Associations (AFMLTA) NationalConference, Melbourne.

Paige, RM, Jorstad, H, Siaya, L, Klein F & Colby J 1999,‘Culture learning in language education: A review ofthe literature’, in RM Paige, DL Lange & YA Yershovaeds, Culture as the Core: Integrating Culture into theLanguage Curriculum, Centre for Advanced Research inLanguage Acquisition Working Paper no 15, Universityof Minnesota, Minneapolis, pp 47–113.

Parsons, M 2003, ‘Effective strategies for a successful R–9language program’, Babel, vol 38, no 1.

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Wright, DA 2000, ‘Culture as information and culture asaffective process: A comparative study’, ForeignLanguage Annuals. vol 33, no 3, pp 330–41. Anstey, M& Bull, G 2000, Reading the Visual, Harcourt, Sydney.

Anglican Church Grammar School, QldArncliffe Public School, NSWAugusta Park Primary School, SAAvoca State School, QldBeaudesert State School, QldBeenleigh State School, QldBeldon Primary School, WABenalla East Primary School, VicBirkdale State School, QldBothwell District School, TasBracknell Primary School, TasBurnie High School, TasCalwell Primary School, ACTCampbell Primary School, ACTCampbelltown Public School, NSWChilders State School, QldClare Primary School, SAClaremont Primary School, WACroydon Hills Primary School, VicDarwin High School, NTEast Claremont Primary School, WAEmmanuel College, QldEmmaus Catholic School, SAEssington School, NTFarrer Primary School, ACTFirbank Grammar School, VicFlaxmill School, SAGlen Waverley South Primary School, VicGlengala Primary School, VicHackham East Primary School, SAHarvey Primary School, WAHavenview Primary School, TasHeathmont East Primary School, VicHomebush Public School, NSWHuntingdale Bilingual Primary School, VicHuntingdale Primary School, WAInternational Grammar School, NSWIslamic College of South Australia, SAJohn Paul College, QldKaleen Primary School, ACTKillarney Heights School, NSWLeighland Christian School, TasLeopold Primary School, VicLockleys North Primary School, SAMacarthur Anglican School, NSWMalvern Central School, Vic

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65Appendix

AppendixParticipating schoolsSchool leaders and teachers in the following schools contributed to the development of this resource:

Julie Browettwith Anne Spencer

Julie Browett was for many years a primary classroom and languages teacher. She is a former languagescurriculum consultant with responsibility for supporting Tasmanian primary schools in introducinglanguages programs. Julie now lectures in Languages and Literacy Education at the University of Tasmania,and has written several professional learning programs for Australian languages teachers.

Anne Spencer was at the time of writing a project manager for languages at the Asia EducationFoundation, with responsibility for the development of national resources and professional learningprograms in languages education. She was formerly an R–12 consultant in languages and studies of Asiaand has worked as a classroom teacher and teacher of languages at both the primary and secondarylevels. Anne is currently a project manager with Curriculum Corporation.


Teaching Languages in the Primary School: Examples from current practice is a practical

resource for teachers, school leaders and curriculum advisers. It is designed to inform and

support the planning, implementation and maintenance of effective languages programs in

Australian primary schools. The book advocates the active involvement of school leaders

and the development of partnerships between languages teachers and classroom teachers

in the building of sustainable languages programs.

The resource presents thirteen approaches to languages teaching and learning. These will

be useful for schools wishing to introduce new languages programs or enhance the quality

and sustainability of existing languages programs. The approaches are based on research in

schools, including interviews with teachers and school leaders across Australia.

They are organised around three themes:

Focus on curriculumFocus on learners and languagesFocus on organisation and support

Each approach is organised under five headings:

FEATURES

A CLOSER LOOK

IN ACTION

GETTING STARTED

GOING FURTHER

A wide range of ideas and practical suggestions is provided to encourage, support and

enrich your school’s languages program.

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A HING A GUA Teaching Languages GESIN T in the Primary … · 2013. 9. 12. · Julie Browett with Anne Spencer Julie Browettwas for many years a primary classroom and languages teacher.She