Canberra Region Languages Forum Update February 2013

The February Update contains information about: 

• Languages at the Multicultural Festival in Civic Friday 8 February - Sunday 10 February 2013
• Free language related activities for children at the Multicultural Festival on Saturday 9 Feb, and at Gungahlin Library Thursday, 7 and 14 February 
• A chance to publicise language programs and find out about local language-related activities at the festival on Sunday 10 Feb
• New language programs at ANU: Diploma of Languages and Portuguese language unit.
• Free language resources in many languages, including children's books from around the world
• AIATSIS public forum: Language Revitalisation, Wed 13 February 2013, 1:30-3.30pm
• Seminar for families raising children in more than one language, Saturday 23 March, University of Canberra
• How to comment on the draft curriculum for Italian and Mandarin languages in Australian schools 
• Language conferences in Canberra in July 2013:  Languages and Cultures Network for Australian Universities (LCNAU), 3 -5 July, Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations 5-8 July, National Chinese Teachers' Conference, July 6 and 7
• News from the telephone interpreter service (TIS) national
• Resources from the Dept of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) 

CLICK HERE to see the full Update 

ACT Bilingual Education Alliance Update January 2013

The January Update is now available on the Alliance website    It contains information about:

•  Language related activities at the Children’s Sanctuary at the Multicultural Festival in Canberra on Saturday 9 February.
• The ACTBEA languages information stall at the Multicultural Festival on Sunday 10 February
• Multicultural Story Time and Stories from China at Gungahlin Library, 7 and 14 February 2013
• Lantern Festival in Commonwealth Park, Canberra, Saturday 23 February, 6pm to 9pm, and a Lantern-making workshop the previous week
• Preliminary announcement: Seminar for families raising children in more than one language, Saturday 23 March, 2pm-5pm, University of Canberra
• Where to find free children’s books and other resources in many languages  
• ‘Snippets for Bilingual Families’, a free newsletter from Dr Susanne Döpke, Melbourne-based consultant in bilingualism and speech pathologist.
• A range of exciting German Language programs for children in the ACT in 2013
• The draft national curriculum for Italian and Mandarin in Australian schools

Draft Curriculum for Italian and Mandarin Languages in Australian Schools 

The draft national curriculum for Mandarin and Italian languages from Reception (i.e. Kindergarten) level to Year 10 is now available online. ACARA (the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority) is seeking feedback and comments by Friday 12 April 2013.

ACARA also welcomes feedback on the overarching aspects of the Languages Learning Area that apply to all languages, and encourages all stakeholders with an interest in languages to contact them during this consultation period.

See http://consultation.australiancurriculum.edu.au/for information on how to access the curriculum and how to provide comments and feedback.

Draft curricula in other languages should be available after April 2013, and comments on these will be sought by July 2013. 

ELEMENTARY COURSE IN ARABIC - 8 January to 7 February 2013 (5 weeks)

This course aims at developing students’ abilities to read and write Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), and acquire basic oral skills to interact in limited aspects of everyday life situations. Emphasis is on mastering the Arabic alphabet, its sound system and its pronunciation.

This course assumes no previous knowledge of the language. It covers the Arabic script and basic grammar rules. It is designed to develop the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing by the use of oral and written drills, supported by audio visual material.

On completion of the course students will have acquired: the ability to read and understand a range of simple Arabic sentences within a vocabulary range of 100-150 of the most commonly used words; the ability to speak at a basic level in Modern Standard Arabic and elementary knowledge of some Arabic cultural practices and traditions.

The lecturer will be Ms France Meyer (Lecturer in Arabic at CAIS, ANU). 

Time: Tuesday & Thursday 4.30—7.00pm               Cost: $450
Venue: Lecture Theatre, Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies (Building 127), Ellery Crescent, The Australian National University 

To register your interest,  please contact the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies (The Middle East and Central Asia) on (02) 612 54982 or email cais@anu.edu.au

Interactive multilingual artwork for Civic Square

A community project under the auspices of Canberra Multicultural Community Forum (CMCF) in partnership with the ACT Office of Multicultural Affair.

Following a call for expression of interest (EOI) in February 2012, the concept ‘Lingua Franca Canberra’ was chosen for further development. The Canberra-based artistic team which submitted this EOI comprises Lea Collins, sound artist and designer; Susan Conroy, cultural planner and project officer, Mary Hutchison, writer and public historian; and Heike Qualitz, visual artist. 

With funding from CMCF, the team has developed a Design Development Report for their artwork. Lingua franca Canberra will be a rich tapestry of voices, accents, speech rhythms, turns of phrase and languages. The interactive intentions of the work will be established through a recording process with community participants, which is enjoyable and inventive, and encourages participants to contribute ideas. Conversational fragments will be interlaced with environmental sounds and strands of music.

The sculptural form will provide a physical frame for the sound installation and respond to the elements of the immediate space, including both natural and built aspects. It will be accessible to those passing by and encourage further investigation. A key visual form for the installation is that of the funnel – inspired by old gramophones – and suggesting active listening (see sketch below). 

The next steps include ensuring that the proposed artwork complies with the Civic Square Conservation Plan currently being developed and that there are no hidden problems beneath the proposed site. The team can then finalise the design and we can start raising necessary funds for constructing, installing and maintaining the artwork.

For more information, please contact Mandy on languagesact@gmail.com

INTENSIVE THAI LANGUAGE COURSE  

Sunday 28 October 2012, 10am – 4pm

An introductory course for ACT Teachers and others with an interest in Thai studies. Areas to be covered include language, culture, customs, religion and basic Thai cooking. 

If you have an interest in Thailand or have students that are Thai, this short course will give you a better understanding of this unique country and its inhabitants.

Venue Room E4.44, 4th floor, Baldessin Precinct Building, ANU  

Free, but limit of 20 people.  Lunch and snacks will be provided. 

Please email expressions of interest to Chintana Sandilands at chintana.sandilands@anu.edu.au by 25 October 2012.

ACT LANGUAGE POLICY 2012-2016, MANY VOICES 

This long awaited policy appeared without much fanfare on the website of the ACT Office of Multicultural Affairs just before the ACT government went into caretaker mode in the lead up to the upcoming ACT election.

The policy makes a number of commitments to promote, enhance and safeguard the language skills in the ACT community. These include to:

• work with the ACT languages sector to promote the benefits of languages education and influence positive attitudes towards languages education in our community
• encourage schools to be aware of and value language learning outside the school – in the home, the community and in after-hours programs
• encourage all Canberrans to learn languages in addition to English
• make every effort to retain, preserve and use Australian languages in the ACT region
• provide interpreting and translation services and use plain English to ensure access and equity to programs and services provided directly by the government or through NGOs
• make English language programs readily available to Canberrans who need to improve their English proficiency (oral and/or literate)

A copy of the policy can be found at www.dhcs.act.gov.au/multicultural/publications

While quite brief and short on detail about funding or how implementation can be measured, the policy is nevertheless a clear statement of the ACT government’s commitment to develop the language skills of all Canberrans and to acknowledge and value the vital role of languages in personal, family, community and economic life.

It is therefore to be hoped that whatever government comes to power after 20 October accepts the main thrust of the policy and acts upon it.

Meanwhile, why not become involved in monitoring the implementation of the policy and adding to its effectiveness? Policies cannot bring about change on the ground without organisational and community input and support.

If the actions of the ACT government and its agencies do not measure up to policy rhetoric, consider making your views known to the agencies concerned and to the ACT Office of Multicultural Affairs (email: nic.manikis @act.gov.au).  Individuals, groups and organisations might also consider using the policy as a basis for applying for governments funding and support!