Kevin Rudd has once again insulted Australians with his narrow Asian focus. He wants to put money into Asian languages, not community languages. He is suggesting that all Australian children should learn an Asian language.
It sounds good on the surface but it takes years to acquire an Asian language, even native speakers of Japanese and Chinese spend a disproportionate amount of time learning their own language. We need schools to concentrate on community languages such as Greek, Italian and other European languages. We need Turkish, Arabic and Vietnamese too. We do not need a generation of children who are unable to do more than say "Sayonara" because that is all they will be able to say.
When they have a community languages then the linguistically able among them can learn an Asian language if they want to. There is a world beyond Asia. It is a world we can do business with if we can see further than a region with which can be friendly but of which we can never be part.

Communicat

Did it ever occur to you who Australia's largest trading partners are?

Number one China, Number two Japan. surely it is an advantage if some of us can talk to them.

"Steel, no need to presumptuously jump to wildly inaccurate conclusions and engage in puerile ad hominem attacks."
Pot kettle black. Take a look in the mirror and observe your reaction and casual use of hyperbole.

"My hyperbolic post was aimed at..." Oh? I (insert adjective) guess you (insert adjective) better (insert adjective) shut (insert adjective) up about it.

Actually Janus333 its even nastier than you imagine. I think if you were so politically incorrect as to count the PhDs awarded in Australia by ethnicity or nationality you will find there are more Chinese and Indians completing PhDs in Australia than Australian born.

billie

Do you have a shred of evidence to back your assertion? I doubt it.

The asian languages focus is nothing new though. When I was in primary school 17 years ago (shows my age), Indonesian was compulsory. My younger sister did compulsory Japanese at high school (both public schools btw). Its not really a new concept. Not that I am particularly interested in learning an asian language. As for Chinese and Japanese people spending an inordinate amount of time learning their own language, did you consider that fact that the only compulsory HSC subject is English?? And we're always rabbitting on about the 3 R's, particularly that kids these days arent nearly literate enough. Maybe asian languages arent that hard after all!