@ Onthebeach

<<Foxy ...wherever did you get that idea?>>

Probably from New Matilda!

Australian school children would be required to learn
an Asian language under a proposal put forward by
Julie Bishop. Ms Bishop apparently intends to push the
plan as Coalition policy before the next Federal Election.
She stated -

"I believe that we should have a much
greater focus on a second language," she told Sky News.
"In fact my view is it should be mandatory. It should be
an Asian language. I wouldn't necessarily say it has to
be Mandarin. Japanese, Indonesian - there are a number of
Asian languages that would be important. Such a policy would
help Australia engage with its increasingly important
region," Ms Bishop said.

"It would be a brilliant form of soft diplomacy if we had a
large body of people in Australia who were able to speak an
Asian language," she said.

Ms Bishop also wants to see an expanded two-way student
exchange program.

Dr Yoko Kinoshita, Senior Lecturer at the University of
Canberra had this to say:

"Cultural attitudes are crucial for Australia in this
Asian Century - specifically, the cultural attitudes of
Australian young people. Be it economics, business, politics,
or defence - the basis of any relationship is the people
behind it who are driven by values and beliefs."

"Individual beliefs about cultural dimensions have a
fundamental impact on our position in the region."

"Australia needs people who can face unfamiliar values
and practices with a healthy respect and tolerance, not
arrogance and fear."

How do we foster these qualities? Obviously, Dr Kinoshita
and Julie Bishop feel that - "Language education grounded in
cultural awareness, has much to offer."

Dr Kinoshita points out that:

"Quality language education is not just about gaining fluency.
Rather it challenges students to think outside their native
environment, and be curious about unfamiliar cultures.
In language study students learn far more than is being
taught. With skill-based training as a launchpad
they get a glimpse of life within a different cultural
framework, experiencing affinity with unfamiliar words - and
people."

http://theconversation.com/want-to-get-ahead-this-century-learn-an-asian-language-6247

Foxy,

Your zeal for multiculturalism and endless diversity that doubtless leads you to recommend compulsory Asian languages. The unlucky students who have had their choice removed are the collateral damage of your idealism, right? Your ideals, their sacrifice.

That also could limit their choices in the tertiary education they pay for. Collateral damage again of totalitarian compulsion - the North Korean people management strategy and all for their good, of course.

Where oh where are the thousands of Queensland school children who were corralled into Asian languages and still are?

Only one of the hundreds of school friends of my own children is applying his Japanese. The remainder freely admit their very rudimentary grammatical Japanese wouldn't allow them to buy a bus ticket.

But wait, the exception is the son of a US missionary who grew up in Japan post WW2 and his Aussie wife (the mum), also a missionary and who had an ear for languages. Japanese was spoken as a second language at home as his parents felt Japanese themselves and wanted to maintain their fluency.

This young man has been living and working full time in Japan since he graduated from an Australian university. His work has nothing to do with Australia, cultural exchange or trade. His example proves the very opposite to the claimed benefits of compulsory Asian languages education.

What I object to is (1) the proposed compulsion, Foxy, (2) the removal of choice (what if the student was heading for medicine or other professions and needed more science instead) and (3) the corralling of students by removing other language options.

It would be reprehensible if the unsuccessful and wasteful forced Asian languages strategy of the previous Peter Beattie (Mr Teflon) Labor government in Queensland was ever extended elsewhere.

Jay of Melbourne, "The problem is that schools will allow Chinese kids to take Chinese language classes as an instant pass, at my kid's high school the bias towards and favouritism shown to the Asian students is breathtaking.
..
They will try to push kids who do well in Italian or who speak it at home out of that class because it's "not fair" but the Asians get an Automatic A in LOTE."

Agree with that too - also apparent in the political correctness of Qld State education.

Just to lift the tarp to show the cultural politics played for years by the previous Labor premier, Peter 'Mr Teflon' Beattie,
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/03/1019441434554.html

It seems to me with recent studies that more resources is needed in training primary school teachers to teach English. That would probably help our young a lot more. Learning to count to ten in Indonesian was a great boom for Indonesian teachers but really achieved nothing for students in the 90's.

More effort is also needed in universities compromising in passing foreign students in exams just so they don't lose business.

Brisbane City Local Government Area, from the 2011 population census

A hefty 17.4% of Brisbane residents were born in non-English speaking countries. 28.3% of residents were born overseas.

• 151,921 persons (or 51.5%) stated they spoke a language
other than English at home
for Queensland,
• 319,949 persons (or 36.0%) stated they spoke a language
other than English at home

The top five non-English languages spoken at home for
Brisbane City LGA were:
Language spoken
1. Chinese (4.4%)
2. Indo Aryan (2.3%)
3. Vietnamese (1.5%)
4. Southeast Asian Austronesian (1.1%)
Asian sub-total, 9.3%
5. Italian (0.8%)
-from Brisbane Community Profile report

Melbourne
"Almost a quarter of Victoria's population was born overseas, and the city is home to residents from 180 countries, who speak over 233 languages and dialects and follow 116 religious faiths. Melbourne has the second largest Asian population in Australia, which includes the largest Indian and Sri Lankan communities in the country."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Melbourne

Sydney
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Sydney