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BUILDING CHINESE LANGUAGE CAPACITY IN AUSTRALIA Jane Orton

澳大利亚-中国关系研究院

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Published by the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) Level 7, UTS Building 11 81 - 115 Broadway, Ultimo NSW 2007 t: +61 2 9514 8593 f: +61 2 9514 2189 e: [email protected]

© The Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) 2016

ISBN 978-0-9942825-4-5

The publication is copyright. Other than for uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without attribution.

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BUILDING CHINESE LANGUAGE CAPACITY IN AUSTRALIA 3

CONTENTS

List of Tables 4

List of Charts 6

Introduction 8

Notes 10

Executive Summary 16

Chapter 1 2008 to 2015: The Goal and the Gap 23

Chapter 2 Policy: a Language of Unique Significance 31

Chapter 3 Current Provision 41

Chapter 4 The Learners 65

Chapter 5 The Language 83

Chapter 6 Discussion: Building Capacity 95

Appendices

A: State Data in Tables and Charts 117

B: Consultation List 135

C: The Teaching of Chinese in Victoria Schools: DET Initiatives 145

D: Monash University Entry Courses 149

E: Letter from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner 151

4 BUILDING CHINESE LANGUAGE CAPACITY IN AUSTRALIA

LIST OF TABLES A-K: in text 1-16: Appendix A

Table A Number of schools offering Chinese and number of students studying Chinese in Australia in 2008 and 2015 by state/territory and school sector

43

Table B Number of primary and secondary students of Chinese in each Australian state/territory in 2008 and 2015

44

Table C Number of students studying Year 12 Chinese 45

Table D Number and type of teachers of Chinese in training 2015

60

Table E Results of EI Chinese Proficiency test administered to the Year 12 class of VCE L2 Chinese in 2012

68

Table F Victorian Eligibility Criteria for VCE Chinese Subjects

71

Table G New South Wales Eligibility Criteria for HSC Chinese Subjects

72

Table H Western Australia Certificate of Education Eligibility Criteria for Chinese as a Second Language

76

Table I Internal Structure of Characters 88

Table J Vocabulary in Italian and Chinese 90

Table K Cognates in Japanese but not Chinese 91

Table 1 Australian Capital Territory: number of schools offering Chinese

118

Table 2 Australian Capital Territory: number of students studying Chinese

118

Table 3 New South Wales: number of schools offering Chinese

120

Table 4 New South Wales: number of students studying Chinese

120

BUILDING CHINESE LANGUAGE CAPACITY IN AUSTRALIA 5

Table 5 Northern Territory: number of schools offering Chinese (2015)

122

Table 6 Northern Territory: number of students studying Chinese (2015)

122

Table 7 Queensland: number of schools offering Chinese 124

Table 8 Queensland: number of students studying Chinese

124

Table 9 South Australia: number of schools offering Chinese

126

Table 10 South Australia: number of students studying Chinese

126

Table 11 Tasmania: number of schools offering Chinese 128

Table 12 Tasmania: number of students studying Chinese 128

Table 13 Victoria: number of schools offering Chinese 130

Table 14 Victoria: number of students studying Chinese 130

Table 15 Western Australian: number of schools offering Chinese

132

Table 16 Western Australia: number of students studying Chinese

132

LIST OF TABLES

6 BUILDING CHINESE LANGUAGE CAPACITY IN AUSTRALIA

LIST OF CHARTS

Appendix A

Chart 1 Australian Capital Territory: number of schools offering Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

118

Chart 2 Australian Capital Territory: total number of students (primary and secondary) studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

119

Chart 3 Australian Capital Territory: Number of Year 12 students studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

119

Chart 4 New South Wales: number of schools offering Chinese in 2008 and 2015

120

Chart 5 New South Wales: total number of students (primary and secondary) studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

121

Chart 6 New South Wales: number of Year 12 students studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

121

Chart 7 Northern Territory: number of schools offering Chinese in 2008 and 2015

122

Chart 8 Northern Territory: total number of students (primary and secondary) studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

123

Chart 9 Northern Territory: number of Year 12 students studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

123

Chart 10 Queensland: number of schools offering Chinese in 2008 and 2015

124

Chart 11 Queensland: Total number of students (primary and secondary) studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

125

Chart 12 Queensland: number of Year 12 students studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

125

Chart 13 South Australia: number of schools offering Chinese in 2008 and 2015

126

BUILDING CHINESE LANGUAGE CAPACITY IN AUSTRALIA 7

Chart 14 South Australia: total number of students (primary and secondary) studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

127

Chart 15 South Australia: number of Year 12 students studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

127

Chart 16 Tasmania: number of schools offering Chinese in 2008 and 2015

128

Chart 17 Tasmania: total number of students (primary and secondary) studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

129

Chart 18 Tasmania: number of Year 12 students studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

129

Chart 19 Victoria: number of schools offering Chinese in 2008 and 2015

130

Chart 20 Victoria: total number of students (primary and secondary) studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

131

Chart 21 Victoria: number of Year 12 students studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

131

Chart 22 Western Australia: number of schools offering Chinese in 2008 and 2015

132

Chart 23 Western Australia: total number of students (primary and secondary) studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

133

Chart 24 Western Australia: number of Year 12 students studying Chinese in 2008 and 2015 by sector

133

LIST OF CHARTS

INTRODUCTION In every decade since 19701 a report has been published urging development in Asian languages and literacy in Australia. From time to time, notably in 1990 and in 20082, considerable amounts of money have been allocated to advance the cause. In 2016, faced with the continuing lack in significant numbers of students graduating from Australian schools with proficiency in Chinese language despite efforts to improve outcomes, it may seem worth asking whether by now Chinese should not just be allowed to sink or swim on its own, as is the case for the other languages taught in schools.

Despite these attempts, and faced with the continuing lack of significant numbers of students graduating from Australian schools with proficiency in Chinese, it is time for a renewal of efforts to promote, protect and even privilege the learning of Chinese in our schools:

> Chinese is a language of unique and continuing significance to Australia in the twenty-first century: we cannot afford not to have a significant percentage of the community workforce with a degree of competence in the language;

> In the past five years there have been breakthroughs in the teaching and learning of Chinese that give ample evidence that it can be made quite learnable to a very high degree of proficiency by virtually any Australian child in the course of their school years. However, like learning any complex skill, to attain a high proficiency in Chinese, it is best to begin young and continue learning over a number of years.

In practical terms, much that is needed to achieve the desired goal is already available, so success would not require more than a fairly modest outlay of funds. What is essential is that those involved with structuring and administering programs for Chinese language

1 The Commonwealth Advisory Committee, ‘The teaching of Asian languages and cultures in Australia’ (The Auchmuty Report), AGPS, Canberra, ACT, 1970.

2 The Federal Government’s National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools (NALSAS) and the National Asian Languages and Literacy in Schools Program (NALLSP), respectively.

8 BUILDING CHINESE LANGUAGE CAPACITY IN AUSTRALIA

education for teachers and students design initiatives thoroughly informed about the special challenges the task requires. Chinese is not Japanese or French. It makes very particular demands. The aim of this report is to explain these demands and show that they can all be met if they are squarely taken into account.

INTRODUCTION

BUILDING CHINESE LANGUAGE CAPACITY IN AUSTRALIA 9

NOTES 1. NOMENCLATURE

1.1 LEARNER CATEGORIES

The recently published Australian Curriculum for Languages: Chinese (Australian Curriculum,