Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Exploring Innovative Pedagogy in the Teaching and Learning of Chinese as a Foreign Language pp 19–37Cite as

Australian Language Policy and the Learning and Teaching of Chinese

  • Chapter

  • 1843 Accesses

Part of the book series: Multilingual Education ((MULT,volume 15))

Abstract

Census figures from 2011 show that 4 % of the Australian population are of Chinese background and that the Chinese language (Mandarin) has the widest distribution as home language after English, with nearly 320,000 speakers, or 1.7 % of the population. This chapter examines the learning and teaching of Chinese against the background of Australia’s language ecology. It provides an overview of the development of Australian language policies pertaining to the learning and teaching of Chinese – including initiatives resulting from the recent Australian Government White Paper Australia in the Asian Century (Commonwealth of Australia, 2012) – and, in this context, discusses the teaching of Chinese in regards to the newly developed National Curriculum Languages. The chapter addresses the distinction between second language learners, background language learners and first language learners, providing discussion of how those groupings are being addressed through government language policies. In its final section, this contribution discusses the relationship between macro-level language policies and their implementation at the local level of Chinese language teaching.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority – ACARA. (2011a). Draft shape of the Australian curriculum: Languages. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Draft+Shape+of+the+Australian+Curriculum+−+Languages+−+FINAL.pdf

  • Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority – ACARA. (2011b). Shape of the Australian curriculum: Languages. Retrieved January 28, 2012, from http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Languages_-_Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum.pdf

  • Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority – ACARA. (2011c, October). The shape of the Australian curriculum. Version 3. Retrieved January 28, 2012, from http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/The_Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum_V3.pdf

  • Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority – ACARA. (2013). Australian curriculum: Languages Chinese. Version 7.3. Retrieved February 25, 2015, from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/languages/chinese/context-statement

  • Clyne, M. (2005). Australia’s language potential. Sydney: UNSW Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • COAG. (1994). Asian languages and Australia’s economic future. Brisbane: Queensland Government Printer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Commonwealth of Australia. (2012). Australia in the Asian century. White paper. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curnow, T. (2010). Participation in languages education in Australian schools: What do we know, and what does it mean anyway? In A. Liddicoat & A. Scarino (Eds.), Languages in Australian education: Problems, prospects and future directions (pp. 25–40). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET). (1991). Australia’s language: Australian language and literacy policy. Canberra: AGPS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galbally, F. (Chair). (1978). Review of post-arrival programs and services. Canberra: AGPS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hajek, J., & Slaughter, Y. (2015). Challenging the monolingual mindset. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingram, D. E. (2000, August 18). Language policy and language education in Australia. Invited paper to the students and staff of Akita University, Akita, Japan. Reprinted in a special issue of Akita English studies, Trans-equator exchanges: A collection of academic papers in honour of professor David Ingram, March 2001, pp. 7–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liddicoat, A. (2010). Policy change and educational inertia: Language policy and language education in Australian schooling. In A. Liddicoat & A. Scarino (Eds.), Languages in Australian education: Problems, prospects and future directions (pp. 11–24). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liddicoat, A., Scarino, A., Curnow, T., Kohler, M., Scrimgeour, A., & Morgan, A.-M. (2007). An investigation of the state and nature of languages in Australian schools. Canberra: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations/RCLCES, University of South Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lo Bianco, J. (1987). National policy on languages. Canberra: AGPS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lo Bianco, J. & Slaughter, Y. (2009). Second languages and Australian schooling. Camberwell: Australian Council for Educational Research Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lo Bianco, J. (2010). The struggle to retain diversity in language education. In A. Liddicoat & A. Scarino (Eds.), Languages in Australian education: Problems, prospects and future directions (pp. 97–108). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • MCEETYA. (1989). The Hobart declaration on schooling. Retrieved January 28, 2012, from http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/mceecdya/hobart_declaration,11577.html

  • MCEETYA. (1999). The Adelaide declaration on national goals for schooling in the 21st century. Retrieved January 28, 2012, from http://www.mceetya.edu.au/mceetya/nationalgoals/index.htm

  • MCEETYA. (2008). Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians. Retrieved January 28, 2012, from http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf

  • McNamara, T., & Elder, C. (2010). Beyond scales. In A. Liddicoat & A. Scarino (Eds.), Languages in Australian education: Problems, prospects and future directions (pp. 193–201). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Möllering, M. (2014). Australian language policy and the design of a national curriculum for languages. In P. Grommes & A. Hu (Eds.), Plurilingual education. Policies – practice – language development (pp. 55–74). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholas, H. (2015). Losing bilingualism while promoting second language acquisition in Australian language policy. In J. Hajek & Y. Slaughter (Eds.), Challenging the monolingual mindset (pp. 165–181). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orton, J. (2008). Chinese language education in Australian schools. Melbourne: The University of Melbourne.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scarino, A. (2008). The role of assessment in policy-making for languages education in Australian schools: A struggle for legitimacy and diversity. Current Issues in Language Planning, 9(3), 344–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scarino, A. (2010). Language and languages and the curriculum. In A. Liddicoat & A. Scarino (Eds.), Languages in Australian education: Problems, prospects and future directions (pp. 157–178). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia

    Martina Möllering

Authors
  1. Martina Möllering
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martina Möllering .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Human Sciences, School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Robyn Moloney

  2. Faculty of Arts, Department of International Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Hui Ling Xu

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Möllering, M. (2016). Australian Language Policy and the Learning and Teaching of Chinese. In: Moloney, R., Xu, H. (eds) Exploring Innovative Pedagogy in the Teaching and Learning of Chinese as a Foreign Language. Multilingual Education, vol 15. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-772-7_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-772-7_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-287-771-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-287-772-7

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation