Contents:
- Submission into the ACT Legislative Assembly Inquiry into “The Educational Achievement Gap in the ACT”
- AMEP Research Centre closure
- Bilingual teaching programs in Northern Territory - June 2009
- National Education Curriculum - November 2008
- Increase in quality and funding of ESL teaching - August 2008
- AMEP Review - August 2008
Submission into the ACT Legislative Assembly Inquiry into “The Educational Achievement Gap in the ACT”
On Thursday 25 June 2009, the Legislative Assembly for the ACT referred to the Standing Committee on Education, Training and Youth Affairs for inquiry and report the extent of existing socio-economic differences in educational engagement and achievement in all ACT government and non-government schools, with particular reference to:
- educational engagement and outcomes for students of all interests and abilities, with reference to any implications of cultural background, including Indigenous and ESL students;
- engagement and achievement rates within the ACT student population including those related to national and international assessments, including:
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- average outcomes;
- proportion of students below national and international assessment benchmarks; and
- proportion of students achieving at the highest and lowest proficiency levels;
- qualitative assessments of educational experiences for students from different backgrounds;
- current programs and initiatives designed to address educational achievement gaps, including resources allocated and relevant experiences in other jurisdictions; and
- any other related matter.
ATESOL ACT’s submission to the Inquiry can be downloaded as a PDF document.
For other submissions and the Hansard record of our representatives’ appearance before the Inquiry, go to: http://www.parliament.act.gov.au/committees/index1.asp?committee=117&inquiry=822&category=13
AMEP Research Centre closure
The AMEP Research Centre has provided research and Professional Development, publications and information services to the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) nationally since 1989. Recently, the Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Citizenship announced that funding of the AMEP Research Centre would finish at the end of 2009. The following letter was sent to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship in October 2009:
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Senator the Hon. Chris Evans The Association has learned that the AMEP Research Centre will be closed at the end of this year. We understand that new models are in process of development to support research and development for the AMEP. Our members who teach in the AMEP have a considerable stake in the work carried out by the AMEP Research Centre. The Centre is responsible for on-going maintenance of the Assessment Task Bank, which is fundamental to the whole structure of curriculum, assessment, reporting and accountability in the AMEP. Our members also value the resources and various professional development activities for which the Centre is responsible. The Centre is really the only means by which AMEP managers and teachers in the ACT meet and interact with other AMEP teachers around Australia, which is essential to maintaining and improving their professionalism. Our Association’s submission to the AMEP Review last year stated:
Overall, the Centre has been crucial to the high quality of the AMEP in delivering English language and settlement programs to newly arriving adult migrants. On behalf of ATESOL ACT, may I request that the national body to which we are affiliated—the Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA)—is a full participant in planning how the various roles played by the AMEP Research Centre are to continue and be improved? The ACTA President, Rosie Antenucci, has written to you in this regard. At the local level, our request is that ATESOL ACT be included in consultations and information as the process continues. Yours faithfully, Marina Houston (Aidman), MEd, PhD, Cc: Rosie Antenucci, President, Australian Council of TESOL Associations. |
Bilingual teaching programs in Northern Territory - June 2009
One of the main concerns on our political agenda has been the bilingual teaching environment in Northern Territory, where Aboriginal languages has been reduced to a bare minimum. Last week a delegation from Alice Springs took more than 50 letters of concern to three federal ministers: Minister for Education Julia Gillard, Minister for Indigenous Affairs Jenny Macklin and Minister for the Environment Peter Garrett. Letters came from all over the country. Our ATESOL ACT committee also wrote a letter on behalf of our members, expressing our whole-hearted support for a bilingual approach and our concern that English learning needs now come at the expense of education in Aboriginal languages. See below for full text of our letter. As a consequence the minister for environment has now commenced drafting an Indigenous Languages Action Strategy. For more info on the issue of bilingual education please see a good discussion paper on http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/research_program/publications/discussion_papers
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LETTER TO MINISTERS 10 June 2009 The Hon Julia Gillard MP, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for
Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for
Social Inclusion Dear Deputy Prime Minister and Ministers, On behalf of the Association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages in the Australian Capital Territory (ATESOL ACT), I am writing to you to request your strong support for bilingual programs and approaches in the Northern Territory. This letter will be delivered to you by representatives of the Ngapartji Ngapartji group in their meeting with you. ATESOL ACT whole-heartedly endorses quality indigenous language and bilingual approaches to meet the learning needs of indigenous students. We therefore deplore the undermining of these approaches by current policies in the Northern Territory. Supporting indigenous students’ English learning need not come at the expense of the indigenous languages. All reputable and long-standing second language acquisition research clearly demonstrates the multiple benefits of additive bilingualism in promoting individuals’ cognitive, social and cultural development. This research also shows that maintaining the child’s mother tongue can significantly enhance his/her learning of additional languages, including English. Further, there is no evidence to show that removing support for the child’s mother tongue translates into gain in any other language, including English. ATESOL ACT understands that data from literacy testing by the NT Department of Education showed that indigenous students in schools using bilingual approaches achieved higher standards in the Years 5 and 7 national literacy benchmark tests than did their counterparts in ‘like’ English-only schools. This evidence supports claims for the advantages of bilingual approaches over English-only approaches for indigenous students, and suggests that enforcing English-only approaches will do nothing to assist these students and is likely to further erode their educational performance. In addition to enhancing literacy and numeracy outcomes, mother tongue maintenance has been linked to improvements in mental health. Conversely, research also suggests that where English has replaced or sufficiently weakened mother tongues in indigenous communities, speakers cannot access traditional epistemologies (that is, fundamental elements in indigenous value systems and understandings of the environment, and the ways in which values and knowledge are passed on) and that language loss can play a significant role in depression, hopelessness, mental breakdown and even suicide. ATESOL ACT therefore strongly supports the teaching of indigenous languages alongside English and the use of quality bilingual approaches and programs. A balanced approach is key to unlocking indigenous students’ potential in remote communities where their languages are still in use. It will enhance these students’ participation and success in education, not least in English. It will provide a solid foundation from which they can look to the future, make choices and contribute to Australian society overall. Regards, |
See more on this issue on ACTA's website: http://www.tesol.org.au/Issues/Indigenous-issues
National Education Curriculum - November 2008
Lobbying also continues in regard to ESL being part of the national education curriculum. ATESOL ACT members contributed to the national submission. See ACTA's submission on their website: http://www.tesol.org.au/Issues/National-Curriculum
Increase in quality and funding of ESL teaching - August 2008
In late 2008 we did some intensive lobbying at the door of the ACT Minister for Education, Andrew Barr, for a much needed increase in quality and funding of ESL teaching. We expressed ATESOL ACT’s serious concern over present trends which we feel have reduced ESL teaching to a level that is neither professional nor responsible towards children from an ESL background. The Minister took note of our concerns and we will continue to be vigilant in this area and seek the necessary changes.
AMEP Review - August 2008
On 23 July 2008 the Department of Immigration & Citizenship released a Discussion paper on the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) as part of their review of this program. The discussion paper can be accessed on: http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/delivering-assistance/amep-review-paper.htm
The ATESOL ACT submission to the Review can
be download as a PDF document 