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Home > Faculty of Arts > Language Centre > Learning to Communicate with t...

Learning to communicate with the world

writes EMMA SHAW
Illawarra Mercury IQ
8 September, 2009

The University of Wollongong is at the forefront of a push to increase the number of students who can speak a second language, writes EMMA SHAW.

In our increasingly globalised society, language skills are among the most valuable we can possess.

For the Australian Government, Asian languages are top of the priority list, with its $62.4 million National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program (NALSSP) being implemented this year.

The aim of NALSSP is to increase the number of students learning the languages and cultures of our Asian neighbours in China, Indonesia, Japan and Korea.

The hope is that, by 2020, at least 12 per cent of students will leave Year 12 fluent enough in one of the Asian languages to engage in trade and commerce or university study.

The establishment of the University of Wollongong's (UOW) new language centre is aimed at meeting the demands of this new generation of students.

Language centre director Professor Kerry Dunne was appointed earlier this year. The actual centre - a $3 million refurbishment of a dedicated space in the Faculty of Arts - is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.

Prof Dunne said it will be a state-of-the-art facility utilising online and multimedia resources. Podcasts and vodcasts might, for example, explain a particular grammatical or cultural concept, while authentic film and television will provide students with listening opportunities.

"I think it will have an enormous impact on students," Prof Dunne said.

"They'll have better access to authentic language material and will be better able to make the leap from the language of the textbook to everyday speech.

"It's essential to allowing students to develop the confidence to communicate in the language they're studying."

Prof Dunne said the language centre plans to offer community courses during evenings and weekends, and satellite campuses of the university will benefit as online facilities enable the widely dispersed student population to learn a language.

The language centre offers French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin and Indonesian, as well as English language and linguistics, and European studies. The university has exchange partnerships in place with Spain, Mexico, France, Vanuatu, Italy, China and Japan.

Prof Dunne said Spanish is the most popular language and French numbers had boomed this year as well. Mandarin (a full three years of Mandarin will be available from 2010) is also attracting interest, especially from those keen to use it within the business world.

"China is our major trading partner and is going to have a major impact in our region," Prof Dunne said.

Prof Dunne said Australian businesses competing with those in China for contracts would increasingly reap the rewards of proficiency in Mandarin.

She said the benefits of language skills could not be underestimated.

"I believe in the importance of learning a language in addition to English. As Joe Lo Bianco, a leading linguist says: not knowing English is a disadvantage and knowing only English is equally a disadvantage.

"If you want to work in the EU, to be competitive you have to have a language.

"We can't always assume that only speaking English is the best way to speak to representatives of other countries.

"Everyone who's travelled to another country will know how much easier it is to establish rapport if you can speak some of the language."

For UOW students, gaining language skills is becoming easier with the introduction of the Diploma of Languages next year. The diploma will be studied in parallel to a student's main area of study. At the end of their studies they will have two degrees, and will have only added one year to their time at the university.

"This diploma is a way for students to value-add to their degree and enhance their employment opportunities," Prof Dunne said.

Pinkle Lam, from Hong Kong, is in her first year studying English language and linguistics at UOW.

She wants to learn a number of languages and said it was a valuable way of learning about other cultures.

"Language is formed by the culture and language forms the culture," she said.

Lam has found the attitudes to learning languages in Australia differs considerably from home.

"In Hong Kong, every student needs to study Mandarin, Cantonese and English," she said. "It's quite useful, not only academically but also in daily life."

However, now that Malaysia has abandoned its program to mandate the study of English in all schools, in future the onus might fall increasingly on Australians to find ways to communicate with our Asian neighbours.

Martin Veres is a third-year student, taking a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese and Asia Pacific studies.

Veres had planned on a career in science but, after spending his first year studying biology, he realised it wasn't for him.

He switched to a Bachelor of Arts and began studying Japanese - and hasn't looked back.

"I got the highest marks I had ever got so it gave me the confidence to continue with my studies," he said.

"I think the study of any language is important and it's especially important for English speakers. (Communication between speakers of different languages) should work both ways."

Veres said he found Japanese challenging but rewarding.

"There's a massive emphasis on being polite so there are a lot of grammatical structures to soften the language," he said.

Next year he will continue his studies at Senshu University in Kawasaki.

He believes Japanese and other Asian languages are important skills.

"I guess the whole world is starting to look to Asia as more significant."

Veres said he was looking forward to the new language centre.

"I think it will be useful for students and it will be good to have a dedicated space that caters specifically for language students."