Two English neuroscientists, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and Suparna Choudhury, point to a remarkable occurrence during infancy that might have echoes in adolescence. Similar to adolescence, during the first 18 months of life there is a surge and then pruning of the brain’s neural connections. Curiously, this sculpting process...
Fewer students are choosing language electives at school, writes researcher Stephanie Clayton, but contrary to popular perception, it isn’t purely a lack of interest causing the decline. My recent study suggests students want to study a language, but can’t. Language electives continue to have the lowest enrolments...
Let’s be honest, writes Hamish Curry. Indonesian language studies in our schools have plummeted in the last decade. Just 755 students now graduate high school speaking Indonesian across all of Australia. That’s half the number compared to a decade ago. This should be of great concern to...
Australian students say they understand global issues, but few are learning another language compared to the OECD average, writes Sarah Richardson, Australian Council for Educational Research More Australian 15 year olds feel they are familiar with global issues such as climate change, migration, causes of poverty...
Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) Schools aims to enrich the cinema experience for younger viewers. The 2021 program will be available in full online on the festival’s digital platform MIFF Play from 2 to 16 September; each film can be booked for $35 (incl. GST) per...
We're currently experiencing a deep divide in public discourses on diversity and multilingualism. Writes Rita Wilson. On the one hand, a ‘diverse’ society is associated with creativity, growth and social justice. On the other, it’s associated with narratives of fear and resentment where the ‘other’,...
It could be their superpower! Write Chloé Diskin-Holdaway and Paola Escudero Australia is a multicultural society. There are different traditions, cultures, accents and languages all over the country. The latest Census data show almost 30% of Australians speak a language other than English, or English and another...
