Diverse schools offer enriched academic and social environments, as students and families of different backgrounds and experiences provide a vibrant mosaic of insights, perspectives, and skills. To take advantage of the unique opportunities that diversity brings, schools must value and effectively connect with students and families of all…

While Government commitments to supporting instruction in languages other than English have largely been honoured, bilingual education as a form of learning has not been widespread. Acknowledging the benefits of learning a language other than English, the most recent Australian national languages policy statement nonetheless makes no mention of…

This report explores how students' multilingual literacies can become part of everyday classroom practices. It discusses the contribution made by the home language in English language learning and literacy by highlighting the connections between languages in mainstream classroom settings. The strategies highlighted here focus on the representation…

This paper describes a project undertaken by the Free Kindergarten Association-Multicultural Resource Centre in Victoria, Australia, to develop policies, models, and strategies for establishing and maintaining bilingual programs in preschool or child care centers, either as full bilingual programs or as bilingual perspectives in other programs.…

Shortened version of a paper presented in Sydney, Australia, November 1972. (DD)

Describes a one-year research project in a Western Australia primary school in a low socioeconomic area, which has a Khmer-English bilingual program to develop and extend children's English and Khmer language and literacy. Discusses findings concerning the children's written progress in both languages, and children's perceptions of their identity…

Assuming that multilingualism is a precondition for cross-cultural sensitivity, discusses ways to introduce foreign languages into the primary school. These are (1) by integrating the language with other subjects; (2) by teaching it as a discrete subject; and (3) by teaching it in a bilingual program. (SED)

Over a period of twenty years, Japanese language teaching has firmly established itself within primary school programs in most Australian States and Territories. Today the question is how to develop Japanese language education further in innovative ways suitable for learners' needs in the 21st century. In this report, the author examines the…

This report discusses the provision of culturally appropriate early childhood programs in Australian Aboriginal language in Australia, and the education of teachers for these programs. The first section of the report examines the education of indigenous peoples in the context of the current Australian education system. Evidence in support of the…

Discusses the position of Aboriginal people in Australian society and the relation of this position to the provision of early childhood education. Focuses on possible ramifications of popular perceptions of behavior on experiences and development of Aboriginal children. (RJC)

Bilingual education programs and policies in three countries with sizable minorities, Sweden, Australia, and the Federal Republic of Germany, are examined in order to gauge both the extent to which children with limited proficiency in the dominant language are in integrated classrooms and the degree of their social integration. First, the…

Describes the Ethnic Program, a bilingual early childhood program in Adelaide, Australia, which utilizes ethnic staff as mediators in kindergartens with a significant number of children of ethnic minority origin. (CM)

Reports on a study of the bilingual program in the Milingimbi community in Australia. For four years, children from both English-only and bilingual classes were tested for achievement in academic subjects. By the seventh year, children in the bilingual classes were performing better than the English-only children. (Author/AMH)

Describes the influences which have affected the changing sociolinguistic setting for tribal Aborigines in the Northern Territory, Australia. The effects of various governmental and educational policies on language development are highlighted, and the need for deliberately planned, implemented, and monitored language policy is suggested.…