01 - Department of Education and Communities - NSW Government

EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AND LEARNING• a range of workshops on theuse of computer technology inlanguages classrooms• the development of satellitebroadcasts in French andJapanese for senior secondarystudents and teachers. The twoprograms centred on activitiesand strategies to develop theoral communication skills ofstudents and to maximisestudents’ use of the targetlanguages• the development of supportprograms for Year 7 Japaneseand Chinese to be broadcast bysatellite in 1998. This extendsthe Access to Languages viaSatellite programs.Opportunities forStudents to Enhancetheir Language SkillsThe Student Language Study inOverseas Countries (SLSOC)program provided students in Years10 to 12 with opportunities toenhance skills in languages bystudying overseas. The SLSOCprogram supported a rangeof study and exchangeopportunities including sisterschool relationships, school groupstudy visits and group andindividual student exchangesIn 1997, 389 students from 47government schools were offeredthe opportunity to pursue in-depthstudy overseas of a language otherthan English. Participants in theprogram were selected on the basisof merit and equity. Financialsupport varied depending on thenature of the study program and thecircumstances of individualstudents. The program will beexpanded over the next two yearsto give opportunities for up to 600students per year to pursue overseaslanguages study programs.Coordination ofLanguages in Primaryand Secondary SchoolsLanguages programs in schoolswere better coordinated through arange of activities designed to assistteachers and schools at varyingstages of development in languagescontinuity. These included:• a wide reaching programfocusing on issues inimplementing continuous andsequenced language learningprograms• promoting the importance ofrecognising students’ priorlearning. In the languagescontext, this assisted teachersof Year 7 to acknowledge theexpansion and impact ofprimary school languagesprograms and to work towardsaccommodating the variouslearning needs of theirstudents• working with schools toprofile successful models ofcontinuity• working with a range ofprimary schools to documenttheir languages programs inorder to provide other schoolswith examples of successfulprogram implementation• workshops focusing onteaching and learningstrategies for multilevelclassrooms. These assistedprimary and high schoolteachers to develop skills incatering for students’language learning across arange of proficiency levels• working with the Curriculum/Training and DevelopmentCoordinators in districts toestablish district networksfocusing on continuity.Officers of the LanguagesUnit have also worked withNumber of Students ReceivingGrants to Study Languages OverseasAustria 6China 14France 72Germany 22Greece 46Indonesia 22Italy 41Japan 133Korea 21New Caledonia 12TOTAL 389Number of Primary, Junior and SeniorSecondary Students undertakingCommunity Languages/AsianEconomic Languages and Frenchand German1996 1997Primary Students• Communitylanguages 48,852 50,852• Asian economiclanguages 99,186 97,119• French/German 40,240 35,471• All languages 188,278 183,442Junior Secondary Students• Communitylanguages 13,376 13,093• Asian economiclanguages 36,216 35,723• French/German 36,508 34,221• All languages 86,376 83,037Senior Secondary Students• Communitylanguages 3,463 3,164• Asian economiclanguages 4,288 3,891• French/German 2,605 2,724• All languages 10,356 9.779DSE Annual Report 1997 51