Aust Government Targets to Have 40% of Students Studying Foreign Languages

In the pursuit of introducing new educational reforms, the Federal Government has shown a focus on the importance of foreign languages within the national curriculum. Daniel Hurst of the Sydney Morning Herald notes that since his recent elected role as Education Minister, Christopher Pyne stated that The Coalition aims to have 40 per cent of Australian high school students studying a foreign language within a decade. This encouragement for foreign language study was however contrasted when Mr. Pyne also hailed “Australia’s monolingual status as one of its great strengths”.

From this article, it can be argued that Hurst has recognized several social issues presented by the Australian government. Firstly, the support to learn foreign languages appears to reflect Australia’s realization that the world economy is no longer being dominated by English-speaking nations, but by the emerging markets of the Asia Pacific region. Furthermore, elements of Neoliberalism are also identified through the way rapid globalization of the capitalist economy demands a more extensive, cohesive and intercultural view of the world.

Fundamentally, Neoliberalism is underpinned by a system of deregulation. In reducing government regulation and control over anything that could diminish profits, Neoliberalism believes economic efficiency can be attained. Recent decades reflect a support for and spread of Neoliberalist ideals, as we observe a greater openness to international trade and investment throughout the world economies. As such, the Australian government’s push for multilingual study within the national curriculum suggests an awareness of advancing Neoliberalist values, as well as a means to enhance the country’s labour skills and capabilities, and thus competitive economic advantage.

It must be noted that Mr. Pines however also asserted that Australia’s monolingual status has its benefits. Although at first this appears contradictory to his previous speech, it can be argued that the statement suggests that while it is critical for Australia to keep pace with the growing movement of globalization enforced by Neoliberalism; remaining an overall English-speaking country is not necessarily ‘a bad thing’. Here, it can be argued that Mr. Pines expresses a certain pride in identifying his Australian cultural identity with the English language. Sustaining a monolingual status may have a way of unifying a nation of migrants, as well as a means of eliminating the segregation of minority groups.