A Blueprint to Enhance the Learning of Mandarin and Promote Understanding of Chinese Culture

A Blueprint to enhance the learning of Mandarin and promote understanding of Chinese culture through education in the ACT

Acknowledgement of Country

The Australian Capital Territory is Ngunnawal Country.

The ACT Government acknowledges the Ngunnawal people as the traditional custodians of the Canberra region. The region is also an important meeting place and significant to other Aboriginal peoples.

The ACT Government acknowledges the historical dispossession and its continuing legacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoplesand also acknowledges their vital contribution to the ACT community.

Contents

Acknowledgement of Country

Partners

Minister’s Message

Introduction

Cultural Awareness & Engagement

Working with Teachers and Students

Resources

Communication

Future Focus Areas

Blueprint Partners

Useful References

Minister’s Message

Mandarin Blueprint

I am pleased to provide the Blueprint to enhance the learning of Mandarin and promote understanding of Chinese culture through education in the ACT.

The ACT Government is committed to supporting the development and maintenance of language skills in the ACT, and to promoting the benefits of a dynamic and culturally diverse local community.

As Minister for Education and Training I strongly support languages education and recognise that learning an additional language supports personal and social development, cultural awareness and understanding, and expands horizons and futures, including employment opportunities.

Our local and vibrant multicultural and multilingual community sector comprises many Canberrans who are skilled in languages and bring key intercultural knowledge and skills to our city. Opportunities abound to learn about other cultures and languages other than English, either through curriculum programs delivered in our schools and community centres, or through the more than 50 community language schools delivering programs in 40 languages.

The Blueprint to enhance the learning of Mandarin and promote understanding of Chinese culture through education in the ACT (the Mandarin Blueprint) builds on these activities, and highlights collaborative efforts by key partner organisations in the ACT, including education sector organisations, schools and their communities, community associations, embassies and industry.

The Mandarin Blueprint aligns with the ACT Government’s commitments under the Memorandum of Understanding between the ACT Government and Shanghai Normal University in the People’s Republic of China, including activities that promote cultural awareness and engagement, collaborative research activities, exchange opportunities and sister school relationships.

I commend the work of the Mandarin Blueprint partner organisations and their commitment to building intercultural capability and language proficiency in the ACT community.

Joy Burch MLA

Minister for Education and Training

Introduction

An understanding of Asia underpins the capacity of Australians to contribute to, and build, harmonious local, regional and global communities. Asia capability also builds Australia’s social, intellectual and creative capital.

The National Statement for Languages Education in Australian Schools 2005-2008 (the National Plan) highlights the importance of languages education in equipping young Australians for a globalised world. The aim of the National Plan is to enable Australian students to communicate across languages and cultures, and successfully live and work as linguistically and culturally aware global citizens.

The ACT Government’s Many Voices 2012-16 Australian Capital Territory Languages Policy provides a framework for valuing the many languages spoken and learnt in Canberra, and for celebrating the diversity of cultural backgrounds in our dynamic and multicultural community.

The Mandarin Blueprint highlights the ongoing collaborative efforts of key stakeholders in the ACT, including education sector organisations, schools and their communities, community associations, embassies and industry.

The Mandarin Blueprint is structured around five themes that capture existing programs and activities and outline new initiatives that promote the teaching of Mandarin and enhance understanding of Chinese culture through education in the ACT:

Cultural Awareness and Engagement
Working with Teachers and Students
Resources
Communication
Future Focus Areas

和谐

Chinese symbols for Harmony

Cultural Awareness & Engagement

Learning a language, such as Mandarin, is multi-faceted and involves study of the linguistic, cultural and geographic diversity within communities of Chinese speakers. The need to engage in linguistic and intercultural awareness to develop Asia capability is becoming more important as global mobility increases.

Providing opportunities for immersion in culture and language has proven to result in quality learning outcomes for students. Enhancing the learning of Mandarin and promoting Chinese culture involves increasing linguistic and intercultural understanding in all education sectors in the ACT.

PRIORITY: CULTURAL AWARENESS AND ENGAGEMENT

INITIATIVE

RESPONSIBILITY

PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) - Regarding a sister school relationship between the Government of the Australian Capital Territory and Shanghai Normal University, People’s Republic of China / ACT Education and Training Directorate / Facilitate academic exchanges between Canberra public school teachers, Shanghai Normal University and Shanghai Normal University Schools.
Increase information and research exchange (including collaborative research-related activities) between Canberra public school teachers and Shanghai Normal University and Shanghai Normal University Schools.
Increase sister school relationships between Canberra public schools and Shanghai Normal University and Shanghai Normal University Schools.
Promote participation by principals and education leaders in the study tour of the People’s Republic of China.
Asia Education Foundation Forum / ACT Education and Training Directorate
Asia Education Foundation / Collaborate to deliver the Asia Education Foundation Forum: Building Asia Capability in ACT Schools.
Building Relations through Intercultural Dialogue and Growing Engagement - BRIDGE Program / ACT Education and Training Directorate
Asia Education Foundation / Promote and facilitate the opportunity for eligible ACT language teachers to participate in the Asia Education Foundation BRIDGE (Building Relations through Intercultural Dialogue and Growing Engagement) program.
ACT Education and Training Directorate - Memorandum of Understanding (Promotion of Chinese Language) / ACT Education and Training Directorate
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) / Partner with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office to appoint Chinese speaking language assistants in Canberra public schools.
Sister School partnerships – Canberra public schools / ACT Education and Training Directorate / Maintain and expand sister school partnerships between Canberra public schools and schools in the People’s Republic of China.
Sister School partnerships – Independent schools / Canberra Grammar School / Maintain and expand sister school partnerships between Canberra Grammar School and schools in the People’s Republic of China.
Events and Competitions / ACT Education and Training Directorate
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) / Promote and conduct the annual ACT Mandarin Presentation Contest and Awards Ceremony.
Events and Competitions / Australia China Friendship Society / Promote and conduct the annual Panda competition for students from all preschools, primary schools and high schools in the ACT.
Events and Competitions / Australia China Friendship Society / Promote and conduct the opportunity for ACT schools and the wider community to participate in the annual Lantern Festival.
Events and Competitions / Australian National University - College of Asia and the Pacific / Promote and conduct the annual Australian National University Asia Pacific Day as part of the EngageAsia program.
EngageAsiaPrograms / Australian National University - College of Asia and the Pacific / Provide and promote opportunities for students and teachers to participate in language immersion workshops, guest lecture series and student ambassador talks at the Australian National University.
Classroom Practice and Cultural Immersion Program / Canberra Grammar School / Establish Connected Classrooms with students and staff in sister schools in China.
Establish an independent Confucius classroom at the school to promote cultural and language activities.
Coordinate and participate in an annual staff exchange with Beijing Sister School(s) to enhance partnerships and promote intercultural understanding and information sharing.
Coordinate and deliver annual study tours to China for students and teachers with a focus on experiencing language and culture in cross-curriculum areas.
Mandarin Immersion Programs / ACT Education and Training Directorate / Promote and deliver the Mandarin bilingual and language programs at Mawson Primary School.
Promote Mandarin pathways at:

Mawson Primary School
Melrose High School
Canberra College

Mandarin Immersion Programs / ACT Education and Training Directorate - Mawson Primary School
Chinese Australian Early Childhood Centre
Association for Learning Mandarin in Australia Inc.(ALMA) / Promote and conduct the bilingual program (Chinese/English) offered at the community based early childhood centre (Chinese Australian Early Childhood Centre - CAECC) for children from birth to 6 years located on the Mawson Primary School grounds.
Mandarin Immersion Programs / Chinese Australian Early Childhood Centre.
Association for Learning Mandarin in Australia Inc.(ALMA) / Employ qualified bilingual early childhood educators to deliver Mandarin programs to young children enrolled at the Chinese Australian Early Childhood Centre.
Explore options for expanding Early Childhood Mandarin immersion programs in the ACT.
Student Study Tours – China and/ or Taiwan / Canberra public schools / Provide the opportunity for students studying Chinese to participate in a study tour to China and/or Taiwan. In 2015 Melba Copland Secondary School, Kingsford Smith School and Canberra High School have arranged study tours to China. Melrose High School has arranged a study tour to Taiwan.
Study Tours - China / University of Canberra / Coordinate and conduct a cross-sectoral study tour to China for ACT educators and school leaders.
Community Radio / Association for Learning Mandarin in Australia Inc. (ALMA) / Co-host a bilingual program on community radio 2XX to support families interested in maintaining and/or developing their children’s Mandarin skills. Continue to encourage children’s interest in, and use of, the language through fun activities.
Community Tutoring Project / Association for Learning Mandarin in Australia Inc. (ALMA) / Promote and coordinate the Mandarin Community Tutoring Project, whichintroduces speakers of Mandarin in the ACT to others who are learning the language.
China Friendly City / Association for Learning Mandarin in Australia Inc. (ALMA) / Explore the possibility of declaring Canberra a China Friendly City.
Conversation Evenings / Australia China Friendship Society ACT / Promote and conduct monthly informal conversation evenings in Chinese/English for community members to promote the learning of Chinese and to gain an understanding of Chinese culture.

Working with Teachers and Students

Learning a language is a core component of the ACT Curriculum.Providing opportunities for teachers to build meaningful cultural knowledge and linguistic proficiency and for students to engage in quality languages programs are key ingredients for successful languages education in the ACT.

Working with teachers and students to develop language skills and cultural knowledge strengthens local partnerships and provides opportunities to establish global connections.

PRIORITY: WORKING WITH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

INITIATIVE

RESPONSIBILITY

PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES

Australian Curriculum:Languages Implementation / ACT Education and Training Directorate / Support Canberra public school teachers with implementation of the Australian Curriculum: Languages through activities and events facilitated by the Chinese Language Network.
Professional Learning – building teacher capacity / ACT Education and Training Directorate / Promote and conduct professional learning opportunities to build the capacity of community language school teachers four times a year.
Network Liaison – Chinese Language Network / ACT Education and Training Directorate / Provide the opportunity for ACT language teachers to network once a term through the Chinese Language Network meetings.
Explore opportunities to include teachers of Chinese from Community Language Schools to join the Chinese Language Network.
Mandarin Language Pathway / ACT Education and Training Directorate / Provide a Mandarin Language Pathway in Canberrapublic schools from primary school to college.
Mandarin Learning Scholarship Program / Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) / Offer an annual Mandarin learning scholarship program, Huayu Enrichment Scholarship, to sponsor Australian students over the age of 18 to retain and enhance Chinese language proficiency in Taiwan.
Curriculum Development / Australian School of Contemporary Chinese / Develop Chinese courses which incorporate the new Australian Curriculum and the Chinese Language Proficiency Standards for teachers.
Cultural Immersion / Canberra Grammar School / Promote the establishment of combined cultural familiarisation and EALD (English as an additional Language or Dialect) courses at Canberra Grammar School.
The Snow Centre for Education in the Asian Century / Canberra Grammar School / Promote the establishment of The Snow Centre for Education in the Asian Century.
Engage the community by offering a lecture series on Asia, Asian culture and Asian language.
Senior Studies and University Pathways / Canberra Grammar School
University of Canberra
Australian National University / Engage with the University of Canberra and the Australian National University to promote the study of Chinese language and culture by offering pathways to senior students studying in ACT schools.
Mandarin Education Pathways to Proficiency / Association for Learning Mandarin in Australia Inc. (ALMA)
Australian National University – College of Asia and the Pacific / Research and explore initiatives, resources and programs in order to maximise opportunities for students and teachers of Chinese, such as:

language forums
opportunities for students to follow articulated programs of study
professional learning for Community Language School teachers.

Resources

The delivery of sustainable language programs can be enhanced through access to language teaching assistants, educational institutions, community associations and embassies.

Targeted professional learning for languages teachers and access to online digitalresources supportsprovision of quality language programs.

PRIORITY: RESOURCES

INITIATIVE

RESPONSIBILITY

PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES

Support for curriculum delivery / ACT Education and Training Directorate / Provide access to Scootle resources, developed by Education Services Australia, to support the learning and teaching of Chinese.
Support for curriculum delivery / ACT Education and Training Directorate
Catholic Education, Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn
Association of Independent Schools
Community Language Schools / Promote the Language Learning Space (LLS): Chinese, a web-based platform developed by Education Services Australia which offers resources and services to support teachers and students in language classrooms.
Promote the ‘CanUHanyu’ Appdeveloped by Education Services Australia which is designed to support learners of Chinese.
ELLA (Early Language Learning Australia) Trial / Franklin Early Childhood School – trialling Mandarin / Participate in the ELLA pilot program for Australian schools which has been designed to test the effectiveness of providing preschool children with early exposure to a language other than English through access to a digital learning platform.
ELLA (Early Language Learning Australia) Trial / ACT Education and Training Directorate / Represent the Directorate at ELLA meetings as required.
Mandarin Education Programs / Federation of Chinese Community of Canberra Inc. - Chinese School / Promote the expansion of community Mandarin education programs for school-aged children in the ACT through the non-profit community based weekend schools.
Mandarin Education Programs / Federation of Chinese Community of Canberra Inc. - Chinese School
Association for Learning Mandarin in Australia Inc. (ALMA) / Assist and promote Mandarin teaching programs in after-school programs across the ACT and explore ways to further network, assist and support Mandarin teaching programs in ACT schools and preschools.

Communication

Working with a broad range of partners within the ACT to enhance the learning of Mandarin and promote the understanding of Chinese culture through education is a key priority of the Mandarin Blueprint.

Liaising and communicating with educators, education providers and community associations provides anopportunity for authentic teaching and learning opportunities. Embracing partnerships with governments, businesses, universities and the community also provides valuable networking opportunities.

PRIORITY: COMMUNICATION

INITIATIVE

RESPONSIBILITY

PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES

Regular sharing of initiatives and opportunities / ACT Education and Training Directorate
Community Language Schools Association
Canberra Multicultural Community Forum
University of Canberra
Association for Learning Mandarin in Australia Inc (ALMA) / Convene a meeting of the Community Language Schools Association four times a year to share current initiatives and activities occurring in the ACT which promote language learning and engagement with languages and cultures.
Increased networking for language teachers / ACT Education and Training Directorate / Provide the opportunity for a representative from the ACT Chinese Language Network to attend meetings conducted by the committee of the Modern Language Teachers Association of the ACT Inc. to enhance cross-sectoral input and increase communication and collaboration between languages teachers.
Development and provision of community and education websites / Association for Learning Mandarin in Australia Inc. (ALMA) / Coordinate and promote the ALMA website to provide a comprehensive list of sites where Mandarin can be learnt in the ACT – from playgroups and preschools to adult education.
Continue to provide details and promote community events and other activities related to Chinese culture and Mandarin.
Mandarin Speaking Ambassadors / Association for Learning Mandarin in Australia Inc. (ALMA)
Australian National University (ANU) / Encourage student ambassadors from the College of Asia and the Pacific to promote tertiary studies in Mandarin.
Explore links with the ANU to identify and establish a pool of Mandarin-speaking ambassadors.
Identified ambassadors to liaise with school principals and Chinese teachers to visit schools to promote and inspire current students to learn Chinese and engage in Chinese culture.
Development and provision of community and education websites / Federation of Chinese Community of Canberra Inc. (FCCCI) - Chinese School / Further develop the FCCCI Chinese School website to provide a contemporary and functional online service to the school community.
Australia China Friendship Society Newsletter / Australia China Friendship Society ACT Branch / Publish a monthly Australia China Friendship Society newsletter to keep members informed of upcoming activities and provide general information about topics of interest relating to China.
China student awards / Australia China Friendship Society ACT Branch / Recognise the recipients of China student awards, and acknowledge the achievement of the highest performing Chinese language student and most improved Chinese language student in Canberra public high schools and colleges.
Organise an annual forum at the ANU to share progress and discuss achievements aligned with the Mandarin Blueprint / Association for Learning Mandarin in Australia Inc (ALMA)
Australian National University / Coordinate and facilitate an annual meeting to share progress and discuss achievements.

Future Focus Areas