Which language should we learn to be effective global citizens?

Learning outcome : Students will develop a perspective about the value of multilingualism in their local and global context. Learning Areas: Social Education - History, Geography, Economics; Civics and Citizenship; English, Mathematics; Languages other than English Year levels: Lower secondary Duration: Four 45 minute sessions Tools needed: Internet, Computers or print outs and reference materials

Define · Locate · Select · Organise · Present · Evaluate Define the task Scenario As Australians and global citizens you are in contact with speakers of many languages. You are to consider which language should be taught in your school. This will involve researching the language of your group and developing an argument to support it. Background Language is vital for forming our understanding of the world we live in. As we meet people who speak other languages through travel and business, social and education connections in our communities understanding other languages will assist our interaction. We learn to appreciate contributions of others, communicate sensitively and deepen our understanding about the rights of others through developing our language skills. There are nearly 7000 languages spoken around the world. Eight languages, English, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi (with Urdu), Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Bengali and Portuguese (ranked by proportion), have over 100 million speakers, accounting for 2.4 billion first language speakers or 40% of the world's population. Approximately 5% (347) of the world's languages have at least one million speakers and account for 94% of the world's population. The remaining 95% of languages are spoken by only 6% of the world's people; with more than 3000 languages now spoken by fewer than 10,000 people and 417 languages are nearly extinct. Collectively, Australians speak over 200 languages of which about 50 are Australian Indigenous languages. In this Global Learning Quest you will research languages and their use the world. In groups, you will investigate your allocated language and develop an argument to support learning it in your school. After each group has presented their recommendation the whole class will discuss their answer to the Global Question: Which language should we learn to be effective global citizens? Perspectives on the Global Question Outline of team roles Form groups to investigate one of the following languages. The ‘Other’ group(s) may select another language or more than one language. Chinese, Mandarin Chinese is the most commonly spoken language in the world by roughly 1.2 billion speakers in China and 178 million on other countries around the world. There are large numbers of loanwords from Chinese in Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese and Philippine. It is one of the official languages of the UN and its institutions. In 2007 China was Australia's second-largest trading partner and Chinese languages (including Cantonese, Mandarin and other Chinese languages) had the greatest number of speakers after English in Australia, accounting for approximately 2.5% of the total population. Australian Indigenous language At the time of European settlement, there were an estimated 250 languages spoken by the Indigenous people of Australia. Today only about 50 Australian Indigenous languages are actively spoken by more than 150 speakers. The most common Indigenous languages differ between states and territories reflecting the origins of particular Aboriginal groups and their continuity with their traditional lands. Arrernte (2,835 speakers), Djambarrpuyngu (2,766), Pitantjatjara (2,657) and Walpiri (2,507) are the languages with the most speakers. Australian Indigenous languages give a unique understanding of place and culture. Learning the local Indigenous language is a means of keeping them alive. Providing education in the Indigenous language of the area recognises the rights of Indigenous people to protect their culture. It also improves general literacy which in turn will lead to improved access to information and employment. Spanish Spanish is the mother tongue of approximately 320 million people in 21 countries, and is widely spoken in another 21 countries where it is not an official language. Spanish is the world's third most spoken first language, after Chinese and Hindustani. There are 98,000 Spanish speakers in Australia, making it the eighth most commonly spoken language. Other language There are many languages spoken around the world. Your group will choose a language (or languages) other than Chinese, English, Indigenous Australian or Spanish. This may be the one already learnt at your school. English English is spoken by 309 million as a first language and many as a second language. It has a special administrative function in about 70 countries. It dominates much international communication, especially the internet and aviation. As the official Australian language it is vitally important that we have a deep understanding of English. There are so many other languages spoken in Australia that it is impossible to choose just one and it would be costly to train teachers and develop education materials for the learning of each language. Access to online translation tools also decreases the need to learn another language. Locate Learning about language use http://url.edna.edu.au/7SvH Learning languages http://url.edna.edu.au/xgcp Chinese http://url.edna.edu.au/zgUp Spanish http://url.edna.edu.au/hWsd Indigenous Australian languages http://url.edna.edu.au/pKSn Other languages http://url.edna.edu.au/wncy English http://url.edna.edu.au/FXzM

Select information Background questions Which are the most commonly spoken languages in Australia and in the world? Which languages are in danger of being lost? How does language help us understand the world? (for example – compare some translations of abstract nouns to gain an insight in the thinking and expression of ideas in another language) What is the value of speaking more than one language? What resources are needed to learn another language? What barriers are there to learning more than one language? Which language(s) are spoken in your school? Team specific questions Where is your language spoken? How many people speak your language (this might include first and second language speakers)? What connections are there between your language and Australian community (this might include family, business and other connections)? What contributions does your language make in the international community? What features of your language would assist students in Australia to learn it (this might include number of speakers in the community, ease of learning the language)? Why should your language be taught in your school? Organise Use the websites listed under ‘Learning about language use’ and ‘Learning languages’ to answer the background questions. Create a PMI chart about the value of learning more than one language. Research information and statistics and create an overview of the use and features of your language. Develop an information pack or presentation about your group's language to convince the other groups of the importance of your language. This could include information about the countries where the language is spoken, connections between the countries where the language is spoken and Australia, or a benefit of speaking the language, some vodcasts of key phrases such as greetings, names of people, food, places and or songs to teach others. Develop some points to support this language as the language to be learnt at your school. Identify any further research you need to undertake to support your answer to the global question: Which language should we learn to be effective global citizens? Present Each group presents its information pack or presentation to other groups to evaluate the argument for learning the focus language. OR Create a fair with displays of the information packs or presentation around the room for others to view and interview you about the value of your language. After all the presentations: As a group decide what recommendation to make about language learning in your school or class in response to the global question: Which language should we learn to be effective global citizens? Evaluate     High Medium Low Collecting information       Ability to gather relevant information Used a large number of appropriate resources to gather information that was important and related to the questions Used a variety of resources and collected information that was generally useful Used only one or two resources and did not select the key points to answer the questions Ability to use information to support a particular perspective. Able to develop an understanding of a particular point of view about multilingualism and support this well with information gathered Presented a key aspect of a particular point of view about the multilingualism and provided some information to support it Formed an opinion about their country's involvement in international sport with only a limited reference to information. Working as a team       Ability to work with others in a group Listened carefully to others, shared own information and supported others to express their point of view and keep the group working together well Listened to others and made some comments to support the group to work together Listened to some people but did not always encourage others to contribute their ideas Presenting information       Ability to present information with rationale Presented the key points with supportive evidence Supported the key points with some evidence Presented some key points in a short manner Taking action       Ability to reflect on the value of speaking more than one language Able to explain the value of speaking more than one language and the connection with global citizenship Able to explain the value of speaking more than one language Able to ask a question about the value of speaking more than one language

The Year 3 class at Apia Lower Primary School , Samoa uses materials in the local language and English to develop improved literacy skills. Geoff Adlide/AusAID