Language education in Australian schools is in a state of dismay. In 2021, only 8.6 per cent of Year 12 students were enrolled in a language — a historical low.
In fact, between 2010 and 2021 the nation saw a 23 per cent drop in this figure.
Over this time, trying to entice students with the career advantages of language studies hasn't worked. Nor has 40 minutes a week to learn some of the most challenging languages for English speakers.
It's no wonder the vast majority drop their language studies the moment it's deemed an elective.
For a frontline practitioner like me, I'd much prefer students remain ignorant and neutral about another language and culture — rather than feeling failed by a system that leaves them with a sour taste from having engaged with another culture.
The necessity of language learning
Some people ask why language learning is an important part of 21st-century education in an English-speaking country.
The reality is, for Australia to remain globally competitive and coherent as a multicultural society, language learning needs to be seen as an essential part of quality education for all, and not simply a nice-to-have.
Australia has never been short of language advocacy efforts that highlight the various benefits of language learning, such as greater cognitive flexibility and executive functions; the delayed onset of Alzheimer's disease; and enhanced understanding of your own mother tongue.
However, the fact that they are simply "benefits" with no real consequences if "missed" has only led to Australia seeming like a nation that doesn't take language learning seriously.
And with so few students engaged in language learning at an intermediate level of proficiency (typically required of Year 12 students), next-generation Australians now risk being ill-equipped to participate and contribute effectively in intercultural settings — whether that's our own culturally diverse workforce or international business, study and diplomacy.
A contemporary argument for language learning
Any bilingual would attest to the fact that language is key to accessing the deep and invisible layers of culture, such as beliefs, values, approaches, attitudes and perspectives.
According to the Asia Education Foundation, breaking out of one's comfort zone and learning about how the roots of other cultures may be similar or different to one's own is key to developing empathy, resolution and respect, and it's the path to challenging assumptions, stereotypes and prejudices.
With Census 2021 showing that Australia has become more culturally diverse than ever, and with global political tensions growing by the day, it has become more important for students to be able to engage with people from different cultures — for peace and harmony, both nationally and internationally.
So rather than focusing solely on language proficiency, school-based language learning can serve as a direct means for developing intercultural capabilities and understanding.
This creates an opportunity for language learning in schools.
Studying languages develops intercultural capabilities
In schools, learning about other cultures often involves learning about many "visible" things, such as the five Fs — food, festivals, famous people, fashion and flags.
But studying a language to at least an intermediate level of proficiency allows one to start seeing deeper cultural patterns that are not necessarily accessible through learning about different foods, festivals and cultural traditions.
For example, mastering Chinese inevitably requires a thorough understanding of "face," a concept that encapsulates the notion of social status, reputation and interpersonal harmony.
As successful communication in Chinese necessarily requires the preservation of "face", appropriate use of language is not only a matter of grammatical correctness, but also the selection of content, word variants, idioms, terms of address (titles) and voice, i.e. whether you should talk in first, second or third person.
Even when interacting with Chinese people speaking English, you may often find they bring with them the cultural assumption of "face" into their use of English.
For example, they may find our invitation to shift to a first-name basis culturally awkward and stick to using formal titles to stay "safe."
This is where intercultural understanding comes in.
How a Chinese person's expression (in Chinese or English) is to be interpreted is something you will likely misjudge without having learnt Chinese, especially if the Chinese person is also unaware of how English is used in the Australian culture.
Obviously, you won't be able to learn the native language of everyone you meet, but what language learning teaches you is to never assume, judge or stereotype.
It shows you how at least one other language is built upon different cultural roots, so that you have the skills to unpack and appreciate the roots of other languages and cultures.
The future of language education in Australia
For many decades, public debates about language education in Australia have been plagued and stifled by the notion of relevancy.
In the past, Australians have been sold a narrative that learning a language will help anyone interested with global trade and business.
More than a decade has now passed, and if we have learnt anything, it's that such a rationale has failed to engage our school-aged students.
The notion of relevancy is likely to continue being challenged in a world where English is the dominant lingua franca, and where translation technologies are getting better by the day.
On the one hand, language seems to be increasingly less of an obstacle for low-cost and low-risk communication, such as giving taxi drivers directions in Seoul, or making public-safety announcements using Arabic-only signage at the train station in Lakemba, NSW.
On the other hand, the growing disengagement with language learning implies a loss in the development of intercultural capability and understanding.
This potentially puts more Australians at risk of causing misunderstandings and miscommunication with both fellow Australians and the world at large.
Repurposing language learning for intercultural understanding not only prepares next generation Australians with an edge to engage globally, but it also provides the necessary skills to function in an increasingly diverse Australia.
Perhaps it's aspirational, but one day I hope we see Australians embracing language learning as an intellectual pursuit in its own right — just as we embrace learning about Ancient Egyptian pharaohs, prime numbers and Bunsen burners.
Stanley Wang is the former principal of Abbotsford Primary School, Australia's oldest Chinese/English bilingual school. He was named one of the 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians in 2021, and in 2022 he received the NEiTA Founders' Principals Award for Leadership. Stanley is a passionate language learner and educator, and a strong advocate for cultural diversity in education. Stanley is currently undertaking a sojourn in the Baltics to study Russian, his sixth language.