Partnership boosts language learning
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Language students in South Australian Catholic schools will benefit from a landmark partnership between Catholic Education SA and the Indonesian Consulate General in Sydney.
A joint initiative will see the two organisations collaborating to support the learning and teaching of Indonesian language in Catholic schools in South Australia and of English in Indonesia.
A formal agreement was signed by Mukhamad Najib, attaché for Education from the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra and Neil McGoran, director, Catholic Education South Australia (CESA), at a ceremony held at Cardijn College, Noarlunga, in front of representatives from the Consulate-General of Indonesia in Sydney, CESA, Flinders University and the Australian Indonesian Association of South Australia.
There are nearly 2700 students studying Indonesian in nine Catholic schools in South Australia – four of them in Adelaide’s southern suburbs.
The focus will initially be on the learning and teaching of Indonesian in Catholic schools in Adelaide’s southern region, which will then be replicated into other Catholic schools in South Australia where Indonesian is taught.
Through professional learning opportunities, online collaboration, school-to-school partnerships, exchange visits and forums, this initiative will promote equity and social justice to support students to:
- communicate across cultures
- become responsible, successful, active and informed local and global citizens
- become aware that the decisions they will make in the future might impact people and situations in many different environments around the world.
“The Memorandum of Understanding now signed will support the development of intercultural and globally aware citizens for our ever more interconnected world,” said Ludgero Rego, CESA’s education advisor, Languages & Cross Curriculum Priorities .
“Through enhanced Indonesian learning and teaching, students in CESA schools will benefit from opportunities for online learning, community events and stronger school to school relations with our friends in Indonesia.”
Addressing the gathering, Dr McGoran said Catholic schools remain committed to supporting schools in implementing quality languages programs and highlighted the importance of providing pathways for the learning of Indonesian in CESA schools right through to university.
“Catholic education prioritises the learning and teaching of languages and cultures as part of the Australian Curriculum,” he said.
“In the southern region, we aim to provide pathways for the learning of Indonesian by linking together primary, secondary and tertiary settings so that children and young people can grow in their understanding and appreciation of the language and culture.”
Dr McGoran added that CESA values the development of new relationship and friendships with other students, teachers and schools in other countries through the learning of languages and cultures.
“Learning a language isn’t easy but it sure is rewarding.
“Studying Indonesian is an opportunity to develop new relationships and friendships, to learn about culture and language and to explore aspects of history, sport, politics and geography.
“I hope that our students studying Indonesian and a range of other languages in our Catholic schools will continue to develop intercultural and global capabilities so they can be ready to socialise, live and work in different environments and different countries around the world.”
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