"To develop the present relationship with this country, China, to great mutual economic and social benefit would require a solid pool of Australians who deeply understand China and can speak Chinese well. Figures at the end of 2007 show that fewer than 20% of Australians working in China can speak the language, and only 10% have studied even one China-related subject. At year 12 nationally, a scant 3% of students take Chinese, 94% of whom are first language speakers of Chinese."

Dr J.Orton, Report on Chinese Language Education in Australian Schools, October 2008

A national forum on the Future of Chinese Language Education in Australian Schools brought together key stakeholders and experts in Chinese language education from around the country.

A summary of ideas and strategies arising from discussions are presented in the National Forum Report (PDF 12.3 MB).

Access the entire program outline for presentations.

Note: You will need Quicktime Video Player to view videoclips. Download Quicktime here. 
Some of the video files are large and will take some time to download.

Forum Features
Dr Dahle Suggett Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victoria “I firmly believe that we need to be stretched – just doing more of the same will not enable us to achieve the aspirational 12% target.” Forum Opening Address (PDF 150 KB)	Dr Leonie Lethbridge ANZ Bank I can't make the case strongly enough as to the economic and social importance of China to Australia.	Dr Jane Orton The University of Melbourne Presentation of the Report on Chinese Language Education in Australian Schools
Lindsay Wasson Department of Education, New South Wales A 'whole region' approach to support the teaching of Chinese	Jessica McCulloch Hawkesdale P12 College, Victoria Remote but not cut off – making the most of new technologies	Dawna Leung Mandarin Stars, Sydney Creating a convincing Chinese language environment in an ordinary Australian venue
Ray McConnell Varsity College, Queensland Varsity College Chinese Immersion Program Years 6-12: When kangaroo meets dragon	Andrew Scrimgeour University of South Australia Seen from the learner's perspective: Engaging students meaningfully in learning about and learning how to use the Chinese writing system	Click cover image to download report (pdf: 3 MB)

Acknowledgement
The Future of Chinese Language Education in Australian Schools National Forum received funding support from the Australia-China Council and the Melbourne Confucius Institute, in partnership with the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at The University of Melbourne. The Forum was organised by the Asia Education Foundation and supported by Asialink.