Mutilculturalism and language studies

Language study is the key bridging between culture and culture as it helps increases the awareness and appreciation of cultural differences. As Wadham, Pudsey & Boyd (2007) describes, languages are "ordering principals" made up of signs and symbols that contains meanings of different perceptions on things and it is part of culture because people uses this ordering principals to communicate.( Wadham, B., Pudsey, J., & Boyd, R. 2007) Learning other languages can give us understanding of other cultures shortening the cultural gap.  This is especially important in Australia as we are living in a cultural diverse environment. Learning foreign languages in school supports multiculturalism by creating harmony and acceptance between different cultures.  Learning foreign languages and cultures in schools give children the opportunity to experiences new ideas and traditions other than their own, increasing their field of vision, effectively lowering ignorance and stereotyping. Learning languages in school also help contribute towards cultural acceptance by leaving children with the freedom to explore, for example building up students curiosity in other cultures and hence allowing them to build relationships with people from other culture. I am currently studying languages in UNSW and for me, personally, I have observed and found that learning foreign languages is effective in bringing people from different background and cultures together because people tends to find a sense of belonging and bond when interacting with others who knows or be fascinated by the culture of your own.

Although language learning is contributing so much in a multicultural society, it is very unfortunate to see the fact that the importance of language studies is being neglected by schools and many students and parents. Many schools don't even offer language courses to students due to the fact that many of them had put their focuses on the common and competitive subjects such as Maths and science and the fact that not many students are choosing them. For me, I didn't even know that language courses exist in primary school until I was told by some friend in University due to the fact that my primary school did not have such offer. In regards to this issue I found a related news article today, the 9th of October, which talks about the appropriate remedy to this problem. In the article it is stated that the number of students undertaking language courses in NSW is dangerously low this year and proposals were made to address the problem, two among which are giving students extra Atar points for choosing a language course and making language studies compulsory in primary schools.
For more information of the article visit: http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/bonus-points-plan-to-raise-low-levels-of-language-study-20131008-2v6e3.html.

In the article it is stated that on one hand the board of study is trying to implement the system of giving students bonus Atar points and on the other language teachers argues that it is more important for the government to put funding on making language course compulsory in primary schools. I understand the fact that the government is trying to attract more people to learn languages, but this strategy, in my own opinion, does not help support multiculturalism the way I described because of the fact that many students will be doing the course for the sake of passing instead of learning it or finding the joy within it. On the other hand I understand that language teachers are eager to try to develop student's interest in languages in the early stages and I completely agree with this view, but for me, personally, I think it is more important that we put our focus on teacher's ability in maintaining student's interest and delivering effective learning environment. It is important that teacher knows how to manage classroom effectively and how to utilize their resources to their full potential and I think it is more important to focus on how to improve teacher's abilities to teach effectively.

Reference:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/bonus-points-plan-to-raise-low-levels-of-language-study-20131008-2v6e3.html

Wadham, B., Pudsey, J., & Boyd, R. (2007). "Chapter 1: What is Culture?" " Culture and Education" Sydney: Pearson Education