The proportion of taking Asian language has reduced in senior students.

1.     The proportion of senior students studying Asian language has reduced

In the latest education news, it is reported that senior students are stopping to take Asian languages in senior years. A large number of high school students in NSW are giving up on Asian languages at a tremendous rate. Although the overall rate is still rising, the number of students who learn Asian languages has shrunk by 27% from 2010 to 2012. In 2013, only 902HSC students are studying Chinese this year, a 5 per cent drop from last year. (McNeilage.A, Tovey.J, 2013) 

The reason why this situation occurred, is explained by the president of the Board of Studies NSW, Tom Alegounarias (2013): “To the extent that studying a language is a functional advantage for interacting globally, the paradox is that as the world globalises, you don't need another language and people are aware of that''. Meanwhile, the enrolment of Asian languages in primary and secondary students are increasing and numbers of these school senior students are learning Asian languages courses as a compulsory.（NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2013）However, the rate of students continuing to study more advanced Asian languages in the senior years continues to drop. 

There are many factors contributing to the decline of senior students taking Asian languages; Dr Liz Ellis (2013), a lecturer in linguistics area at the UNE expressed her opinion “the closer a language is in structure and general orientation, the easier it tends to be to learn”. Obviously, there is a huge dissimilarity between Asian language and English due to the different grammar, pronunciation and culture. Hence, Australia student much prefer choosing a language which is similar to English to study. This year 663 HSC students took French as a beginner, meanwhile only 52 students took Chinese as a beginner. I believe that some senior students may be interested in learning an Asian language. However, because of the competitive schooling environment and the pressure of trying to get into a good university, students are weighting what courses are more advantages towards their results. They know that compared to the Asian students, they have already lost at the starting line. Thus many of them decide not to learn an Asian language.

My objective is to become a Chinese teacher. Seeing this data is disappointing and worrying. The unemployed rate has increased significantly and under this situation, the career prospect for language teacher is not optimistic. As we all know, Australia is a multicultural country. It is worth noting that Asian population in Australia in the recent years has significantly grown. This incremental population is mainly composed of overseas students, workers and investors. Under this circumstance, Asian culture has transmitted into Australia to some extent. In the recent decade, the economy of some Asian countries has spectacularly increased. At the same time, the international standing has risen notably. Therefore, I think it is necessary and beneficial to learn an Asian language, especially a multicultural country like Australia. Moreover, learning an extra language is an opportunity to widen our horizon and broaden our understanding of a different culture. We can enhance our own cultural attainment and find our own cultural identity through learning a foreign language (Brown.B, 2010). However, it is best not to learn a language under enforcement as learners can lose their interest and motivation, perhaps even cause repulsion. In my opinion, schools can promote the benefits of learning Asian languages to students. Government should planning effort to make available appropriately trained teachers in sufficient numbers. (Lo Bianco.L, 2009)For instance, under the rapid development in some Asian countries, bilinguals have a better opportunity to get employed and a greater chance to get a job with good pay. Studying a language is a long process, but the results are rewarding as Asian countries including China, Indonesia, Japan and Korea are predicted to have significant impacts on Australia in the next 100 years (JERICHO.G,2011).     

References:

1. McNeilage.A, Tovey.Josephine (2013) Students stop taking Asian languages in senior years, Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald, Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/students-stop-taking-asian-languages-in-senior-years-20131007-2v4cu.html#ixzz2hFkW11vz

2. JERICHO.G (2011) The lost decade: learning Asian languages, Australia, ABC NEWS, Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3702656.html

3. Brown. Bob (2010), Revitalising Asian Languages Literacy in Our Schools, AUSTRALIAN GREENS http://wa.greens.org.au/files/Asian_languages.pdf

4. Lo Bianco.L, (2009), Second Languages and Australian Schooling, Australia, Australian Council for Educational Research www.acer.edu.au