Starting a new language education program.

Harris, Kathy

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Introduction

Early years and primary teachers have a unique opportunity to apply their strong teaching practices, classroom management and understanding of childhood literacy development to teaching a language. They could provide the 'dream scenario' of introducing a subsequent language in a purposeful, social and communicative environment with only a simple level of language acquisition and cultural understanding to begin with. No one would argue that poor skills are acceptable in the long term just because the students are young; however, In the current climate getting the right teachers in the right places Is a problem that cannot be solved by conventional means.

This paper reports on a project from Independent Schools Queensland to Increase language programs in schools by retraining classroom teachers. Seventeen teachers applied to attend either a study tour in-country and do an online language course, or to complete a Diploma in a language. The experiences of two teachers from different schools are discussed to Identify patterns of behaviour and thinking In light of the Queensland languages education context.

Analysis of these case studies reveals the early years teachers embraced their new role with enthusiasm and confidence when they had some experiences of language learning in the past themselves. However, being a complete beginner does not preclude teachers from being Inspired to do a good job of teaching the new language using their understanding of how young children develop literacy in their first language. The analysis suggests primary teachers who see an opportunity to learn and teach a new language can rely on lesser language skills, excellent teaching skills and a deep understanding of childhood literacy development in the short term.

Context

Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) Is an association of member schools including Anglican, Uniting, Lutheran, Grammar, Special Assistance, Islamic and Christian schools. Member schools are currently providing up to 13 different languages programs. These include some Aboriginal languages, Japanese, French, Chinese, German, Spanish, Italian, Indonesian, Auslan, Hebrew, Arabic, Korean and Latin. Student numbers are very high In the middle years but often decrease significantly by senior schooling. Despite this trend, which is common in all states and territories, independent schools maintain a graduation rate of 14.5 per cent of Year 12 students with language studies.

The Commonwealth Government has set a challenging goal of seeing the take up of languages in schools to be 40 per cent within a decade (Office of the Minister for Education and Training, 2014). In order to make progress in this area ISQ has committed under Commonwealth funding (Students First Support Funding) to support Languages Education and Increase school programs. The purpose of the 'Increasing Languages Project' reported in this paper is to increase numbers of teachers who can teach languages and in doing so start languages programs in schools or expand existing programs into new phases of schooling.

The ISQ 'Increasing Languages Project' In 2014 and 2015 has provided a somewhat unconventional way of addressing the issue of retaining language teachers in remote or regional schools and starting programs In small schools that cannot support the employment of an additional teacher. Often, the response to this scenario is to use an online course with companies such as Rosetta Stone or My Chinese Tutor. However, having a real person engaging with familiar students is a more sustainable and comprehensive way to teach and learn so online programs were considered to be supplemental only. Two options were provided to member schools to support them to train a teacher already on staff to become a Languages Education teacher. The first option of Intensive Language Learning involved an in-country study tour and a weekly tutorial. The second option was for funding to complete a Graduate Diploma in a language.

The two options for language learning are described here.

Intensive Language Learning Program

Successful applicants from member schools chose to attend a short in-country course In New Caledonia, Germany, or Japan. These study tours were conducted In small groups or as individuals and included accommodation, most meals, travel expenses and course fees at no cost to the teacher or school. In conjunction with the travel program, the teachers also completed a weekly course in language proficiency for one term through a language association (Alliance Frangaise Brisbane/ The Goethe Institut/The Institute of Modern Languages at the University of Queensland). This represented a beginning point for the successful applicants, as fluency requires maintenance every year over the long term.

The Intensive Language Learning option gave teachers an accelerated start to language learning and prepared the teachers for beginning to teach a language In 2015. However, proficiency is something that Language Education teachers need to continually work on and it was expected that the successful applicants would continue their own professional learning after the project concluded.

Three languages were the focus of the language studies: Japanese, German and French. These were chosen because they are popular languages in schools and they were cost effective in some part due to available scholarships through the Australia Japan Society and The Goethe Institut.

Language Studies

The other option available to schools was to have a teacher complete a Graduate Diploma in a language over the course of two or three years. This was particularly suitable for language teachers who wanted to learn another language and expand programs in their schools. Any language could be chosen with the Language Studies option.

The Languages

Japanese

Japanese language education was at its most popular in the mid to late 1990s. Queensland continues to have the strongest Japanese language program numbers amongst the states and territories with 131 Independent schools offering Japanese Language programs, an increase of 46 schools since 2000. Only two per cent of the total number of students learning Japanese continue the language through to Year 12. This is a similar percentage for Chinese (two per cent) and less than German (three per cent). Japanese language teaching has a strong 50-year history in Queensland.

German

German has a comparatively strong number of Year 12 graduates (209 In 2012) in Independent schools despite the number of secondary school language programs declining since 2005. However student numbers in primary schools have increased. Lutheran schools have a long history of teaching German in Australian schools. The first Lutheran schools were initially populated by German settlers and were conducted entirely in German.

French

French continues to be a popular language and has the highest percentage of graduates (four per cent) in independent schools--ahead of Chinese, Japanese, German and Spanish. French is the official language of 44 countries and is a robust program choice as it has maintained high numbers from Prep to Year 12 in independent schools in the past 25 years.

All applicants for the project were interviewed by a School Support Officer from ISQ. School principals provided a letter of support for the applicant. They also signed an agreement to commit to supporting the teaching of the target language by the successful applicant and to provide school funded study days for the teacher during the study period.

The benefit of the ISQ Increasing Language Education Programs project for schools is that something can be started that may not have occurred without support. It also provides opportunities to develop a sustainable program. Many Queensland Independent schools, particularly those outside of the Brisbane metropolitan area, have difficulty sourcing quality language teachers. The smaller schools can have problems finding a teacher that can teach from Prep to Year 12 successfully. After finding a suitable language teacher regional schools often have difficulties keeping them long term. The ISQ project to increase language programs allows schools to upskill teachers already on staff to teach the target language. They can then develop other ways to supplement the teaching In ways such as: online activities for the students, the Language Learning Space from Education Services Australia and with volunteer language assistants from the target language countries.

Nine Queensland Independent schools have started offering a language program In 2015 as a result of the ISQ project Increasing Language Education Programs, funded by Commonwealth Government Financial Assistance. There are 17 teachers in total currently retraining as language teachers through the ISQ project and more are expected to apply in November to start in 2016.

All of the new language teachers are supported by an officer from ISQ. The officer visits them at their schools and observes a lesson. They are put In contact with a mentor who is an experienced language teacher working in the independent sector and they attend an induction day and follow up day for new teachers. The induction day includes a presentation about developing global citizen capabilities in students, creating sister school relationships and planning for the future. Each teacher is encouraged to consider them self a language learner with expertise in teaching who can support language learning of students with the right support, resources, skills and commitment.

Two schools were chosen as case studies for this research. The first (School 1) is Included because it is typical of small primary schools in the independent sector. The teacher involved in the project was particularly motivated and confident about her future role change and the challenge she was facing. She had studied the target language in high school until graduation. The second (School 2) Is another Independent primary school but with a different demographic. The school students are from a range of cultural and language backgrounds. The participating teachers were new to language learning and were excited and a little nervous about the challenge ahead when they started.

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The analysis of the case studies was done through an Analytical Approach where the case study is examined in order to try and understand what has happened and why (Monash University, 2015). In this paper, the collective case studies Illustrate different adoption of new language programs In primary schools. By describing more than one case a comparison can be developed (Creswell, 2008).

Case Study 1

School 1 Is an Independent Lutheran school of 200 students In a leafy setting south of Brisbane. Like many other Lutheran schools, It originated as a German language Immersion school for migrant children linked to the Lutheran church In the early 1900s and was closed around the time of the Second World War. The Lutheran church community officially opened the school In 1976 as a Lutheran school, with 18 early years students in the church hall. Their connection with the German language ended there. Japanese language programs were very popular In the 1990s due to the support of the University of Queensland and a government initiative to introduce Asian languages In Queensland, much like the current support for Chinese (Mandarin) language. School 1 offered Japanese during that time to Year 4 and above and this year have re-established a Japanese language program in the early years, after 20 years without one.

Marie (her name has been changed) teaches in the preparatory year at the school. In 2014, Marie expressed interest In improving her High School language skills and knowledge through the Intensive Language Learning Program from Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ). She did a Japanese course through the Institute of Modern Languages (IML) at the University of Queensland and then went to Kanazawa, Japan, for a 2 week study tour for beginners In September 2014. On her return, Marie started planning to teach Japanese to her Prep students in 2015 with plans to extend to other classes In the following years.

Teacher as learner

Marie learned Japanese In high school, as did her husband. As Marie explained:

Two years ago my husband and I travelled to Japan and had a great time fumbling through using our limited Japanese. I am looking forward, as a personal challenge as well as a career challenge, to have the opportunity to learn and then teach my students another language'. She explained that her family background encouraged learning. 'I grew up in a family full of teachers and have always been encouraged to learn and grow In my life experiences.

Once I was older and was financially able to I began travelling and became so Interested in the cultural and language differences of different societies'. Marie sees her purpose as a language teacher to introduce her young students to other languages and cultures. 'I believe there Is so much Ignorance In our society. I want to provide students with the opportunity to be able to communicate with others across the globe.

Once Marie started teaching Japanese she made contact with her mentor, a primary school Japanese teacher at another school. However, on her study tour she had met a teacher from another state whom she related to very well and they have decided to keep In close contact and support each other with their teaching of Japanese. Her study tour colleague has provided her with a form of mentoring as she has experience as a teacher of Japanese and has developed a whole school Japanese program In her own school.

She joined a language teachers' association, the Modern Language Teachers Association of Queensland (MLTAQ), and an ISQ learning management system, Connect and Learn, to use the 'Languages community of practice' for resource sharing, discussions, news, event listings and online courses. She is also part of an email group of Japanese language teachers in the Independent sector and follows a members-only Facebook page called 'Japanese Language Teachers of Australia'. Marie has not studied language teaching methodology but Independent Schools Queensland has begun creating online courses for language teachers In methodology to meet that need. Marie and other Independent sector language teachers will be able to access these courses In 2016.

There Is one other Prep class in the room next door to Marie's. She has a good relationship with her partner teacher and their supporting aides so she teaches Japanese to both Prep classes by swapping for a session with her partner teacher. She would like to spend a little more time with the other Prep class because they are not exposed to the Incidental Japanese teaching that occurs in her own class through dally greetings and instructions given in Japanese. One possibility she is considering is to teach a small group of Prep students during their literacy block that occurs for both classes at the same time. Both classes have a Prep teacher aide and a set of computer tablets that would allow them to have 5 rotational groups plus one Independent group working on a language App and another working with a language game. There is also a parent interested in improving her High School Japanese language skills now that her own child is learning the language. She could be another adult in the rotational groups, making 8 rotational groups In total.

Leadership and future directions

The Principal and Deputy Principal (Curriculum) of School 1 are keen to establish a program of Japanese learning throughout the whole school. The principal knows the brain benefits for language learners and the positive effect of language learning on first language literacy so she is ready to support Languages Education for all the students. She will need to work through timetabling issues with her staff as they already have specialist lessons for Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Physical Education and Music. She plans to move the ICT specialist lessons Into classrooms and out of a separate timeslot by 2017, allowing Japanese to become a separate lesson across the school as a non-contact time for teachers. Nothing Is happening with culture and language Integration In a formal way at a whole school level at the moment but excursions, Incursions, bilingual signage and a display In the library or school reception are all possibilities for 2016. The Prep children have eagerly practiced the Disney Frozen song 'Let it Go' In Japanese for assembly.

Marie is considering doing another IML course and returning to Kanazawa In 2016 to advance her language learning further. The school will also organise for another teacher to learn Japanese through the ISQ Increasing Language Programs project in 2016.

An Adventure to the Land of the Rising Sun

Marie, School 1

During September/October 2014, I was very fortunate to go on a study tour to Japan, through the generous donation of ISO's grant program to support early childhood teachers In becoming language teachers. As my school did not currently have a language program, I was eager to put up my hand and participate. What an amazing trip and an extraordinary way to kick off my study to become a Japanese language teacher. I have always had a love of Japan since studying the language In high school and had previously travelled there twice, once on a high school trip and once with my husband. I was very much looking forward to studying more about the language and learning about cultural aspects during my two week course.

My husband travelled with me to Japan and we spent one week in Kyoto prior to the commencement of my course. Once in Kanazawa (located towards the West Coast), I was given the opportunity to stay with a home-stay family. This was an incredible experience and allowed me to gain a greater understanding of the culture and opportunity to practise the language I was learning each day.

Here is a little about my trip ... written in JAPANESE!!

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My name is Marie. On the 20th September I came from Australia (to Japan). My husband (Brendan) and I took the train to Kyoto. We saw Kinkakuji Temple. It was very pretty.

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Then on the 28th September my husband (Brendan) returned to Australia by plane. I headed by train from Kyoto to Kanazawa. I studied Japanese in Kanazawa from the 29th September until the 11th October.

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Kanazawa is wonderful and an Interesting place. Kanazawa has many cultural activities to do. On the 29th September, in the afternoon, I learned to play the Koto (Japanese Harp). On the 30th September, In the afternoon, I went to Kenrokuen Gardens and Kanazawa Castle. They were very quiet and peaceful.

On the 4th October I went to Kaga Onsen (Japanese communal baths). I had a foot onsen. It was very enjoyable.

   (*** So I need to mention that it is a
   great past time for Japanese men and
   women to go and bathe naked with
   their fellow citizens in gender specific
   public baths. A few of us on the course
   opted to have a foot spa instead ...
   maybe next time.)

On the 7th October, in the afternoon, we took a train and visited an elementary school. We met many students.

   (*** This was a really interesting
   experience. We each had to prepare a
   speech in Japanese and spoke to the
   entire cohort of Year 6 students- about
   150 students. We were then taken
   to their classrooms where we spoke
   about Australia and then learned more
   about Kanazawa from the students.)

At 6 o'clock I went to a restaurant for dinner (**with my host family and some of their friends). We ate sea slugs and eel. I liked the eel (u na gi) but I didn't like the sea slug (ma ki gai).

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On Wednesday, in the afternoon, I went to a gold leaf class. It was very Interesting.

   (*** Gold leaf is incredibly thin and just
   about crumbles if you breathe near it.
   The craftsmen who have decorated
   the temples must have been incredibly
   skilled. Ninety per cent of gold leaf
   used in Japan comes from the city of
   Kanazawa where I completed my study
   course).

This gives you an idea of some of the cultural activities that I participated In during my stay In Kanazawa; however, the majority of my days were spent studying In an international language school called the Ishikawa Foundation for International Exchange (IFIE). The teachers were very helpful and classes were small, which meant we had a lot more of opportunities to practise speaking the things we were learning in class discussions. This has equipped me with some language and cultural knowledge but I still have a long way to go with my studies.

The opportunity to do an in-country study tour initiated my desire to learn this language even more and I went on to study Japanese through the University of Queensland at the Institute of Modern Languages in 2015. I also began teaching the Prep students and I look forward to continuing my Japanese language learning and expanding my teaching in 2016 to teach the rest of the primary school students what I have learned about Japan, Its people, its culture and the language.

French culture and language in New Caledonia

Lisa and Lottie, School 2

As a small school with just six teachers we had not had an opportunity to offer a languages education program. The Increasing Language Programs Project 2014/2015 from ISQ allowed us to do this. This unique opportunity allowed two teachers from my school to complete a ten week French course with Alliance Francais de Brisbane and then travel to New Caledonia for two weeks. In addition, we also received a grant of $1000 to spend on resources while we were immersing ourselves in the language and culture of New Caledonia.

My colleague and I were both complete novices In French so we enrolled in the 'Absolute Beginners' course at Alliance Frangalse. Over ten weeks, for three hours a week, we learnt basic sentence structure, verbs, greetings, numbers and foods. Upon arriving in New Caledonia, just a few weeks after finishing the course, I was so glad that we had already started learning the language as it was very challenging but it gave us a unique and Invaluable opportunity to rapidly expand our vocabulary and work on grammar and syntax in an authentic environment.

ISQ had arranged for each of the participants to stay with a local host family and my colleague and I were placed with the same family. Our families provided us with breakfast and dinner each day, as well as transportation to the Centre de Rencontres etd'Echanges Internationaux du Pacifique (CREIPAC), the language school, each morning. We felt very comfortable and welcome in our families' home and we had an excellent set-up with wifi and all the resources we needed. Our host family was very friendly and keen to help us learn new words and phrases. The food was delicious In fact we were spoiled with at least a three course meal at every sitting!

Monday to Friday we had three hours of class in the morning; the rest of the day was ours, to immerse ourselves in the culture, practice our language skills and experience the best of New Caledonia. We were able to share in cultural experiences that simply would not be possible back in Australia. We took part in the 'Epiphany festival' which celebrates the arrival of the three wise men in Bethlehem at the birth of Jesus.

We also took part in a march of solidarity with our homestay families, to show our support for France in the wake of the shocking terrorist attacks on January 7.

We were surrounded by people bearing the sign 'Je suis Charlie' and stood in awe as the crowd broke Into singing the French National Anthem, before being addressed by the Human Rights Minister.

Our experience In New Caledonia gave us a real Insight Into French and New Caledonia culture. We were able to practice our language skills in authentic situations, all the while being spoilt by stunning views, amazing food and gorgeous weather! The classes offered by CREIPAC were fantastic. It is clear that they have much experience in working with students of all levels and our teacher was able to tailor the programs to suit our abilities. Our teacher Jean-Pierre was a brilliant and talented man who speaks French, English and Japanese fluently. I felt like I learnt infinitely more at CREIPAC than I could at a French course In Australia.

It was so helpful being able to talk to the other teachers in the program about what they are using In their schools and how they have gone about setting up their program. We were also able to purchase several children's books and games in New Caledonia to help with teaching. I was especially excited about sharing the French version of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' with my students.

The students in our school have benefited from the learning experiences we had, the resources purchased and the enthusiasm we have gained for teaching French.

Case Study 2

School 2 is a Christian education school for Kindy and primary aged students in Ipswich. The suburb's occupants include retirees, young families and defence personnel from the nearby Air Force Base. This area has a higher socio economic demographic than its neighbouring satellite city.

Teachers Lisa and Lottie (their names have been changed) went to New Caledonia in January 2015 on a two-week intensive study tour and completed a language course through Alliance Frangaise. After the study tour Lisa began teaching French to the Year 2, 3 and 4 students at the school. Lottie moved into the Principal role but continues to support Lisa by occasionally taking a class and staying interested in what is happening with French teaching and learning.

Teacher as learner

Lisa grew up in Sydney in a very multicultural area and had travelled a little. She loves to 'travel and learn about new cultures' and was 'excited about learning about French culture and language'. Lisa's motivation to teach French came from her belief that 'it's important for children to learn about other cultures because ignorance drives intolerance and racism. Knowing about others helps children realise that being different is not a bad thing'. Lisa sees the need to 'create global citizens who think outside of their local area' and is teaching her students with this in mind.

Lottie agreed with her colleague that 'students need exposure to different languages, to better understand other people'. Her motivation for teaching French was to get 'students excited about our world and become interested in other cultures and why people do things differently'. Lottie also experienced multiculturalism through teaching in schools with a broad multicultural cohort and from her family heritage which is Samoan. Lottie is keen to create relationships with schools overseas and in her new role as principal will be well-placed to do this.

Lisa and Lottie have also joined the MLTAQ and the ISQ learning management system, Learn, to use the 'Languages community of practice'. Lisa is looking at resources she can use to support students as they progress as her own language levels are still at a beginner level.

Leadership and future directions

After the study tour Lisa decided she would use well-known fairy tales and children's stories in French with the students so they had a familiar text to help establish the new vocabulary. She started with Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar and then moved onto Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?--a classic children's picture book by Carle and Bill Martin. She planned a unit of work based on Brown Bear, Brown Bear in French.

Lisa plans to get some children's movies in French, such as Paddington Bear, and teach the children using the story and characters. She also wants to use fairy tales in French. The school is considering recruiting a language assistant to help in the classroom with vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar and to provide a reference for the students for pop culture and modern French interests.

Case study analysis

The common themes from the two cases were the 'teacher as a learner' and 'future directions' or plans for the program. Within the theme of 'teacher as learner' one can see different patterns of thinking at the two schools. Marie has embraced language learning like It Is her core business. She makes plans to study and practice her skills and enacts them without waiting for direction or support. Her actions exhibit an underlying belief that she Is learning for herself and will then teach children using her new skills. In contrast, Lisa Is relying on translation tools In the classroom to help her with her beginning language and may be seeing herself as 'teacher' rather than 'learner'. She has made no plans to continue her study for her own benefit but has made great gains in teaching the language with a program differentiated for learners in a variety of year levels and delivered regularly In the classroom. Lisa will need to be encouraged to see language learning as an ongoing professional learning need the way practicing language teachers view It.

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Different patterns of behaviour can also be seen within the theme of 'future directions'. While Marie's thinking Is focussed on herself as a language learner, she Is very busy teaching Japanese diligently to the prep children at her school. Her classroom has Japanese environmental print on display and her students are learning the language well. She has not developed a broad view of where the language program could expand beyond that suggested by leadership at the school. The principal sees Japanese as non-contact time for classroom teachers and as such she desires It to fit into a specific time frame each week and be 'rolled out' across the school in a consistent way. Lisa and Lottie have approached French lessons differently. They see It as something a large group of students should have experiences In. Their program reaches beyond one classroom and one year level with plans to expand It further.

This research has benefited the schools and Independent Schools Queensland by allowing Identification of the characteristics of a successful new program and teachers who may be able to take on the new role. It has also helped schools reflect on what they are doing and how they might do it better. The Issue of supporting schools to develop a language program when they would not otherwise be able to has been resolved in these two schools, at least for the short term. In the future a process will need to be established by the schools to support teacher progress over time. The findings of these case studies may also imply that teachers who have had some language learning experience In the past may be better candidates for retraining than those who do not. There Is also the question of how Informed leadership should be. The case studies suggest leadership Involvement from the very beginning helps to establish the program across the school In an efficient way.

Acknowledgements. ISQ would like to thank the National Federation of Australia-Japan Societies together with the Ishikawa Prefectural government for study tour scholarships to Japan, GET Tours for support and provision of a study tour to New Caledonia at the CREIPAC Language Centre, The Goethe Institut, Sydney, for study tour scholarships to Germany and to Alliance Francais Sunshine Coast for providing video conferenced lessons. This project was funded by the Commonwealth Government Financial Assistance and administered by Independent Schools Queensland.

References

Carle, E. 1970. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. London, Penguin.

Creswell, J.W. 2008. Educational Research: Planning conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Martin, B. & Carle, E. 1967. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? New York, Doubleday.

Office of the Minister for Education and Training. 2014. Address to the Adelaide Languages Festival. Available at https://ministers.education.aov.au/pyne/ opening-address-adelaide-language-festival

Kathy Harris supports languages education In schools through her role as Education Services Officer (Teaching and Learning) at Independent Schools Queensland. She Is passionate about teaching and learning and Is currently enjoying learning Spanish.