Job Discussion Forums

[ladycutieuk]

Hi,

Just a bit of a general advice quesion really, after looking into the GTP in UK - i foun dout that it is not recognised in Oz, and i am quite dissapointed in that - so therefore, i am back to plan A of doing my PGCE for a year.

I studied german in high school, really enjoyed it - got a good grade, no coming up to my final year at university - i was wonering what difference it would make if i chose PGCE primary specialising in German? Would this go for or against when applying for jobs in Australia - or would it be best sticking with the simplistic Primary option (no specialsations!) or would it just not matter - as long as at the en dof the day you pass the qualification....

Confused.... Thanks

[austeacher]

If you would like to teach languages in Australian primary schools, the most popular, according to LOTE curriculum implementation are:

Italian, Indonesian, Mandarin and Japanese. These are the main ones taught across the board in Primary, Secondary and Private schools. German is only used in Germany and Austria. There are very few Germans in Australia. It is not a language of learning demand. Nor is it heard spoken on the street, which is not the case with Italian or Mandarin.

Unlike German, Italian and Japanese is spoken and studied as a 2nd language in Brazil, Australia, Argentina-Italian not Japanese. (I do know that German is taught as a 2nd language in Brazil and perhaps in most other institutions around the globe). It is the same with Japanese and Italian. But realistically, where are you going to use German other than Germany or Austria? And for what usage?

In private schools in Australia LOTE subjects taught are:

Italian, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Mandarin, German and Latin.

If you choose to study LOTE (Languages other Than English) as part of your PGCE, you are better off studying a Romance Language, Italian French or Spanish. Or the ever growing demand for Mandarin. I don't know why French is taught in Australia as there are very few French people here. There is a high demand for Italian, Indonesian, Mandarin and Japanese teachers in Australia.

Whereas in the UK, French, German and Spanish are taught in the primary and secondary curriculum. Correct me if I am wrong. I am assuming languages taught and learnt are based on supply and demand.

It is up to you...

N.B You really ought to proof read and edit your writing for orthographical errors and capitalization.

[lozwich]

Some points:

Teaching in Australian schools is determined by which state you would like to work in. Therefore, you would be best looking at the department of education website for the place you would like to live to find out requirements of your qualifications and languages taught.

I found with a simple internet search that 22 languages are taught in primary schools in Victoria, and 19 in secondary schools, much more than the few in the list in another post.

A few years ago I worked on a LOTE project that included German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Mandarin. I believe that the idea of language learning is to help provide a more international education, not to cater for demand within the country a student lives in.

Good luck, and try extending your search a little, and I'm sure you'll find comprehensive answers to your questions.

[austeacher]

For the full quote click this: http://www.dfat.gov.au/aib/society.html

Teaching of foreign languages

Foreign languages are taught in both primary and secondary schools. More than 14 per cent of all students in Year 12 (the final year of high school) study tertiary-accredited foreign languages. The most popular languages studied at this level are Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Indonesian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic and Latin.

Around 50 per cent of students study a foreign language at some time during their primary and secondary schooling. Almost 150 languages are taught in mainstream and non-mainstream settings, including 68 Indigenous languages and 69 languages taught outside of school.

The Australian Government will implement the new National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program with effect from 1 January 2009. This program will promote the study of four targeted languages in secondary schools � Japanese, Indonesian, Mandarin and Korean.


The most commonly spoken languages in Australia are English, Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Arabic, Mandarin and Vietnamese.

This was entirely lifted out of the DFAT website.

[austeacher]

It appears ladycutieuk has got lost in translation

[G Cthulhu]