National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia

National agenda initiatives

The Government remains committed to the above objectives. As part of the National Agenda the Commonwealth will also adopt a range of new measures aimed at promoting increased proficiency in English, encouraging wider learning of languages other than English, and increasing effective cross-cultural communication.

Initiatives to increase proficiency in English will include:

- extension of the eligibility for Commonwealth-funded intensive ESL tuition to include children starting primary school who have been in Australia for up to 18 months, at a cost of some $3 million p.a. (previously the eligibility limit was six months). The effect of this is to increase the number of immigrant children entering school at the initial level of primary schooling who can avail themselves of intensive ESL tuition;

- extension of the AMEP's English by Correspondence program to encompass advanced levels of proficiency, at a cost of $670,000 p.a.;

- additional resources ($0.4 million in 1989-90) to extend the AMEP's English in the Workplace program and to help develop an SBS 'English at Work' television series in 48 parts at an additional cost of $1.2 million in 1989-90;

- a review of post-school ESL provision to examine linkages between the AMEP and other ESL, education and training courses, and issues in the provision of vocational English and labour market training programs:

* the review will be undertaken by a working party, including representatives from the Departments of Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs and Employment, Education and Training, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and will report within four months; and

- provision of substantial additional resources to increase the amount of tuition required to satisfy the English language needs of newly arrived adult immigrants.

As part of its ongoing strategy to encourage more Australians to learn a language other than English, the Government will:

- maintain its firm commitment to the continuation of second language learning;

- extend funding for the National Aboriginal Languages Program by an additional $0.5 million in 1990-91;

- undertake, through the Australian Advisory Council for Languages and Multicultural Education, a review of the teaching of modern languages in higher education; and

- review the effectiveness of the Australian Public Service's Linguistic Availability Performance Allowance as a measure to improve access to and equity in the delivery of government programs and services and, additionally, to examine the potential of the Allowance as an incentive for the acquisition and retention of languages other than English.

In order to increase effective cross-cultural communication between Australians, the following initiatives will be pursued:

- it has already been agreed between the Commonwealth and the States that cross-cultural understanding will be a national goal for Australian schools. As part of the associated process of collaborative curriculum development, cross-cultural and multicultural perspectives will form part of any national statement concerned with social science education;

- multicultural curriculum development initiatives in higher education were outlined in the previous chapter; and

- among its own employees the Commonwealth will promote crosscultural training and awareness through the incorporation and integration of cross-cultural perspectives in development programs for senior executive managers.

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-		extension of the eligibility for Commonwealth-funded intensive ESL tuition to include children starting primary school who have been in Australia for up to 18 months, at a cost of some $3 million p.a. (previously the eligibility limit was six months). The effect of this is to increase the number of immigrant children entering school at the initial level of primary schooling who can avail themselves of intensive ESL tuition;
-		extension of the AMEP's English by Correspondence program to encompass advanced levels of proficiency, at a cost of $670,000 p.a.;
-		additional resources ($0.4 million in 1989-90) to extend the AMEP's English in the Workplace program and to help develop an SBS 'English at Work' television series in 48 parts at an additional cost of $1.2 million in 1989-90;
-		a review of post-school ESL provision to examine linkages between the AMEP and other ESL, education and training courses, and issues in the provision of vocational English and labour market training programs:

-		maintain its firm commitment to the continuation of second language learning;
-		extend funding for the National Aboriginal Languages Program by an additional $0.5 million in 1990-91;
-		undertake, through the Australian Advisory Council for Languages and Multicultural Education, a review of the teaching of modern languages in higher education; and
-		review the effectiveness of the Australian Public Service's Linguistic Availability Performance Allowance as a measure to improve access to and equity in the delivery of government programs and services and, additionally, to examine the potential of the Allowance as an incentive for the acquisition and retention of languages other than English.

-	it has already been agreed between the Commonwealth and the States that cross-cultural understanding will be a national goal for Australian schools. As part of the associated process of collaborative curriculum development, cross-cultural and multicultural perspectives will form part of any national statement concerned with social science education;
-	multicultural curriculum development initiatives in higher education were outlined in the previous chapter; and
-	among its own employees the Commonwealth will promote crosscultural training and awareness through the incorporation and integration of cross-cultural perspectives in development programs for senior executive managers.

National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia

National agenda initiatives

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