Australia’s Perception of Indigenous Language in Comparison to Monolingualism

Australia’s Perception of Indigenous Language in Comparison to Monolingualism

Question: How does one language one nation ideology influence how Australians respond to indigenous languages?

Introduction

The Australian’s perception concerning the maintenance of the indigenous languages is quite clear. Some Australians maintains that having a multilingual society is better as compared to one language one nation ideology. Australian mostly consider multiculturalism and multilingualism culture. Australia is the leading host to millions of immigrants over the last seven decades. Moreover, most of the immigrants speak their native languages. That adds to more than three-hundred indigenous languages spoken in Australia, making it one of the states that embrace multiculturalism and multilingual culture (Karidakis & Kelly, 2017).

However, the research indicates there is a lot of advantages to the promotion and maintenance of indigenous languages in Australia as compared to one language one nation perception. Most of the research explores the benefits of conservation of cultural diversity. The following enumerates the entire opinion on how Australians consider indigenous languages in comparison to one language one nation ideology.

Australia’s Indigenous Language Education System

Currently, the Australian education system has not had a deep foundation to support the home-language education system in the past (Eisenchlas et al., 2013). However, the author maintains there is research and effort to preserve the multiculturalism and home-language literacy education system. Due to the inefficient and inadequate keenness on the matter to the education system, it has led to the gradual neglect of the incorporation of indigenous language into the Australian education system that awards various benefits to Australian citizens. However, the English language is taken as a second language among other languages in the curriculum, making it a multilingual society. The following is a description of the perceptions and the advantages of such an education system.

Beneficial to Child Education

The acquisition of home-language literacy by bilingual children in Australia has a lot of advantages since they can develop and build linguistic skills with ease (Eisenchlas et al., 2013). First, it is a breakthrough to improve academic achievement, acquire education in more than one language, and develop and maintain a home language, among others.

Development and maintenance of home-language

Literacy maintains the fluency and development of a language in society. There is a noticeable gradual decrease in the use of indigenous language from the first to the third generation. According to the studies, lack of reinforcement to the use of the languages in the education system can lead to a quick loss of the indigenous language and its fluency (Esenchlas et al., 2013). That is evident mostly during the early stages or years of schooling in a child. Therefore, the indigenous language can only be developed and maintained through the education system and passed over to generations (Benson, 2004). That indicates the significance of preserving and reinforcement of the home-language literacy system in Australia.

Academic achievement

Some advantages underlie with the use of home language in literacy acquisition. First, there is evidence of increased attention and concentration, improved memory capability, improvement in the interpretation, and decoding of texts, especially across different languages, among other educational skills (Esenchlas et al., 2013). Therefore, besides literacy acquisition, the use of a home-language education system also indicates a significant academic achievement by the learners and serves as a prerequisite for understanding (Benson, 2004).

Defines one’s Foundation and Improves Self-esteem

The language that an individual speaks is entirely instrumental in establishing one’s identity and originality. The fact that it is mandatory or there is a need to speak a second language, for instance, English, may interfere with the self-construction, especially in children or during childhood education. Maintenance of indigenous languages in all cases can collectively lead to an improvement in self-esteem (Wright & Taylor, 1995). For instance, according to the study, the use of indigenous language in early education increases self-esteem as compared to the use of the English language (Wright & Taylor, 1995).

Advantageous to Socialization

Language is the key to socialization. However, monolingual supporters usually use that as a tool to sensitize on the use of one language for social cohesion. However, though the monolingual concept can increase the socialization network and relationships, it can lead to a significant loss and alienation of cultural richness in the entire community (Fishman, 2001). Most of the Australians view monolingual as a mean to erode culture richness and language shift. Under that notion, English is put as a second language besides the indigenous languages in all instances, including education.

Moreover,  Higher Level Education considers foreign language studies, while fewer learners acquire to make them operate across many language platforms (Eisenchlas et al., 2013). That means most of the Australians uphold indigenous education as compared to foreign languages, especially the English language. Communities view it as a transitional tool for socialization networks in Australia. The use of indigenous languages rather than one language is an opportunity for interconnectedness for social and economic benefits. However, to have a clear and comprehensive understanding between heritage maintenance and social cohesion, there is a requirement for more research.

Government Effort and Economic Perspectives

Australian Federal government is also at the forefront to support the educational programs for the maintenance of home languages and to make the English language as an additional language. The Australian curriculum utilizes indigenous languages to serve as a stepping stone for better learning. The language learning programs maintain the recognition and revival of the Aboriginals and the Strait Islanders languages as the first languages of the people to live in Australia (Simpson, 2016). That has eliminated English as the priority learning and speaking language in Australia. However, that has posed a threat to the job market for Australian students since very few graduates with the English language. That is, according to the analysis and study by ‘Foundation for Young Australians.’ More employers currently seek graduates with bilingual skills. The recent data from the 2016 census shows that there is a drastic decrease in heritage language retention (Karidakis & Kelly, 2017). That indicates there is a gradual dynamic shift due to the overall change worldwide, such as job requirements, among many other reasons.

The Australian federal government continues to sensitize and inserts effort to ensure an increase in bilingual learning, especially to the languages that seem a priority for business opportunities. Such dialect includes Chinese, Japanese, and Hindi, among others (Elsenchlas et al., 2013). That indicates the government finds it better to extend the opportunities far beyond the local by engagement into foreign-language skills. That shows, since indigenous languages promote and open business opportunities through local community interaction, there is also a need to extend the network of business opportunities beyond the regional settings. The mixture of the contexts seems conflicting since failure to learn and acquire fluency in the second or common language such as the English language denies one an opportunity to extend their skills and business opportunities beyond the local settings.

Due to the demand in the job market and the increase in globalization, there is a critical need for the Australian federal government to sensitize on the creation of a comprehensive curriculum for language education (Simpson, 2016). Importantly, the English language as a universal language has become one of the essential requirements for employment and multinational businesses and trade across the globe. Therefore, there is a need to develop policies for multilingualism in Australia to take advantage of cultural diversity and also for economic benefits (Simpson, 2016). Australian Language education does not negate indigenous languages but instead supports multilingualism, including English as the second language.

Deductions

As compared to many nations around the world that embrace the English language as the only official curriculum language, Australia does support the incorporation of indigenous language in the education system such as EAL/D programs besides the English language as the second language. Recently, the government has awakened the need to heighten language education to increase language awareness to all students for maximum benefits (Simpson, 2016). That indicates Australia will have double benefits as compared to other states that consider one official language in education in the sense that a multilingual culture will open more understanding between many business communities around the globe. Multilingualism opens more business opportunities between the states where language disparity is not a barrier, and Australia is not an exception. That is a great benefit to the Australian community, especially for businesses and trade around the world. Language compatibility between the Australian citizens and other states such as China, Japan, and Hindu creates better deals and employment abroad.

Conclusion

Australia is one of the continents that embrace indigenous language besides the English language as the second language. Currently, the Australian Federal government promotes multilingualism in the education system, including other states dialects such as Chinese and Hindu.  Furthermore, Australians view the home-language literacy education system as the best way to perfect education. Again, it also promotes the development and retention of the indigenous language for the sake of the next generation and maintenance of national heritage. Preservation of original language and support for multi-language education tends to be a  critical method to maintain the cultural norms,  social cohesion in the community, and a way to widen the business and trade relationship locally and abroad.

Therefore, Australia views indigenous languages and multilingualism essential for survival and maintenance of the culture and survival of states’ economies. Indigenous language education system indicates no room for confusion, hence, an increase in academic achievement. Indigenous languages are also viewed as a symbol for self-identity and also defines one’s foundation without loss of original cultural norms. According to the analysis above, the indigenous language education system is the key to self-esteem improvement. It does not distort self-construct in the course of an individual’s life and education. Therefore, development and maintenance for indigenous languages in Australia is a valuable tool for cultural conservation, education perfection, and social cohesion both for cordial relationships between communities and for active trading.

References

Benson, C., 2004. The Importance f Mother Tongue-Based Schooling For Educational Quality Commissioned Study For EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005 Part A: Overview. [online] Available at: <https://www.academia.edu/33315545/The_importance_of_mother_tongue-based_schooling_for_educational_quality_Commissioned_study_for_EFA_Global_Monitoring_Report_2005_Part_A_Overview> [Accessed 7 April 2020].

Eisenchlas, S., Schalley, A., and Guillemin, D., 2013. The Importance of Literacy in the Home Language. SAGE Open, 3(4), p.215824401350727.

Fishman, J., 2001. If Threatened Languages can be Saved, then can Dead Languages be Revived?. Current Issues in Language Planning, 2(2-3), pp.222-230.

Simpson, J., 2016. Reviving Indigenous Languages – Not As Easy As It Seems. [online] The Conversation. Available at: <https://theconversation.com/reviving-indigenous-languages-not-as-easy-as-it-seems-68977> [Accessed 7 April 2020].

Karidakis, M., and Kelly, B., 2017. Trends in Indigenous Language Usage. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 38(1), pp.105-126.

Wright, S., and Taylor, D., 1995. Identity and the language of the classroom: Investigating the impact of heritage versus second language instruction on personal and collective self-esteem. Journal of Educational Psychology, 87(2), pp.241-252.