Subject description

Australian Languages — Additional Language is a 10‑credit subject or a 20‑credit subject at Stage 1.

In this subject, ‘Australian Languages’ refers to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and cultures of Australia. (For information about the teaching and learning of Auslan, another Australian language, please see the Auslan Continuers Level subject outline.)

The importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, cultures, communities, and knowledge is affirmed through the study of Australian Languages. Students can study:

• Australian Languages — First Language. This subject is mainly for students who use an Australian Language as their first language.
• Australian Languages — Additional Language. This subject is mainly for students who wish to study an Australian Language as an additional language. A language chosen for this subject will be a well‑resourced language that has a sizeable first‑speaker base. 
• Australian Languages — Revival Language. This subject is mainly for students with a heritage in an Australian Language that has been marginalised since colonisation.

Australian Languages — Additional Language caters for students who do not speak [Additional Language] as a first language. This may include students with a heritage in the [Additional Language] community, or those students who have little or no previous experience with [Additional Language]. All teaching and learning programs require the approval of the [Additional Language] community.

Students in the senior secondary language classroom bring a diversity of language and learning skills to the classroom; however, the study of an Australian Language as an additional language may occur off‑Country. Learning can be enriched and authenticated by interaction with visiting Elders and community speakers, and, where possible, visits to Country.

The study of Australian Languages— Additional Language develops students’ capacity to communicate in language, and develops their linguistic, cultural knowledge, and understanding. Students respond to and create resources for personal, social, and community contexts and purposes. Students learn about the interdependence of language and culture, and explore issues of self, and linguistic and cultural identity. They develop their understanding of language ecologies, including the ways that languages came into contact with each other historically and the impacts of language contact. They explore factors that affect the language studied, and consider how to support [Additional Language] and other Australian Languages.

Through the study of Australian Languages — Additional Language, students develop an awareness of the oral and written systems and structures of the language and develop skills in analysing linguistic, cultural, and stylistic features of the language. By exploring resources, students interpret meaning in the language they bring and the additional language they are learning.

Students reflect on their personal experiences as both learners and users of an Australian Language, and their own identity.

The study of Australian Languages — Additional Language provides a space in which the knowledge and perspectives of Aboriginal communities are understood and respected. Central to this is collaboration with others in learning the language. Working collaboratively with other students and/or community members, students design and implement a language in action task using [Additional Language] for an intended purpose and audience.

Through the study of Australian Languages, students enhance their linguistic competencies, their respect for Aboriginal peoples and communities, and their ethical considerations and responsibilities as Australian Languages — Additional Language learners.