How Bahasa Indonesia entered Australia`s schools

Melbourne - Until the 1980s, language education at Australian schools was dominated by European languages such as French and German, along with some Japanese.

With the mid-1980s election of the Labor Party`s Asian-focused prime minister Paul Keating, however, a shift in geopolitical understanding took place: Asia, and particularly Australia`s closest neighbor Indonesia, came to the political and social fore in that country.

According to Peter Kuckhahn, a Bahasa Indonesia teacher at central Victorian schools, the Keating government took "a bunch of teachers passionate about Indonesia" and put them through university so they could go on and teach Bahasa Indonesia from the primary to tertiary education levels.

However, that dedication to teaching Bahasa Indonesia has suffered in recent years. Kuckhahn points out that language studies are falling behind in funding stakes in Victoria`s public school education system.

"Over the past 10 years, hours of secondary language teaching have been cut back and the funding cut back. We are now lucky to get an hour per week teaching a second language, whereas we need to teach a minimum of three to four hours weekly," said Kuckhahn, who believes this vital element of education is now under threat.

"Teaching of second languages in our schools is now underfunded and undervalued. I hope this will change in the future as governments again become more aware of Asia and Indonesia," he said.

Source: www.thejakartapost.com

Credit Photo: www.puri.co.id

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