Victorian Centres have received funding to teach Indigenous dialects for the first time for children as young as 3. Under a new $17.9 million state government initiative, Aboriginal languages Chinese and Auslan are the most popular choice for Victorian Kindergart ens.
From next year, weekly classes will roll out to 3 and 4-year-olds, as Victoria become the first Australian jurisdiction to find language programs in Kindergarten.
The funding will provide 160 kindergartens with extra staff to teach 15 languages. A total of 31 kindergartens will run Chinese programs, 29 will run Aboriginal language classes and 26 will teach Auslan sign language.
Children will also learn Japanese, Italian, Hebrew, Spanish, French and Arabic. Ten kindergartens will be funded to provide bilingual programs.
The four-year program is expected to reach more than 5000 children across the state.
Reference:
Cook, Henrietta "Kindergarten students flock to Aboriginal languages", Western Australia Today, 17 October 2018
