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Diversity in schools: Can South Tyrol learn from Australia?

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Anna WolfMarc Röggla
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Diversity in schools: Can South Tyrol learn from Australia?
Credit: beasternchen/Pixabay | All rights reserved

Managing diversity in schools can be both a challenge and an opportunity. Australia’s schools are known for having very diverse classrooms. On the national level, around 25% of students in schools are non-English speakers. In some areas, the percentage of non-English speakers is over 90%. Well aware that managing diversity in education takes on a different dimension when the school is rooted in a minority language community, it still might be worth taking a closer look at how the Australian model is working. Dr Annamaria Paolino from the School of Education of the Edith Cowan University in Perth is giving us interesting insights from Western Australia.

Can you please briefly explain the general framework and approach in Australia to the question of how to integrate linguistically diverse students in the classroom, particularly in primary school?

Paolino: In Australia, each state has its own processes and policies, and I'll speak from the Western Australian perspective. Regarding the general framework, we talk about teaching “English as an additional language or dialect” (EALD). For this purpose, in WA, we have “Intensive English Centres” (IECs). They can be attended by students from migrant or refugee families that come into Australia, but also by students who were born in Australia, but haven’t had any exposure to the English language at home, as well as Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander students. In WA, there are fourteen of these Intensive English Centres. Eight of them are in the primary schools. Four of them are high school, and two of them are senior secondary. And as of next year, we're getting another two intensive English centres opening up in the primary level.

Those Intensive English Centres are not separated from the school, they're within the school itself. The classrooms are interspersed in the school. The Intensive English Centre and the mainstream school are not located in two sections apart from each other. They are sort of scattered within, and the students have common breaks and lunchtimes. The IEC students can also access regular programmes or take part in activities with the mainstream classrooms as well, for example, music or art classes, or physical education. It's not a model where the students are in a mainstream classroom and then removed from that for a period of time. Students enrolled in an IEC programme are full-time in the IEC until they exit into the mainstream.

Usually, students remain enrolled in an intensive English centre for about 12 months, before transitioning fully into the mainstream classes. Sometimes they can exit earlier, and sometimes they might need a little bit more time. Students who hold a humanitarian visa with a limited schooling background are eligible for 24 months in an IEC.

Key facts about the Australian model

State-based approach: The Australian model for teaching English to students from linguistically diverse backgrounds varies by state, with each jurisdiction having its own policies and processes. This means that each Australian state has its own methods for teaching and catering for English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EALD), which includes migrant students and Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander learners. Intensive English Centres (IECs): In Western Australia (WA), students coming from non-English speaking backgrounds generally get enrolled in an Intensive English Centre (IECs), usually for about 12 months. IECs are integrated within regular schools, with classrooms for intensive English distributed throughout the school building, to promote inclusion and interaction with mainstream students.

What types of assessments are used to evaluate the progress of EALD students?

Paolino: To guide the planning, teaching, and assessment of English for students from linguistically diverse backgrounds, the Department of Education in Western Australia provides “progress maps”. There are progress maps for early childhood, middle childhood and secondary phases of schooling. The maps assess four modes of language skills — speaking, listening, reading, and writing — across eight levels. While not mandatory, these progress maps are widely recognised as effective tools for teachers to evaluate students’ English abilities from an additional language perspective, rather than solely based on the curriculum.

On what grounds does the Department of Education decide on the establishment of new intensive English centres?

Paolino: The decision to establish the two above-mentioned new intensive English centres was based on the capacity of schools to accommodate them, including having sufficient space on school grounds. I am not informed about the reasoning behind the establishment of the original centres, it may have been influenced by areas with high migrant populations. The two new centres were chosen simply because the schools had the capacity to integrate them.

Do the IECs prevent extreme language diversity in regular classrooms?

Paolino: Australia is a multicultural society, we do not “prevent” language diversity, we embrace it and acknowledge the diverse sociolinguistic backgrounds of students while explicitly teaching Standard Australian English.

Initially, has the creation of the Intensive English centres raised any public concern about whether it would divide students along ethnic lines or whether the IECs are contradicting the idea of inclusion?

Paolino: No, because the intensive English centres, as I said, are not segregated. They are placed within the school, and it doesn't cater for just one group, such as students from migrant families, but it caters for all schoolchildren who have a need for Intensive English schooling. I am not aware of any kind of cultural tensions there.

The Australian model is known for achieving high levels of English language proficiency among students from non-English-speaking backgrounds in a relatively short timeframe. How successful is EALD teaching in Australia in your eyes?

Paolino: It all depends on the schools because schools are autonomous, and every Intensive English Centre is run differently. There is a standard, but it also varies a lot from school to school. Now, we are under a bit of pressure because there is a large demand being placed on intensive English Centres and they have limited spaces. They have limited capacity and sometimes students can't get into the IEC. So, they need to go into the mainstream classrooms and that puts a lot of pressure on the teachers in the classrooms there. Another issue is that the intensive English Centres only exist in the metropolitan (urban) area, whereas there is no equivalent offer in the remote and more isolated areas of the state. In WA we have a School of Isolated and Distance Education (SIDE) that assists students in rural and remote areas access education predominantly through online learning. SIDE is currently running a trial online EALD support program to assist EALD students, and their teachers, who are unable to access an IEC.

How does the teacher training work, how are teachers prepared for EALD teaching?

Paolino: At my university, we offer a compulsory EALD unit for primary teachers, but not all universities provide this. There is a significant gap across universities in Australia in EALD teacher training. Many teachers still obtain their degrees without having been trained in EALD. Currently, there is no specific authorisation required for teachers to be admitted in Intensive English Centres to teach EALD children, where previously there was. At the same time, there is an increase of EALD children in classrooms. Many teachers don't feel that they have the necessary skills and the knowledge to cater for EALD students in their mainstream classroom. So, there is a significant need and also growing interest in specialised EALD teacher training. The Department of Education offers a variety of professional learning about the progress maps and other things with the objective for teachers to better understand the ways of teaching and learning of EALD students. Overall, there is still a lot of work in progress, regarding EALD teacher training. In my opinion, to improve the teacher training is one of the main challenges that the EALD model is currently facing.

How does the Australian model of EALD teaching address the cultural needs and backgrounds of students from diverse linguistic backgrounds?

Paolino: Understanding students, how they learn and their background is crucial, especially for those from diverse cultural and minority backgrounds, as their cultural and linguistic backgrounds should be seen as assets in the classroom. Creating an inclusive environment where students feel that they belong and have something valuable to contribute is essential. This includes recognising their knowledge, identity, and linguistic repertoire. Schools involve parents and provide translation and interpreter services to facilitate communication with families who have limited English proficiency. Encouraging students to use their home languages in the classroom respects their linguistic backgrounds and supports additional language acquisition, aligning with Jim Cummins’ model of language acquisition. Maintaining the use of home languages helps students feel comfortable and supports their overall language development, contrasting with the reductionist approach of enforcing English-only policies.

How important is the involvement of parents and the wider community in the EALD education process? What strategies are used to engage parents and communities in supporting EALD students?

Paolino: Involving parents in their children’s education is crucial, and the Department of Education is aware of this. It is important for parents to feel welcome and comfortable at school, ensuring it is a safe space. In schools, free interpreting services are available, along with several multicultural resource centres that any parent can access. Parent-child centres for children aged zero to four provide a sense of community and help families understand the schooling system. Additionally, multicultural services offer interpreters and workshops, all funded by the government and mostly held on school sites. It is important for the schools to engage with parents to help them understand that the purpose of the school is not to replace the child’s language with English. Additionally, it is to help them understand the importance of maintaining their language and culture in the home and community environment.

Is there enough financial backing for EALD services?

Paolino: This year, the state government provided $72 million for EALD students in public schools in Western Australia. The schools obtain funding for EALD services based on the number of students who require EALD teaching, which is determined through a yearly census. The Department of Education of Western Australia states that school principals have the flexibility to make local decisions on which programs and supports will meet the needs of their EALD students. In addition, schools are to use the resources in a targeted manner to maximise the learning outcomes for all students. The allocation of resources to schools is informed by student wellbeing, engagement and learning needs. Schools may use and allocate resources to employ staff with relevant expertise (including teachers, education assistants and additional school psychologist time), support professional learning delivery, purchase materials, and or provide time for parent communication with interpreters, staff collaboration, classroom observations, and mentoring and coaching.

In sum: What is the Australian ‘recipe for success’ in EALD? What makes the difference compared to other models?

Paolino: The key components are the progress maps, which provide a clear pathway for language acquisition, and the Intensive English Centres, which prepare students for integration into mainstream classrooms. It is crucial for a school system that teachers know how to create a safe environment and an open classroom where they welcome all cultures and languages. Additionally, the system needs sufficient funding to support these services.

What are the future directions anticipated for EALD teaching in Western Australia?

Paolino: The focus is on consolidating current programs and improving professional learning opportunities. My university, as well as the Department of Education, we are working on building that space, but more broadly. In practice, a major advancement for next year, will be the opening of the two new Intensive English centres.

Note: This article gives the views of the authors and does not represent the position of the European Association of Daily Newspapers in Minority and Regional Languages (MIDAS) or Eurac Research.

Annamaria Paolino

Annamaria Paolino is a lecturer in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University (Perth, Western Australia). She leads, coordinates and teaches in Primary Initial Teacher Education across languages and EALD education units. Her research expertise is in languages and using music to facilitate language learning. Her teaching and research interests centre around many themes including languages, pedagogy, the intersectionality of languages and social justice, inclusive school environments and teacher education. More about Dr Paolino can be found here.

Further reading

Harper H and Feez S, An EAL/D Handbook: Teaching and Learning Across the Curriculum when English is an Additional Language Or Dialect (Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA) 2021)

Gibbons P, Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: teaching English language learners in the mainstream classroom (Second edition, Heinemann 2015)

Gibbons P, Learning to learn in a second language (Heinemann; Primary English Teaching Association 1991)

Hammond J, Miller J and Primary English Teaching A, Classrooms of possibility: supporting at-risk EALstudents (Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA) 2015)

Hertzberg M and Freeman J, Teaching English language learners in mainstream classes (Primary English Teaching Association Australia 2012)

Anna Wolf

Anna Wolf

Anna Wolf is a First-year-PhD Candidate at School of Law and Criminology, Murdoch University, Perth, currently staying as a visiting researcher at Eurac, Institute for Comparative Federalism. She holds a law degree from Innsbruck University, has completed traineeships at the Permanent Representation of Austria to the Council of Europe, as well as at the Delegation of the European Union to the Council of Europe, and worked as a journalist. In her PhD, she explores the protection of Indigenous language rights in Australian law, from a comparative perspective, including a focus study of the Noongar settlement in Western Australia.

Marc Röggla

Marc Röggla

Marc Röggla is head of the Center for Autonomy Experience at Eurac Research and General Secretary of the European Association of Daily Newspapers in Minority and Regional Languages. He studied law at the University of Innsbruck and was previously a researcher at the Institute for Minority Rights at Eurac Research from 2013 to 2020.

Citation

https://doi.org/10.57708/bako5vqw7s7yr6d73lxgtda
Wolf, A., & Röggla, M. Diversity in schools: Can South Tyrol learn from Australia? https://doi.org/10.57708/BAKO5VQW7S7YR6D73LXGTDA
alt

This blog is supported by the European Association of Daily Newspapers in Minority and Regional Languages (MIDAS). MIDAS was founded in 2001 to provide assistance to minority language newspapers and nowadays has members all over Europe. MIDAS serves as a platform for exchange, uniting minority language newspapers to present a collective voice to the European institutions.

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