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Community language schools to benefit from new resources

Pia van StraalenCanning Gazette

EDUCATORS from not-for-profit community language schools, including one in Willetton, will benefit from new resources covering more than 40 different languages.

The Community Languages Collection, launched at the State Library of Western Australia, will help the State’s community language schools to deliver language education by providing a range of generic and language materials that are often out of reach for teachers and schools.

The comprehensive resource centre is being delivered by the State Library in partnership with the Office of Multicultural Interests, as part of its Community Languages Program (CLP), which provides grant funding to not-for-profit community organisations to develop and promote the languages and cultures of Western Australian communities by teaching languages other than English after school hours.

Citizenship and Multicultural Interests Minister Mike Nahan said these schools provided a vital service to the community and it was essential they had access to up-to-date resources.

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“Community language schools are often run by volunteers with limited teacher training and access to professional teaching resources and yet are essential for maintaining language skills for social, cultural and economic purposes,” Dr Nahan said.

More than 4350 students across WA attend community language schools funded under the CLP and languages currently being supported by the CLP include Arabic, Greek, Hindi, Chinese, Tamil, Vietnamese and Somali.