Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group Consultation 2014
SUBMISSION
NAME OF ORGANISATION
Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations
Preamble
1. We take it as understood that all teacher education institutions are accredited through the nationally
adopted approach introduced in 2013 through the Accreditation of Initial Teacher Programs in Australia:
Standards and Procedures (Accreditation Standards), the aim of which is to ensure all new teachers meet the
Graduate level of the AITSL Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Professional Standards). As these
remain the current overarching guidelines, we will not address the areas these policy/practice documents cover,
but rather will address more generally characteristics and conditions we consider important in graduate
teachers – and in languages teachers in particular.
2. We understand that AITSL is currently developing further initiatives in the area of teacher education: namely
national selection guidelines for admission into teacher education programs, a national approach to
professional experience, and a national literacy and numeracy assessment for teacher education students. We
will briefly address these areas throughout the following responses.
3. While we will address some general characteristics and suggestions, we will focus more specifically on skills
and requirements for languages education. To this end, we begin with a discussion of the distinctiveness of
teacher education for teachers of languages, as this distinctiveness necessarily frames the context for
consideration of our responses, and for developing policy, processes and incentives for improving language
teacher education and preparation.
The distinctiveness of teacher education for teachers of languages
 Languages teaching and learning has distinctive characteristics, which differentiates it from teaching
in other subject areas
o It is not primarily about a single subject area, so its knowledge base is different
o Language is our core means of communication and meaning-making, made more complex
in the languages classroom by the necessity to consider at least two languages, or two
systems of meaning-making. These language systems or codes contain common features
but each language is also distinctive, and each contains much variability within its contexts
or communities of use.
 Languages are not only systems of meaning-making for understanding; they are inextricably linked
to cultures, cultural practices, histories and values
o Languages are performed and enacted by communities of users, and matter deeply to
these communities
o Languages also bear a responsibility in establishing codes and practices of how to behave,
through providing the means to express these practices and ideas, and are therefore
central to the establishment of identity, for all people, but particularly for students
learning their heritage or background language.
o Language learning is therefore peopled, and intimately related to the practices, identities
and meaning-making processes of individuals and communities
o Developing intercultural understanding is also intrinsically embedded in languages and
cultures learning, as teachers and learners engage with the cultures and views of others, as
well as their own (particularly English and Australian contemporary cultures) through
learning about and through an additional language, and its communities of users
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The diversity of learners is a direct matter of focus in languages teaching and learning
o Who you are, where you are from, your prior experiences of languages and cultures all
matter in a languages classroom. Whether a teacher or a learner is a member or not of the
target language speaking community matters greatly to why and how the language is
taught or learned. Teachers need to be prepared to both manage these dynamics and to
value and include the breadth of language resources and cultural understandings brought
to the classroom
o Teachers need to consider the knowledge and experience of background/heritage, first and
second language learners and their varying needs and reasons for undertaking languages
education, in order to respond appropriately to their capabilities in the language on arrival
in the classroom
o Reasons for learning a language may differ for each language, and for different groups of
learners. These may include learning for enjoyment; humanistic engagement with
languages, cultures, civilisations and literature; literacy improvement; national utility needs
(regional issues, Asian century, globalised world and Australia’s capacity to engage, etc.), as
well as motivations related to personal identity or future education or vocational
aspirations.
The distinctiveness of different languages and reasons for learning them provide further complexity
o Teachers need to understand the differences between languages themselves, for example
between the Romance, and Latin-based languages of Europe, the non-alphabetic
(character-based) languages of East Asia, as well as languages of Southeast and South Asia,
and the Middle East in particular. Particular attention needs to be paid to teacher
understanding of the distinctive oracy-literacy learning requirements of the range of
languages taught in our schools.
Languages education provides possibilities for engaging with all other subject areas and with
teachers of these subjects
o Languages is the only subject area that can be used to teach or have a direct role in
educating learners in all other subject areas. The amount of time-on-task and the value of
content delivered through language matter significantly to outcomes
o Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programs, which provide the opportunity
to teach other subjects through the target language AND enhance awareness of cultures
and ideas (intercultural understanding) AND improve overall understandings and skills with
language and literacy are gaining in popularity and success in schools
o Immersion/bi-lingual programs also enhance learners’ capacity to function in a range of
language-using contexts in two or more languages
In response to this distinctiveness identified above, the dynamics of language education in schools
requires differently focused teacher preparation, to address the complex role of teachers of
languages in working with young people in establishing, challenging, and transforming identities
and understandings of how languages work and how people live and interact, locally and globally
Language Teacher responsibility is significant
o in managing cultural and linguistic variability with learners and their reasons for learning
languages
o in relation to mediating meaning-making and understanding across languages and cultures,
including developing intercultural understanding
o in managing knowledge of the particular target language and addressing the specific
learning demands of that language for particular groups of students
o in imparting linguistic and language- specific knowledge, as well as skills and knowledge
from other subject and learning disciplines
o in understanding their own place as a user of languages as culturally-situated and how this
will impact on their pedagogical stance and practices
1.
What characteristics should be fostered and developed in graduate teachers through their initial teacher
education?
 How can those best suited to the teaching profession be identified?
 What are the skills and personal characteristics of an effective beginning teacher?
 How can teacher education courses best develop these?
1a) Characteristics that should be fostered and developed in graduate teachers through their initial teacher
education:
 We support the stated notion that a broad range of skills and characteristics in teacher graduates is
required to maximise the learning of diverse school populations
In relation to linguistic and cultural diversity in the Australian student population:
 It is imperative that the pool of teacher education students is drawn from across diverse communities
of users of languages and from many cultural backgrounds, and that the linguistic and cultural
resources these people bring are valued and catered for in both teacher education programs and in
school communities
 All graduate teachers should have English language skills of a very high order, with recognition of the
value of proficiency in more than one language, and with active encouragement for multilingual
students to seek a career in teaching
o The diverse range of learner backgrounds has implications for entry and/or exit literacy
assessments for student teachers, as students who are not users of English as a first language
will use variable Englishes and idioms, requiring an inclusive understanding of Englishes and
English use
 There should also be an emphasis on increasing the general language knowledge and skills of (all)
pre-service teachers, especially in languages spoken in the community or taught in schools,
throughout their teacher education programs. Significant time allocations for literacy and languages
(including additional languages) learning should be a key component of teacher education programs.
In general:
 Pre-service teachers need reflexive understanding of themselves as learners who will become
teachers. Such awareness includes characteristics such as curiosity, creativity, adaptability, a thirst for
learning, a desire to critique and to understand processes of learning and understanding, and a
capacity to develop an inquiry-orientation to learning to teach and to their own career-long
professional learning
 An inquiry-orientation to learning to be a teacher includes adopting a critical stance on their own work
and to themselves as ‘mediators’ or facilitators of learning, and to research, having regard for
evidence of successful and context-appropriate pedagogies, drawn from broad theoretical bodies of
knowledge and from evidenced practice experience. These skills should be fostered throughout the
teacher education programs in which they are enrolled, in all units of study.
 Teachers need a clear understanding of the goal of understanding their learners and their learning
contexts, needs and requirements, including understanding the diversity of learners, with a futuresoriented perspective, and with the capacity to inspire learners and school communities to foster
learning environments
 Teachers need to foster and develop intercultural understanding in themselves and learners, with
colleagues and with the wider community. While intercultural understanding is a cross-curriculum
priority, opportunities for this understanding are developed well through the explicit focus afforded in
the learning of humanities subjects, including languages, which must be a part of all teacher education
programs
 Teachers need to be technologically skilled, to work with the range of multimodal learning
environments, resources and tools, and to understand the potential and changes new technologies
bring to teaching and learning and future workplace, living and community demands
 Teachers need to be numerate, and all teacher education programs need to ensure promotion of
numeracy skills throughout programs
 Teachers need international and global perspectives on the world, as well as detailed understanding
about how international, Australian, state and territory and local governments and instrumentalities
operate, and their place within these contexts, and the culturally-embedded attitudes that arise from
or surround these circumstances. Awareness and understanding of Asia is imperative, as are other
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global and international contexts, such as Europe, the Americas and Africa.
Teachers need to understand contested theories and attitudes in their communities, the profession,
and in the world, and be able to develop evidenced perspectives on fields of knowledge and contested
issues
Throughout the course of teacher education programs it is important to develop teachers’ self
concepts, to ensure strong agency in their chosen profession
Pre-service teachers who are prepared to engage in collaborative mentoring models, drawing on wide
networks, should be encouraged in the profession, and these skills should be explicitly modelled and
understood in teacher education programs, so teachers can enter the profession with means of
working productively with others.
Identification of those best suited to the teaching profession
A distinction needs to be drawn between undergraduate entry programs and post-graduate entry programs
Undergraduate entry programs
 We recognise these are somewhat reliant on tertiary entrance scores
 We advocate for very high score entry thresholds, to attract students of high intellectual ability to the
field, and to signal the significance and responsibility of teaching as a career
 Reliance on tertiary entrance scores alone is not an ideal or equitable mechanism for identification of
those best suited to the profession, as to teach is a highly specialised skill requiring not just
intellectually gifted candidates, but those with particular characteristics (as identified above)
 Suggested alternatives/additional identification strategies might include completion of self-awareness
questionnaires, which highlight some of the features identified above; recommendations from
teachers and school principals; recruitment identification processes and work experience results from
secondary schools; targeted quotas of students from different equity groups, including speakers of
multiple languages, and of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds; recruitment through
targeted advertising that realistically describes requirements to undertake education degrees;
incentive programs to attract targeted subject teachers, including teachers of languages, beginning in
the senior school years
Postgraduate entry programs (our preferred model for teacher education programs, and particularly for
language teacher education programs)
 Identification of those best suited should be based on a range of measures including undergraduate
degree results and subject specialisations, interviews, course coordinator recommendations, targeted
programs to attract teachers of particular specialisations, pre-selection characteristic questionnaires
and work experience history
 Again, it is important to raise the intellectual bar and community recognition of teacher education
degrees, so they are not seen as an option for low achievers
1b) Characteristics that should be fostered and developed in graduate teachers of LANGUAGES through their
initial teacher education:
Those best suited to language teacher education should ideally have
 a high level of formal proficiency in both the spoken and written forms of the target language,
developed through in-country education (for first language speakers), through home use and formal
schooling (including community schooling) for heritage/background speakers, and through formal
study at school and university, and significant in-country experience for second language learners
 significant and contemporary ‘in-country’ learning and living experiences is essential for all intending
languages teachers, and for Australian born languages teachers in particular
 some tertiary study in linguistics as well as in language(s) should be essential as part of undergraduate
prerequisites or provided in the graduate entry teacher training program
 the capability and qualifications to teach across at least one other learning areas so their contribution
to the school is more holistic (and fraction-of-time appointments can be avoided), and they are able to
engage in CLIL or semi-immersion/bi-lingual programs.
Characteristics that should be fostered and developed in graduate teachers of languages through their initial
teacher education:
There needs to be dedicated attention to
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the complexities and distinctiveness of languages as a learning area and the implications of this for
graduate teachers of languages, including developing awareness of themselves in this complex role,
and of their stance as languages educators in general and as language-specific educators in particular.
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the complexities and distinctiveness of the specific target language and the implications for classroom
practice resulting. This is equally important for first language, background language and second
language trainee teachers. All language teachers need to develop a deep understanding and ability to
explain the nature of the target language in contrast to English, and to recognise the implications of
this understanding for classroom teaching and learning, with learners of diverse background and
learning experience.
In relation to improving the status of languages in school education, courses in languages education need to
develop
 A critical awareness of the field of languages education in schools
 A contemporary understanding of bilingualism and bi/plurilingual learning and the role learners’ own
languages play in language learning
 An appreciation of intercultural orientations to language learning
 A strong capability to communicate in both the target language and English
 A capacity to represent and advocate for the learning area in an evidenced manner
2.
What teaching practices should be developed in graduate teachers through their initial teacher
education?
 How can the teaching practices that produce the best student outcomes be identified?
 How can teacher education programmes encourage teachers to reflect on evidence to support
their choice of teaching practice?
 How does reflection on evidence translate into student outcomes?
2a) Teaching practices developed in graduate teachers through their initial teacher education should be:
 Research and evidence based: across broad understandings of what constitutes evidence of
successful teaching practice, from disciplinary (curriculum) knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and
disciplinary (curriculum) pedagogical content knowledge
 Critically oriented: teachers need to be discerning and broadly-informed, able to assess and evaluate
teaching strategies, methods and approaches that will best suit particular contexts of learning,
recognising the diversity of learners and learner contexts; and with the capacity to scope these
needs, use research and practice evidence, including their own inquiry, to develop suitable
approaches, and to be able to evaluate these practices against intended learning outcomes.
 Inquiry-based: methods and approaches do not remain static, but are, rather, dynamic, requiring
ongoing evaluation and further research to ensure suitability for changing or widely variable teaching
contexts
 Collaborative: based on notions of communities of practice and learning: learning to teach is a careerlong undertaking. Collaborative mentoring partnerships, discipline/subject and professional
association membership, networks and online learning groups and processes built into degree
programs to foster these collaborations should promote this model of practice, to ensure currency,
reflection on pedagogical content knowledge, and research practices to discover and evaluate new
ideas
 Adaptable: to suit variable contexts and learners, year levels, subject requirements etc.
 Accountable: through non-threatening support and performance enhancement mechanisms (in
addition to meeting AITSL accountability standards)
 Real: related to real teaching contexts, tied closely with professional experience and work in schools,
which must also be guided by these principles
These key ideas need to be embedded in and to underpin all units of study within teacher education programs
2b) Teaching practices developed in graduate teachers OF LANGUAGES through their initial teacher
education:
 Much of the contemporary literature and research-based publications used in language teacher
education are not drawn from the Australian context, or from languages which are prioritised in the
Australian education system, and this situation needs to be addressed to better inform teacher
preparation
o Further research is necessary into what constitutes best practice and recognition of variable
contexts in schools-based languages education overall, in language-specific teaching and
learning, in languages education at different levels of schooling, and in different program
types
o Substantial investment is required into researching and documenting effective teaching and
learning in – for example – specific Asian languages at different year levels, for diverse
learner groups in our schools, so models of practice specifically designed for teacher
education can be identified, documented and applied nationally in teacher education
programs. This is particularly so in languages without a long schools-based research history,
and particularly in languages which are prioritised nationally.
 In contexts where significant proportions of pre-service teachers are overseas born and educated
native speakers of the target language, the opportunity to reflect on examples of teaching practice
drawn explicitly from the Australian context of learning is essential to provide the best impetus for
meaningful re-consideration of beliefs and methods likely to be adopted by such teachers (based on
personal first language learning experiences overseas) in this new and unfamiliar school context.
3.
What level of integration should there be between initial teacher education providers and schools?
 What evidence is there that effective integration achieves good teaching practice? What are the
most effective types of integrated experiences in preparing new teachers?
 What are the cost implications of more integrated professional experience? Are there more
effective ways in which professional experience might be funded?
 What other methods, or combination of these methods, could achieve better outcomes than the
current approach to professional experience?
 How can partnerships between teacher education providers and schools be strengthened to make
teacher education more effective?
 How can teacher education providers and schools best work together to select and train mentor
teachers to effectively support pre-service teachers on professional experience?
 How can consistency of good practice and continuous improvement across teacher education
providers and schools be assured?
3a) Levels of integration between initial teacher education providers and schools
We support the statement that the professional experience component of teacher education is critical to
performance of teachers, and believe an integrated model of regular and consistent contact with schools
(sometimes called a clinical practice model) is imperative for deep learning, relevant to the contexts of
teaching graduate teachers will encounter.
Some current issues that need to be resolved include:
 Disincentives for schools and teachers to take on supervision roles (the level of support for teachers in
schools to work with pre-service teachers is woefully inadequate and must be addressed to provide
sufficient, quality placements for pre-service teachers)
 Links between universities and schools (the ‘business model’ of many Schools of Education does not
recognise the time university lecturers need to commit to satisfactory and meaningful
supervision/mentoring of students in professional experience placements)
 The amount of time pre-service teachers spend in schools and with relevant supervisors, across all years
of their programs, especially in specialist subject areas (many pre-service teachers are placed in schools
where they are not working with a teacher in their specialist area, or have too little time for sufficient
observation, preparation and presentation of lessons, meaningful reflection on their practice teaching,
inquiry into their own experiences)
It seems inappropriate to be too focused on cost implications of integrated models if there is evidence to
support this model as the most effective. To improve the standard of teachers, it is an essential cost. However,
some cost-conscious considerations include:
 As well as physical presence in schools, there are benefits from email, phone and videoconferencing
contacts between schools, mentors, supervisors and students
 It is also possible to consider video evidence of teaching practice experience (including students’ own
experiences) to evaluate and plan improvements in practice
 Groups of pre-service teachers can work together with a mentor in a school
 Ensuring appropriate qualifications for mentoring by developing a dedicated preparation process
for mentor teachers can assist in reducing wasted time, and ensuring they are assisting pre-service
teachers appropriately (this process is currently highly variable).
3b) Levels of integration between initial LANGUAGE TEACHER education providers and schools
 The importance of experienced and effective teacher mentors as well as tertiary supervisors
specialising in languages education is paramount
 At present there is often a clear separation between what is taught at university as current,
evidenced-informed practice and what is experienced and expected in schools, including practices
that reinforce outdated and theoretically unsupported teaching and learning approaches
 While language professional experience practicum must necessarily be language-specific, in-school
mentoring should not necessarily be language-specific as experienced teachers of other languages
may be best suited to helping especially overseas born pre-service teachers to fully appreciate the
context and culture of learning they encounter in Australian schools.
4.
What balance is needed between understanding what is taught and how it is taught?
 What is the desirable interaction between content knowledge and teaching practice for developing
teachers? What is the difference for primary and secondary teaching? Why is there a difference?
 Should there be explicit training in how to teach literacy and numeracy in all teaching courses?
 How can the balance between the need for subject specialisation and a generalist approach in
primary teaching qualifications be addressed?
 What, if any, changes need to be made to the structure of teacher education courses? Should
content be studied before pedagogy (i.e. Should ‘what’ to teach be studied before the ‘how’ to
teach)?
 What barriers are there to restructuring teacher education courses to ensure they address these
concerns, and how may they be overcome?
 Why does Australia face a shortage of maths, science and language teachers?
 What can be done to encourage teaching students to develop a specialisation in these areas?
4a) What balance is needed between understanding what is taught and how it is taught?
Teaching requires deep knowledge of content, as well as of teaching. That is, content knowledge, pedagogical
knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and the capacity to critically reflect on the intersections of these
knowledges and skills are imperative.
The 19th century model of generalist teachers to cover all subject areas in primary schools is out-dated, and
urgently needs addressing, especially considering the complexity of subject-knowledge required at all levels of
schooling, and the requirements of the Australian Curriculum across subject areas. Programs for primary
teachers need to move towards greater specificity, perhaps across 2-4 subject areas.
Post-graduate programs offer the clearest model for incorporating the balance between content knowledge,
and pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, with the core ‘content’, or, at the very least,
the disciplinary philosophies, literacies and thinking of the discipline included in the undergraduate degree,
and the ‘how to’ and the thinking and research informing teaching that subject more of a focus in the
postgraduate teaching degree. Even in undergraduate degrees, however, all three aspects can be covered in
integrated programs.
Barriers to restructuring teaching programs are mostly related to ‘retaining turf’. It is definitely possible to
plan programs to incorporate all necessary aspects to prepare teachers. What to teach and how to teach, and
how to reflect on and evaluate teaching are best considered together in this process, rather than a one before
the other approach. The work of Darling-Hammond over the last few decades provides significant evidence
for the integration of the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of learning to teach, rather than a one after the other
approach.
4b) What balance is needed between understanding what is taught and how it is taught?
In relation to the status of languages in the school curriculum
All teachers require very high standards of English literacy and language use and understanding, as core
learning. Given the diversity of our learners in Australian schools, all pre-service teachers also need courses in
more general language understanding and plurilingualism, if not a requirement to learn an additional language
for at least one year, as is the expectation in some teacher education institutions in the UK and Europe.
In relation to Languages education, the issue goes beyond the WHAT (proficiency and knowledge of Language)
& HOW (general languages education pedagogy) to include: WHICH language (what language content &
methodological issues arise from that language), BY WHOM (what is the teacher’s background & how is this
implicated in relation to learners and the language), and TO WHOM (what learner background and needs and
motivations to learn the language are present in learners). All of these variables are equally important to
effective language teacher preparation for the Australian educational context.
In relation to language teacher education
Shortages of LANGUAGE TEACHERS arise because of:
 Status: There is insufficient attention to recognising languages education as a core subject in schools
and consequently as a specialist teaching subject in both undergraduate programs and graduate
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entry teaching degrees at university
School or program conditions: Conditions in schools for languages teachers are often extremely
difficult and isolating, with programming issues, lack of appreciation of the benefits of languages
learning for all subject areas, and cultures of non-valuing of languages as a subject area (KLA). Preservice teachers need to develop understandings of such contextual challenges and to be equipped
with strategies for appropriate advocacy, as well as a broad range of teaching skills that ensure they
are not marginalised as teachers of languages only, without the capabilities to contribute more
broadly to the school community and curriculum.
Suggested actions/encouragement for language teaching specialisation:
 Innovative school programs: There is a lack of knowledge among school leaders of the kinds of
languages programs that are possible – while teacher education cannot overcome this, providing
quality opportunities for teachers to experience diverse modes of delivery will enhance career
prospects and opportunities for improved provision substantially, and better clinical placement
programs will also serve to educate school communities and leaders
 Understanding the potential of languages education: There is a lack of understanding that ANY
subject can be taught in an additional language, improving literacy, language and subject knowledge
outcomes. Language teacher education (and teacher education in other specialisations) needs to
address a wider range of delivery modes including CLIL, immersion etc. as potential pathways for preservice teachers. At present few teachers are qualified in these alternative program types that are
likely to be more popular in the future.
 Tertiary incentives: Greater incentives are needed to promote languages learning at university and
languages teaching as a career. There are few incentives in university programs to encourage
students with a major in a language to become a teacher of that language – information needs to be
provided to undergraduates undertaking language study early in their programs on the likely career
pathways in education that are available to them so that subject choices can be appropriate to
maximise their teacher-readiness in the longer term. A national policy of support for dual-degree
programs in language and education is a needed priority across all languages taught in schools, and in
some key languages where teacher quality or supply is often raised as an issue.
 School languages graduate number increases: There are insufficient graduates leaving school with an
additional language. While there are multiple reasons why this might be the case, encouragement to
undertake a language as part of a tertiary education degree must be given priority to overcome this
lack of committed language learners entering university with quality prior language learning
experiences
 Appropriate recognition of skills: Consistency is needed in what constitutes competence in a
language, for trainee teachers of diverse background and experience. Requirements relating to what
level of language competence is expected and how that level of competence is measured tend to vary
across the country. While a level of language competence equivalent to a three year degree (and
some in-country experience) should be expected of all intending language teachers who are not
native speakers of the target language, that competence should not be compared to native speakers,
nor the competence of each group measured using common assessment procedures. Such
procedures should be nationwide, Australian context-specific, and designed to measure competence
in language as related to language teaching specifically, not a generalised measure of proficiency
based on native speaker norms
 Differentiation based on background: It is essential that measures or standards of competence
expected are described separately for each group of candidates: second language learners,
Australian-born home users, and overseas born native speakers, and that each group is given equal
opportunity to teach the language. Non-native speaker knowledge and experience with the language
is quantitatively and qualitatively different. Non-native teachers are also still on a learning journey
and cannot be expected to display the highest levels of competence at entry to the profession. It is
most important locally educated teachers are both encouraged and supported to enter the
profession, in order for national goals of languages education in schools to be met
 Provision of quality languages teacher education programs: We recognise that there is variability in
the teaching practices in languages majors in undergraduate degrees, especially in relation to
contemporary pedagogies, but know that well-planned language teacher education programs that
address contemporary evidence and understandings can provide suitable preparation for teachers of
languages of all backgrounds.
 Breadth of languages taught: While it may seem expedient to reduce the numbers of languages
offered in Australian schools to 2-4 only, this will not serve Australia’s or our learners’ best interests,
and there is no evidence that it would be more cost effective to implement such a program. The
suite of languages for which ACARA has developed or is developing languages curricula should be
supported across the nation and acknowledged in language teacher education preparation. Other
languages, which will work with generic versions of the Australian Curriculum, should also be
available, especially in areas where school contexts would usefully be supported by another language
(e.g. Farsi in an area where there are many users in the community). Preparing languages teachers for
a broad range of languages will also support community languages programs outside the mainstream
education system, where improved pedagogies are also desired.
5.
Other
Any other comments in response to the Issues Paper may be provided here.
During the consultation process with the TEMAG panel, the AFMLTA was invited to present a succinct set of
key recommendations in relation to language teacher education. These are provided below.
Major recommendations
 All teacher education programs should
o include languages units of study, with a focus on understanding how languages work,
plurilingual and diverse learners and learning contexts, engagement with learning an
additional language, understanding the significance and importance of languages in Australia
and for Australia’s future
o include units that engage with notions of intercultural understanding, and how this can be
fostered across the curriculum, with languages education as a key driver of this area
 Language teacher students should
o have high level literacy and languages skills (in English and the target language) and be
drawn from across the community, reflecting the diversity of languages and cultures in
Australian schools and communities, and reflecting the high intellectual demands placed on
teachers of languages in schools
o be educated to teach one or more other subject areas, sufficient to teach that subject in
English, or in a CLIL program in the additional language
 Languages education teaching courses need
o to be of a minimum of two semesters duration (assuming a major in the language or
equivalent has already been undertaken, and evidence of in-country experience is also
demonstrated) and include a minimum of 20 days professional experience in a languagespecific and year relevant context, supported by a professional mentor
o the following core components
 generic language teaching and learning skills and understanding
 language-specific teaching and learning skills and understanding
 understanding of teaching languages in Australian schools and its diverse contexts
 developing knowledge and understanding of diverse learners and their learning
needs
 exploring models of languages teacher pedagogical stance and understanding
oneself as a languages educator
 exploring models of languages teaching and learning, including CLIL, immersion,
language as subject
 development of critical orientations, inquiry-based and collaborative learning and
communities, for lifelong learning and long-term all-of-career aspirations
 regular and ongoing connections with schools in a clinical placement model and
working with appropriately qualified mentors
 deep knowledge and understanding of the Australian Curriculum: Languages
 deep knowledge and understanding of standards for languages teaching, including
AFMLTA standards and AITSL standards
 practical experience and theoretical understanding in the use of technologies in
languages teaching and learning
 experience in programming for and evaluation of languages teaching and learning
 critical awareness of the role of assessment in promoting language learning and use
 Dual degrees/programs that include a languages diploma or second degree are recommended as a
way of increasing the pool of languages teachers
 Incentives to undertake both language study and language teacher education, and school-level
identification of potential languages teachers as a means of increasing the pool of potential language
teachers need to be pursued.