Traditional Languages: Success stories from across the country

As we celebrate The International Year of Indigenous Languages, it is encouraging to see the latest figures released by Victoria’s Education Department. They show an 8000 per cent improvement in the number of Victorian students studying an Aboriginal language* between 2011 and 2018, increasing from just 23 students in 2011 to 1867 last year. For academics like Susan Poetsch from the University of Sydney, such figures are indeed encouraging, as they are “a tribute to the communities who have been researching, learning and advocating for their languages for decades and the school systems that are supporting them”. She also points to other great stories that can be heard across Australia, each operating in specific ‘language ecologies’.
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