Studying Indonesian: Is it the future for Australia?

Saturday July 4, 2009

Translated by Ruth Black and Robyn Elmi

One the foremost newspapers in Australia, ‘The Australian’, on 10th June, 2009 expressed the view that the future of that country in the field of work and industry in the 21st Century will depend on the mastering of Asian languages.
As was published by ‘The Australian’, an expert in the field of International Relations from the Asian Institute at Griffith University, Michael Wesley, advised the Australian government to immediately carry out a broad program of Asian language study, supported by a budget of $US11.3 million.

Michael’s announcement was delivered when launching the results of research about the sharp drop in language education programs at university level.
According to him, Australia is no longer able to rely on the elite, who are fluent in Asian languages, to champion projects which are significant to Australia in the Asian region. “If we only depend on the elite, it will mean that the people of Australia will be locked in 20th Century industries, while other nations will move ahead and take part in the 21st Century knowledge economy,” he said. He also advised that the Australian economy is now becoming increasingly globalized and more knowledge based.

Michael’s report, entitled, “The building of an Australia aware of Asia”, stated that there are three Asian languages which must be pursued by Australia: Mandarin and Japanese because these two countries are Australia’s biggest trading partners; and the next most important language is Indonesian because Indonesia is Australia’s nearest neighbour.

In addition, he said that now is a critical time for Australia to ensure that at least some of its people can speak Asian languages in the next 30 years. “In the future we will be a knowledge based economy centred in Asia. Because of that, it is important for us to combine a knowledge based economy with the right human resources – people who can speak in languages other than English,” he commented.
Michael’s report suggested strategies for Australians to master Asian languages at school and university level. One of these strategies will be to make Australian educational institutions compete to obtain funds from national institutions for Asian languages. As a result, the total number of students who will study Mandarin, Japanese or Indonesian in the preparatory, primary and secondary levels will increase by 100% within five years. When these educational institutes win that funding, they must make sure that all of the language students above Year 10 get at least 150 minutes per week of Asian language study.

In 15 years time, Asian languages which are prioritised, could be widened to incorporate the study of Vietnamese, Thai, Persian, Bengali, Cambodian, Lao and Burmese.

Michael cited the prediction from the World Bank which stated that the Asia Pacific region will be a leader in the development of the knowledge based economy. He then compared the situation in Australia now, where 75% of Australians can only speak English.

According to him, at the moment, the centre of knowledge based economies is not in English speaking countries but in the very fast developing countries in the Asian region such as China, Korea, Taiwan and India. “Most of these consumers will buy non-English products and they will develop products which use local languages. That is the reason that only nations which can control local capacity will be profitable,” said Michael. When asked why the Australian people must study Asian languages when English has become the means of communication in the global business world, Michael concluded that it was this momentum, mentioned above, which was a ‘key’ argument. He explained that studying foreign languages is the fastest route to the understanding that our way of thinking about the world is not universal; studying a foreign language will shape our culture.

This report from the Griffith Asian Institute proclaims that all educational institutes will be targeted to teach two languages. This concept is broader than the Prime Minister, Mr Kevin Rudd’s program, which will only prioritize senior secondary students.

Michael Wesley’s proposal is similar to a number of steps which will be announced by the Australian Government about encouraging Asian languages. But on the other hand, Michael’s view diverges from the language strategies which were put forward by circles such as Joe Lo Bianco from Melbourne University.

Lo Bianco believes that studying languages in school should have been directed towards balancing the pragmatic (trade and security) with the humanistic (curiosity, culture, intellectual development). “Australia must study the problem of discriminating between that which is suitable to be applied in schools and received by the students (general policy) and what is needed by specialists (policy specialisation),” he said. He added,” The majority of students will not be involved in trade negotiations or in building national security policy.”
Teaching languages in school must become the first step towards successful language study and language classes in universities should produce leaders in their intellectual discipline. As well as that, language teaching in government departments or other institutions should be focusing on specialising at a higher level than university,” he said.

Michael Wesley again insisted that Australia is no longer able to depend on a small elite to negotiate with the world. The ability to speak Asian languages must be broadened for the sake of certainty in the work arena in the future (RB & RE, 2009)