Using public data, this presentation reports findings from a project on language support and bias in the Australian education sector. Our findings indicate an unequal distribution and visibility of languages. We will discuss the potential uses and limitations of public data on languages, and the implications of the unequal distributions.
When languages are discussed in Australia, the discussion is frequently based on census statistics. In fact, community languages are only discussed in the media when the latest census statistics are released. However, census statistics only provide a historical snapshot of linguistic diversity in residential areas. There is very little discussion of how languages are distributed in different social, cultural and educational domains. In education, languages are only formally discussed in two areas: students who are learning English as an additional language or dialect (EALD), and the provision of languages education other than English. There is a growing call for greater discussion of the teaching and learning of EALD students because a typical Sydney classroom will have 54.5% of the students coming from a language background other than English. And in return, there is also a growing demand for non-English language education. When the school sector is becoming more multilingual, how is the sector supported? How are multilingual parents and guardians supported? Using public data, this presentation reports findings from an on-going project on language support and bias in the public education sector in NSW. Our findings indicate an unequal distribution and visibility of languages in education. The findings suggest that a strong imbalance of language support for various speech communities and the imbalance may point to potential bias against emerging language communities. We will discuss the potential uses and limitations of the various sources of public data on languages in New South Wales, and the implications of the unequal distributions that we have observed.
