School of Languages, Community Language Schools SA supplement the range of courses in South Australia schools
The School of Languages offered South Australian government, independent and Catholic schools' students an after-hours wider range of languages (at left) than available in day schools. Parafield Gardens High School's language programme, as an exaple at centre right, shows it integated with courses (shown in yellow) at the School of Languages. Community Language Schools South Australia offered an even wider range of languages classes run by volunteers.
Images courtesy South Australian government education department and Community Language Schools South Australia
A wide range of languages were being taught to South Australian students in the 21st Century through a schools network backed by the after-hours t School of Languages and volunteers working with Community Language Schools South Australia.
Adelaide High School was the South Australian government education department’s only special-interest language school but these languages were allocated separately to be integrated into the courses at other government schools: Aboriginal, Afrikaans, Ausian, Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, modern Greek, Spanish and Vietnamese. Languages programmes also were also offered through the department’s Open Access College.
The School of Languages was also a specialist government school but set up from 1986 on a special format and offering a wider range of languages than available in day schools. Based at Adelaide’s West Croydon, the School of Languages’ classes were in schools across Adelaide, with Adelaide High School being the largest centre. More than 20 other teaching centres offered a variety of languages at various year levels, in response to local demand.
The School of Languages was open to students from government, independent and Catholic schools with learning option in after-hours classes and holiday programmes for reception to senior secondary students. Set up as part of part of a vision for a multilingual and inclusive society, the school’s teachers had expertise across more than 22 languages.
Also based at West Croydon, Community Language Schools South Australia (formerly the Ethnic School Association of South Australia from 1979) extended cultural diversity, with 47 different languages being taught to 9,000 students at 100 different language schools across the state by 1,500 volunteers . The non-profit and non-government Community Language Schools South Australia and its schools were primarily funded through the South Australian government’s education and multicultural affairs departments.
