The impact of policy settings on language education in Australian schools: a comparative analysis of language enrolments and attrition in New South Wales and Victoria

ABSTRACT

We explore the impact of language education policy on language enrolments and provision in primary and secondary government schools In Australia, specifically in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, which have strikingly different policy settings. NSW adopts a ‘weak but flexible’ policy, mandating a very limited minimum time allocation for language study but allowing multiple entry points at senior secondary level. Victoria adopts a ‘strong’ mandatory policy, requiring continuous commitment to language study. Using available data, the study first compares enrolment data trends overall before considering the most widely taught languages at primary and secondary level, with additional analysis of a single secondary student cohort. Amongst the findings, we observe a marked reversal of previously falling language enrolments over time in Victoria, with substantially higher numbers overall compared to NSW where numbers have instead fallen, thus seemingly attesting to the impact of effective mandatory policies. While neither policy setting seems impactful enough in attracting and sustaining language study through to senior secondary level, a seeming pattern of convergence at this level masks at least partly the effect of access to alternative learning mechanisms on enrolments, resulting in much more frequent completion of Year 12 language study in Victoria.

KEYWORDS:

• Australia
• language policy
• government schools
• language enrolments

Introduction

Australia is a richly multilingual country, due in the first instance to the many languages spoken by its original Indigenous population and in the second to all the languages brought to the continent by many different immigrant communities, as part of a long history of mass migration to its shores. Furthermore, as highlighted by the latest national Census data, multilingualism in the Australian society is on the increase. As part of a longer-term trend, between 2016 and 2021, the percentage of people who reported speaking a language other than English at home increased from 21.6 to 22.8% of the total population, as the numbers of overseas-born residents and their families continue to climb (ABS, 2022). In this complex multiethnic and multilingual context, Australia has been identified in many respects and at different times as a leader amongst English-speaking countries in terms of positive efforts to support multiculturalism and multilingualism (e.g. Hajek et al., 2022; Lo Bianco & Slaughter, 2009; Rubino, 2007).

Nonetheless, many scholars have also pointed to the ‘Australian paradox’ (Clyne, 2005; Cruickshank & Wright, 2016; Hajek & Slaughter, 2014; Mason & Hajek, 2021a): while large numbers of people speak a language other than English, the broader Australian society shows only a limited interest in languages and specifically in language study. In spite of much work in research, formulation of recommendations and official policy in favour of language education, the number of young people actually studying languages is known to be patchy and inconsistent across the country just as it is in other traditionally Anglophone nations (see e.g. Lanvers et al., 2021 for different examples).

The challenges involved in the study of languages in Australia are at present particularly marked, as highlighted in various studies (e.g. Cruickshank et al., 2020; Curnow et al., 2014; Kavadias et al., 2022a, 2022b; Liddicoat et al., 2018; Lo Bianco & Aliani, 2013; Lo Bianco & Slaughter, 2009). In addition to the issue of access to language study, there are significant inconsistencies in the provision of language education and in the number of language students at different educational levels and across different parts of the nation, coupled with significant attrition at critical points in the school lifecycle. The lack of continuity in and completion of language study over an extended period and to a high level have led to a nationwide historical low of less than 9% of students completing language study in the last year of secondary schooling in 2021 (ACARA, 2021).

Amongst the numerous factors considered to impact on language study in Australia, researchers have also brought to the fore the profound differences in language education policies across the nation, which are due in large part to the high degree of autonomy that the country’s States and Territories have in terms of education policy and delivery within a complex federal system of governance. While studies have generally tended to discuss language policy in Australia at a higher level of formulation (e.g. Kohler, 2017; Kohler et al., 2014; Liddicoat, 2010; Liddicoat & Curnow, 2009; Slaughter, 2009), in this article we aim to explore some of the consequences of such policy differences in terms of actual language enrolments and continuity from primary school through to the end of secondary schooling.

A particular innovation of our approach here is that we examine and compare in detail the situation in Australia’s two most populous States, namely, New South Wales (NSW, 8.2 m. residents in 2022) and Victoria (6.7 m), which have very different language education policies. These policies can be contrasted as ‘weak but flexible’ and ‘strong’ respectively. Specifically, we draw on available enrolment data, provisions made for language learning in each State, as well as recent research to analyse within a comparative perspective the effect of specific policy settings on the uptake of languages in government schools in these two States at primary and secondary levels. In order to do so, we consider the most recently available enrolment data gathered for specific years (2020 and 2021 for Victoria and NSW respectively), as well as across a decade-long span for each State.

Our detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis of current and historical trends in language enrolments in each of these two States is particularly useful to firstly gauge the concrete impact of specific language policies. Indeed, as our analysis shows, the introduction of a new policy in Victoria in 2011 has resulted in remarkable increases in language enrolments in its schools across the decade we explore, deepening considerably the divergence with NSW in terms of longer-term overall trends. It is our view that such an analysis makes an important contribution to a broader evaluation of differences and/or changing patterns in language education in the wider Australian context (cf. Curnow, 2010). This is especially crucial when we consider both the highly diversified Australian education environment and the absence of comprehensive national data regarding language study (see Section ‘The context’).

As will also be shown, in spite of the increased overall numbers observed in Victoria, trends in language enrolments tend nevertheless to converge – by decreasing significantly – well before the final years of secondary schooling in both States. However, we also show that a more nuanced approach to understanding this apparent convergence is needed, since it masks the effect, at least in part, of access to alternative learning pathways and mechanisms on outcomes. While neither policy setting seems impactful enough in attracting and sustaining language study through to senior secondary level, it remains the case that language education policy in Victoria is much more successful all the same in terms of enrolments at all levels and through to completion of Year 12 study. Based on such an analysis, we conclude our study with some possible policy and educational strategies that could be adopted to address such policy differences and limitations.

The context

In Australia’s federal system of government, the responsibility for education belongs constitutionally to the nation’s individual constituent States (Scarino, 2021). However, in practice, it is shared between the Federal or Commonwealth government on the one hand and the governments of each of the six States and two Territories on the other. The Federal government is largely responsible for setting national education programmes and policies, and in particular the provision of discretionary and specific purpose funding to schools and core grants to universities (Lo Bianco, 2021). The States and Territories are responsible for their respective education systems, including a large part of funding, especially to so-called government schools, as well as the formulation and implementation of their own education policies and curriculum, registration and operation of schools, and the qualification requirements and employment of teachers. Therefore, the notion of language policy as employed and understood in the Australian context refers not simply to specific language planning documents but also more broadly to concrete programmes and initiatives established by the States and Territories as well as by the Federal government (Mason & Hajek, 2021b, p. 137).

The situation in Australia is further complicated by the fact that in each State and Territory there are also three separate education sectors (or jurisdictions) present. They are the government (or State) school sector which is our focus here, alongside the smaller Catholic and independent school sectors.

The complexity of this system, alongside the interaction between the Federal and the State and Territory governments, has a number of consequences, including what appear to be in some cases countervailing processes and tendencies that can also result, for example, from changes in political leadership with differing views on language education at any level of government (Liddicoat, 2010; Liddicoat & Scarino, 2010; Mason & Hajek, 2021b; Murray, 2010).

In the first instance, even though the education systems of State and Territories are largely autonomous, the Federal government with its ability to formulate and fund national policies and initiatives supported by its significantly greater financial resources has had considerable influence on educational developments throughout Australia (Hajek et al., 2022; Liddicoat, 2010; Liddicoat & Curnow, 2009), including with regard to language teaching in schools. For example, the shifting focus from European languages in the direction of Asian languages that has been encouraged particularly since the 1990s on was by and large initiated and funded by the Federal government and marked by a strongly instrumentalist trade-focussed approach (Lo Bianco & Slaughter, 2009, p. 20). At the same time, there is also some general coordination of policy and action between Federal and State and Territory ministers and departments. In 2008, for instance, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) was established as an independent statutory authority by the Federal government. It is jointly owned by all governments – Federal, State and Territory – with its work directed by agreement of all of Australia’s various ministers of education. It is specifically responsible for the development and monitoring of an Australian or national curriculum, including for the teaching of languages, which can then be taken, modified and implemented according to local policy in different States and Territories (Scarino, 2021). In addition, there is agreement by governments across Australia that languages represent one of eight so-called Key Learning Areas that all students should have the opportunity to learn in school.

Secondly, with regard to language education specifically, the high degree of State and Territory autonomy also results in very different policies and practices across Australia, in addition to differences in implementation within each of the three sectors (i.e. government, Catholic, and independent) (Slaughter & Hajek, 2014, p. 185). As one example, the application and implementation of the Australian Curriculum-Languages developed by ACARA have been different in the various States and Territories (Scarino, 2021).

A third point that is of relevance is that Australian States and Territories also have varying ways of collecting and reporting data in government schools with regard to such matters as student numbers, types of programmes or teacher qualifications. This diversity, together with the lack of comprehensive and systematic national data, poses considerable difficulties for researchers as well as policy makers, as has been repeatedly observed (e.g. Cruickshank & Wright, 2016; Curnow, 2010; Kohler et al., 2014; Slaughter, 2009; Slaughter & Hajek, 2014).

It is within this highly complex context that the study presented here is conducted. As previously noted, our comparative analysis focuses specifically on two States, New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria (VIC), both of which also provide the most reliable statistical data on language education in Australia, and explores in some detail the language enrolment data that are available in relation to the government school sector in each of them.

NSW and Victoria have been chosen because, as the most populous States in Australia, together they represent about 57% of the Australian population.¹ As a result, they also have the highest number of language students at primary and secondary levels in Australia. Furthermore, and importantly for our study, given that they have very different language education policies, they lend themselves well to a comparative analysis.

Current challenges in language education in Australia

Recent Australian research (e.g. Cruickshank et al., 2020; Curnow et al., 2014; Díaz et al., 2023; Kavadias et al., 2022a, 2022b; Kohler et al., 2014; Lo Bianco & Aliani, 2013; Lo Bianco & Slaughter, 2009; Mason & Hajek, 2021b) has identified a number of intersecting factors that can act as possible barriers in students’ uptake of, and continuity in language study at primary and secondary levels. Such factors relate primarily to the school environment as well as influences from other sources, such as family and peers and the broader social context; the pedagogical sphere; structures connected to specific school cultures; and students’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards languages and language study, and related motivational drives.

Lack of appreciation and support for language study as a valuable component of education amongst school leaders and teaching staff, parents and the community at large, has proved to affect students’ (and language teachers’) motivation and to impact on language learning uptake and continuity. Research also shows the need for improvements in language teaching approaches and for more clarity regarding the expected learning outcomes. Structural issues can also affect students’ retention, as in the case of problems of timetabling, competition with other subjects, lack of continuity in language offerings between primary and secondary school, insufficient time on task, and lack of adequate resourcing and of skilled and qualified teachers. It must be observed that a number of these factors also recur in studies conducted in comparable English-speaking contexts, such as the UK (e.g. Lanvers et al., 2021).

An area which has garnered significant attention and concern in Australia, also as a compounded effect of the issues outlined above, is the significant long-term decline in student enrolments in language subjects particularly in the last two years of secondary schooling, i.e. so-called Years 11 and 12 (cf. Munro, 2016; Richards, 2018). While in 2006, 14% of Australian students completing secondary school enrolled in languages at Year 12 level, this percentage fell to 10.9% in 2011, and to only 8.6% in 2021 (ACARA, 2021; Mason & Hajek, 2021a). At the same time there is also large variation from State to State. For example, in 2020 successful completion of final Year 12 language subjects ranged from 22% of all students (across all government and non-government schools) in that year in Victoria, to just 4% in Western Australia (cf. Hajek, 2022).

The necessity to do well in the final secondary examinations in order to be admitted to a particular university degree and/or course is undoubtedly also a major factor affecting the high attrition rates from the start of secondary education at Year 7 to the final Year 12 (Cruickshank et al., 2020; Kavadias et al., 2022b, Lo Bianco & Slaughter, 2009). This factor seems to be at play in particular in NSW, due to its significant downscaling of assessment results during the calculation of relative student ranking in relation specifically to languages (and in particular to heritage languages such as Arabic) (cf. Cruickshank et al., 2020, p. 179). In Victoria, on the other hand, in an effort to encourage language study at Year 12 level, students can receive up to an additional five marks to their study score for each language studied. While this is not intended to impact positively directly on their individual ranking, it does appear to be the case based on available data (VTAC, 2022) that in general students doing languages are more likely to be scaled up.

The language education policies of New South Wales and of Victoria

As previously noted, in both NSW and Victoria, as elsewhere in Australia, languages are technically recognised as a so-called Key Learning Area (KLA). Furthermore, in both States, the education authorities publicly acknowledge the social, cultural, educational and personal benefits of language education. Thus, language study is presented as an endeavour that helps students foster cultural and intercultural understanding, promotes intellectual and emotional development, nurtures reflection on one’s own heritage, and strengthens literacy skills.²

In spite of such similarities, the policy settings of NSW and Victoria with respect to language education in government schools are strikingly different. In the case of the former, they are generally very limited in expectation and requirements but also allow a considerable degree of flexibility in terms of entry points at secondary level, hence our previous characterisation of them as ‘weak but flexible’. In the case of Victoria, the official commitment to language education is noticeably greater, and by comparison should be classified as ‘strong’. It has already been seen in the five point bonus for Year 12 language study but also extends well beyond that important initiative. This difference is in our view of crucial importance if we consider that language policies are not simply plans for action but are also able to shape attitudes and values and more broadly public discourse about languages (Liddicoat & Curnow, 2009). At the same time, it must be acknowledged that language policies are in turn influenced by public discourse and attitudes (Mason & Hajek, 2020, 2021a).

The current language policy for government schools in NSW is based upon the following policy provisions at primary and secondary level respectively.³

At primary level the study of a language is optional and individual schools can decide to deliver a language programme through consultation with staff and the local community including parents. This optionality is linked to the fact that languages are not in fact a formal KLA specifically at primary school level in NSW (BOSTES, 2014⁴) in marked contrast to Victoria. This lack of official recognition is a clear indicator of the relative status of language education in NSW and Victoria – something which plays out very clearly in the number and proportion of primary students learning a language at any one time (see below).

At secondary level, where languages are instead a formally recognised KLA in NSW, an obligatory language teaching requirement exists but it is very limited, i.e. the study of one language for 100 h over one continuous twelve month period, sometime between Years 7 and 10 with a recommended preference for Year 7 or 8 (so-called Stage 4). Some schools also offer a ‘taster’ of language study in Year 7 by teaching different languages for one term each, before offering the 100 h of particular languages in Year 8. Students who have completed 100 h by the end of Year 8 can then select, albeit subject to sufficient numbers and school provision (Munro, 2016), to continue studying the language in in-school programmes, through an additional 200 h in so-called Stage 5 (Years 9 and 10). They can then proceed to further language study in the senior years (Years 11 and 12). These language students are known in the NSW system as ‘Continuers’. It is to be noted that individual schools can – and do – also vary the normal pathway for particular needs. For example, a school may decide to offer the 100 h option in Stage 5 (i.e. either in Year 9 or 10), to accommodate students changing schools or for other reasons.

In the senior years (Stage 6, Years 11 and 12), a particular characteristic of the NSW system is flexible entry through the provision of up to five courses for the same language. These final stage offerings are differentiated by proficiency level and by type of content, and can be taken by students for the final secondary examination (known as Higher School Certificate [HSC] in NSW).⁵ The five courses are Beginners, Continuers, Extension, Language in Context, and Language and Literature. Students are admitted to the Stage 6 courses on the basis of specific eligibility criteria. The Beginners course starts in Year 11, and is available to students who have previously completed 100 h or less in the language in Stages 4 (Years 7–8) or 5 (Years 9–10) or who have had no previous learning exposure to the language in question. Language in Context and Language and Literature courses are directed at so-called background learners (i.e. with significant proficiency previously gained at home and/or in the country of origin) and also start in Year 11. Finally, as already noted above, an additional 200 h of completed learning at Stage 5 (Years 9 and 10) or recognised prior learning instead are prerequisites for the Continuers course.

While all five courses are available for Chinese and Japanese, four are available for Indonesian (Beginners, Continuers, Extension and Language and Literature) and Korean (Beginners, Continuers, Language in Context, and Language and Literature), and only three (Beginners, Continuers and Extension) for French, German, Greek, Italian and Spanish. Such differentiation was introduced to provide flexibility for a range of potential learners from novice to advanced through multiple entry points, with the aim of increasing overall enrolments (Cruickshank et al., 2020, p. 158; Kohler et al., 2014). However, this has not necessarily been the case, as discussed below.

In the absence of any compulsory language learning requirement at primary level, it is not surprising that in 2021 only some 16% of all primary students (77,504 of 485,889) studied a language in NSW government primary schools. Moreover, in secondary schools where the minimum 100 h language learning requirement applies, albeit alongside some flexible entry points at Year 11, only about 24% of all secondary students in government schools in Years 7–12 (73,791 of 311,015) were learning a language in that same year.⁶

Very differently from NSW, current language policy for government schools in Victoria is much more comprehensive. It is explicit that ‘Schools must provide a language programme for students from Foundation to Year 10.’⁷ All schools are technically expected therefore to include provision of language education across all of those year levels (from so-called Foundation to Year 6 in primary, and Years 7–10 in secondary), while also implementing the Victorian Curriculum F-10 Languages. Importantly, the policy acknowledges that language study is a sequential and cumulative process, and that in order to learn effectively students need frequent and regular engagement with the language over an extended period of time, and opportunities to practise the language in a meaningful way in real situations.

Victoria’s current language education policy, formally announced in 2011, was a clearly developed response to a worrying long-term decline that had been under way since around the year 2000 both in terms of school provision and of student enrolments – something which had become particularly noticeable in primary schools by 2010. The impact of the new policy, which was intended to rollout progressively from 2012 over a ten-year period, was almost immediate. Numbers bottomed in 2012 and then began to improve dramatically – largely reversing the fall in school programmes, with a particular resurgence in primary school programme provision and language enrolments.

Today, the consequences of the policy are clear. While in practice not all Victorian schools are able to offer a language programme as technically required (and must seek a temporary formal exemption in such cases), the contrast with NSW in terms of reach and number of language learners is striking. At primary level, almost all (88%) Victorian students in 2020 were learning at least one language in government schools (339,124 of 383,935 students). At secondary level, some 43% of all students (103,824 of 242,884) were learning a language in government schools in 2020 (Victorian Department of Education and Training, 2021).

A large number of languages are offered through a variety of mechanisms to secondary students in Victoria, as in NSW. Yet, in contrast to that State, single subject offerings per language are the norm in most cases in Victoria. The exceptions to this practice are few: (a) Chinese, for which there are four differentiated courses according to proficiency level and experience (First Language, Second Language, Second Language Advanced, and Chinese Language Culture and Society), and (b) Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese which have two courses each (so-called First Language and Second Language). Non-second language courses generally only run as Year 11 and 12 courses, with very low numbers for Japanese and Indonesian. The normal expectation in Victoria is that a student who completes Year 12 language study will have begun studying a particular language in Year 7 (or less frequently in Year 8) before progressing over time to final secondary examination. There are no general options equivalent to Beginner courses that are offered in NSW from Year 11 that would allow students with no or very limited proficiency or learning experience to (re)commence language study at upper secondary level.

While our focus here is on in-school language programmes, a shared feature of both States is the existence of alternative language study mechanisms available to all students from all three sectors (State, Catholic, and independent) where a school does not teach a particular language. They can study it by distance education, with limited caps on numbers to encourage in-school provision, through the NSW School of Languages (offering 12 languages from Year 9) or the Victorian School of Languages (VSL, also offering 12 languages in distance mode from Year 7) respectively. There is also after hours provision, through the Secondary College of Languages (formerly the Saturday School of Community Languages) in NSW (offering 23 languages, mostly from Years 7 to 12) and in Victoria through the VSL (53 languages at primary and secondary level) and the separate community language school sector in each State (some 60 and 50 languages in NSW and Victoria respectively). For the final year examination, in some schools (typically non-government) in both States students have the opportunity to take up the International Baccalaureate (IB), where the study of a language is compulsory, in contrast to the more usual Higher School Certificate (HSC) in NSW or the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) which have no such compulsory requirement.

An additional flexibility on offer in both States is that highly competent students can complete Year 12 language study in Year 11 or even Year 10, as a way potentially of reducing study load in their actual Year 12. In Victoria, for instance, this is common practice, particularly for students studying their own community language.

We will see further below that these different mechanisms which ostensibly increase flexibility for students have very different effects on Year 12 language enrolments in NSW and Victoria, masked by subtle differences in reporting across the two States.

Methodology

Our comparative analysis focuses on language enrolments in the primary and secondary schools, and for both NSW and Victoria the data we discuss are for government schools only. Such data are made publicly available through the websites of the education authorities of each State and are largely comparable. As mentioned above, similarly comprehensive data relating to language enrolments in non-government schools are not available, and therefore we are not able to consider them. We acknowledge that this is a limitation of our analysis, particularly in the case of some languages that are strongly embedded in non-government schools (e.g. Italian in Australia’s Catholic school systems, Cruickshank et al., 2020; Lo Bianco & Slaughter, 2009; Slaughter & Hajek, 2014).

As part of our analysis, we consider a series of different data sets in turn. First, we provide an overview at two time points in each State of enrolments at primary, secondary and combined school level. This is intended to provide a clear picture of the overall differences in trends between NSW and Victoria. In the second instance, we explore the most recently available enrolment data over a decade for the most widely taught languages in each State, at primary and secondary school level respectively. We do this, as it is clear that the policy settings, whatever they might be, do not impact equally on individual languages. We adopt a longitudinal perspective so as to identify and compare changes that have taken place over a similar ten-year period in language education in the two States.⁸ We then turn our attention to secondary level data – in order to explore language learner attrition across year levels in two different ways: (a) school year level data in one year; and (b) a single student cohort over a six-year span as they enter and complete secondary schooling.

In exploring the quantitative trends, we also account for and compare language provisions in the two States, particularly at secondary level, in light of their different policy settings.

Analysis

An overall snapshot of language enrolments in government schools in the two States

In Table 1, we provide an overview summary of enrolments in languages compared also to total enrolments at both primary and secondary levels as well as all enrolments combined over a decade in NSW and Victoria. What is immediately evident is the direct fall in language enrolment numbers at each level and across the board (−11,988) from 2012 to 2021 in NSW. The result, given the expanding total student population (+7%), is an evident decline in the proportion of students learning a language across the board (falling from 22% to only 19% of all students). The situation in Victoria is strikingly different: in line with the new 2011 policy, language enrolments in government schools have increased significantly both in raw numbers (+158,343) as well as a proportion (from 54 to 71%) of all enrolments over the decade (2011–2020). What is even more striking about these very different patterns across the two States is that over the timeframe under consideration Victoria also shows significantly greater growth (+17%) in the total student population than has occurred in NSW (+7%). This means that the re-expansion of language learning in Victoria was also more than successful in meeting the significant increase in its overall student population in the government sector.

Table 1. Language enrolments and all enrolments in NSW and VIC government schools over time.

NSW	Language enrol’s	All enrol’s	Lang. stud’s as % of all students	Victoria	Language enrol’s	All enrol’s	Lang. stud’s as % of all enrol’ts
Pri’y 2021	77,504	485,889	16%	Pri’y 2020	339,124	383,935	88%
Sec’y 2021	73,791	311,015	24%	Sec’y 2020	103,824	242,884	43%
Total 2021	151,295	796,904	19%	Total 2020	442,948	626,819	71%
Pri’y2012	80,530	438,681	18%	Pri’y2011	192,496	309,093	62%
Sec’y 2012	82,753	304,632	27%	Sec’y 2011	92,109	221,485	42%
Total 2012	163,283	743,313	22%	Total 2011	284,605	530,578	54%
Total 2021–2012 (+/−% diff’ce)	−11,988 (−7%)	+53,591 (+7%)	−3%	Total 2020–2011 (+/−% diff’ce)	+158,343 (+56%)	+96,241 (+18%)	+17%

Source: NSW Department of Education, Victorian Department of Education and Training.

*Data do not include numbers from Community Language Schools (i.e. so-called Saturday schools) nor from VSL for Victoria.

Totals are in bold.

It is important also to note at this point that due to slight differences in data provision in each State, the size of the gap in enrolments between NSW and Victoria is in fact underestimated in NSW’s favour. For the secondary level, NSW data also include students undertaking language study through distance education through the NSW School of Languages (in total 2,416 students across all sectors in 2021; NSW Government, 2023) as well as enrolments in Saturday classes offered by the Secondary College of Languages. In the latter case, students are enrolled through their home schools and are counted as in-school enrolments (with no separate statistical information available). In Victoria, all secondary students doing distance education or Saturday classes through the Victorian School of Languages are counted separately (7,923 in total, including 1,916 distance education, across all sectors in 2020). This difference in data inclusion will be shown below to have a bearing on our analysis and on our understanding of attrition in upper level secondary school in that State.

Before proceeding with the analysis, we observe that the trends across the years presented in the tables below show overall a fairly consistent movement over time, without uneven movement in different directions for any language.

A closer look at language study in government primary schools in the two States

In Table 2, the 12 most studied languages in NSW government primary schools in 2021 are presented, with comparative data from 2012.

Table 2. The 12 most studied languages in NSW government primary schools: enrolments 2012–2021*.

	2012	Rank	2021	Rank	Shift (rounded)
Chinese(Mandarin)	18,672	1	15,759	1	−16%
Arabic	9,194	3	10,357	2	+13%
Italian	14,165	2	9,280	3	−34%
Japanese	4,592	6	6,008	4	+31%
Vietnamese	5,816	5	4,367	5	−25%
French	7,445	4	3,678	6	−51%
Wiradjuri	1,255	11	3,558	7	+184%
Greek	4,195	7	3,101	8	−26%
Gumbaynggir	405	19*	2,552	9	+530%
Korean	1,521	10	2,439	10	+60%
Indonesian	3,472	8	1,399	11	−60%
Spanish	1,539	9	1,249	12	−19%
Total	72,271		63,747		−12%

Source: NSW Department of Education (2023).

*Data do not include Community Language Schools.

The following general trends can be observed. Firstly, across the decade, there is a noticeable decline (−12%) in overall enrolments for the languages listed in the table – with falls occurring for most (7 of 12) languages, ranging from −16% for Chinese to a very substantial −60% for Indonesian. This −12% decline is also greater than the −4% fall for all languages in NSW government primary schools (see Table 1). Secondly, the languages showing the highest increased enrolments are two Aboriginal or First Nations languages, Wiradjuri and Gumbaynggir, followed by Korean, Japanese, and Arabic. Thirdly, and consequently, there have been changes in the ranking of some languages, most notably for French, Indonesian, and Spanish. Fourthly, the most studied languages today are also those of the highest home speakers in NSW, that is, Chinese (Mandarin) and Arabic (ABS, 2023).

Not surprisingly, the data from Victoria present a very different picture. Table 3 shows the 12 most studied languages in government primary schools in that State in 2020, with comparative data from 2011.

Table 3. The 12 most studied languages in VIC government primary schools: enrolments 2011–2020*.

	2011	Rank	2020	Rank	Shift (rounded)
Chinese(Mandarin)	16,752	5	74,718	1	+346%
Italian	53,114	1	62,930	2	+18%
Japanese	38,108	2	58,205	3	+53%
Indonesian	35,745	3	46,991	4	+31%
French	18,562	4	30,138	5	+62%
Auslan	11,017	7	29,844	6	+171%
Spanish	2,377	8	19,204	7	+708%
German	11,653	6	8,173	8	−30%
Aboriginal Languages**	0	N/A	2,762	9	+
Korean	133	14	1,726	10	+1198%
Hindi	0	N/A	1,569	11	+
Greek	2,187	9	1,407	12	−36%
Total	189,649		337,667		+78%

Source: Victorian Department of Education and Training (2012, 2021).

*Data do not include VSL or Community Language Schools.

**Differently to NSW, Aboriginal languages data in Victoria are aggregated.

Overall, we observe for Victoria a very substantial increase of +78% over time in enrolments for the languages included in the table. This is slightly higher than the +76% increases for all languages in primary schools (see Table 1). Where individual languages can be directly compared, enrolments in Victoria at both start and end points are substantially higher than in NSW for all languages, except Korean. Importantly, across the decade, all languages, except German and Greek, show increased student enrolments. In some instances, such increases are exponential, as in the case of Chinese (+346%), and in particular for languages with relatively low enrolments in 2011 (Korean + 1198% and Spanish +708%).

It is also worth noting that due to historical and socio-cultural differences, the 12 most studied languages are not the same in the two States. For example, Arabic is the second most widely taught in NSW (where Australia’s large Arabic community is particularly concentrated) but it is not amongst the most studied in Victoria. On the other hand, German and Hindi are not widely studied languages in NSW, unlike in Victoria.

In summary, a comparison of Tables 2 and 3 indicates that language study in Victoria is flourishing in government primary schools, at least as attested to by the high student numbers (see also Table 1, i.e. 88% of all primary students), coupled with the significant increase over time (+78%) in enrolments overall for the most widely studied languages. This makes for a stark contrast with language study in NSW government primary schools, where overall language enrolments (only some 16% of all students) are much lower even in the case of the most studied languages, such as Chinese or Japanese, and show a worrying decline (−12%) over time.

A closer look at language study in government secondary schools in the two States

We start our comparative analysis at secondary level with a snapshot of overall language enrolments for the eight most widely taught languages in each of the two States, before proceeding with more detailed analyses. This comparison is particularly important in view of the large differences in the requirements for compulsory language study at lower secondary level in NSW and Victoria (see Section 'The language education policies of New South Wales and of Victoria'). These differences, potentially counterbalanced by late level entry options in NSW, have important consequences in terms of student attrition across Years 7–10 as well as in the transition to the senior years.

The eight most studied languages in NSW government secondary schools in 2012 and 2021 are presented in Table 4.

Table 4. The 8 most studied languages in NSW government secondary schools, 2012–2021*.

	2012	Rank	2021	Rank	Shift
Japanese	29,040	1	31,386	1	+ 8%
French	21,239	2	16,365	2	−23%
Chinese (Mandarin)	7,365	4	6,154	3	−16%
Italian	7,571	3	5,988	4	−21%
Spanish	3,429	7	4,459	5	+30%
Indonesian	4,485	6	2,663	6	−41%
German	5,416	5	2,616	7	−52%
Korean	1,328	8	1,851	8	+ 39%
Total	79,873		71,482		−11%

Source: NSW Department of Education (2023).

*Data are ranked according to 2021 order.

Based on these data, the following trends can be observed for NSW. Firstly, between 2012 and 2021 enrolments have decreased for most languages (5 out of 8) in the table, with an overall decline of −11% (identical to −11% for all languages, based on Table 1). Falls, where they occur, range from −16% for Chinese to −52% for German. Secondly, we observe a small increase in enrolments for Japanese, which remains by far the most studied language (see also Table 6). Spanish and Korean show considerably increased enrolments over time, starting however from a much lower base. Thirdly, considerable differences can be noted with the most studied languages at primary level (cf. Table 2). In particular, Arabic (ranked second at primary level) and Vietnamese (ranked fifth at primary level) do not appear amongst the eight most studied languages at secondary level in NSW. On the other hand, Japanese (ranked fourth at primary level) and French (ranked sixth at primary level) remain the most studied at secondary level over time.

The data for the eight most studied languages in Victorian government secondary schools in 2011 and 2020 are presented in Table 5.

Table 5. The8 most studied languages in VIC government secondary schools, 2011–2020*.

	2011	Rank	2020	Rank	Shift
French	19,630	1	22,726	1	+16%
Japanese	17,602	3	21,233	2	+21%
Italian	19,105	2	18,753	3	−2%
Indonesian	17,012	4	14,596	4	−14%
Chinese (Mandarin)	6,245	6	13,683	5	+119%
German	10,836	5	10,416	6	−4%
Spanish	369	11	3,059	7	+729%
Auslan	813	8	1,511	8	+86%
Total	91,612		105,977		+16%

Source: Victorian Department of Education and Training (2021).

*Data are ranked according to 2020 order.

As in the case of primary schools, overall language enrolments in Victoria for the eight most widely taught languages at secondary level are substantially higher than in NSW at both start and end points over time. Furthermore, almost all eight languages in Victoria listed in have increased student enrolments, with the exception of slight decreases for German (−4%) and Italian (−2%). Overall, we also note a + 16% rise in all enrolments, compared to +13% increase for all languages, based on data in Table 1. The increases are particularly substantial in the case of Chinese (+119%), and exponential for Spanish (+729%), a language with relatively few enrolments in 2011.

Detailed analysis of language enrolments across year level brings to the fore further differences between the two States.

Table 6 shows enrolments in NSW government secondary schools across Years 7–12 for the eight most studied languages in 2021. For Year 11 and Year 12, enrolments are included for all available courses for the HSC (see Section ‘The language education policies of New South Wales and of Victoria’). In the Year 12 column we provide the overall enrolments and in brackets the enrolments for the Continuers course for students who have completed the 100 and 200 h courses in preceding years. As specified under the table, the data include distance education students (estimated 1,406 in government students across Years 9 to 12 in 2021⁹); and an unspecified number of students taking courses through the Secondary College of Languages (see Section ‘An overall snapshot of language enrolments in government schools in the two States’). The effect of such reporting therefore is to inflate in-school enrolments in a way that does not occur in Victoria (see below).

Table 6. Language enrolments in NSW government secondary schools (top 8 languages) – Years 7-12, 2021

2021	Year 7	Year 8	Year 9	Year 10	Year 11	Year 12*	Total	% of total listed enrol- ments	Rank
Japanese	11,278	12,185	2,845	2,397	1,635	1,046 (468)	31,386	44	1
French	6,461	6,846	1,026	965	586	481 (202)	16,365	23	2
Chinese (Mandarin)	2,078	2,121	428	483	549	495 (69)	6,154	9	3
Italian	2,710	2509	161	255	187	166 (38)	5,988	8	4
Spanish	1,801	1,792	188	242	255	181 (67)	4,459	6	5
Indonesian	1,566	830	84	68	62	53 (30)	2,663	4	6
German	937	937	252	193	153	144 (62)	2,616	4	7
Korean	460	817	106	75	236	157 (12)	1,851	2	8
Total	27,291	28,037	5,090	4,678	3,663	2,801 (948)	71,482	100

Source: NSW Department of Education. Data include enrolments in NSW School of Languages distance education and NSW Secondary College of Languages

*Year 12 enrolments in brackets refer to Continuers only.

Please note: major peak enrolments in dark green, minor peak (Year 10 or 11) in light green (see text below).

The peak overall enrolment in NSW occurs in Year 8, slightly above numbers for Year 7, indicating that many schools delay the introduction of the minimum 100 h requirement for a language until the second year of secondary school. Given that this limited mandated provision generally occurs in Years 7 and/or 8 (see Section 'The language education policies of New South Wales and of Victoria'), it is not surprising that enrolments are drastically lower in Years 9 and 10 for all languages. After Year 9, they generally continue to decline, albeit to a lesser degree. On the other hand, the slight increases from Years 9 to 10 for Chinese, Italian and Spanish can be explained in light of schools’ flexibility vis-à-vis the normal pathway in which they can also delay or offer the same minimum 100 h in Years 9 or 10.

In the transition from Year 10 to Year 11, there continues to be an overall drop in enrolments, with some exceptions, i.e. in the case of Chinese, Spanish, and Korean. This fall occurs notwithstanding the fact that students can also take up language study in Year 11 through new courses such as the Beginners stream. Indeed, as shown in Table 6, Year 12 enrolments in the Continuers course shown in brackets represent a minority for almost all the listed languages.

In order to trace more clearly the extent of attrition over time in language study in secondary education, we explore the enrolment trajectory of the same student cohort studying languages in a given year as they move through six years of secondary schooling. This is shown in Table 7 for the years 2016–2021. The table calculates the shift in language enrolments at three different points: (1) from Years 8 (or from Year 7 if peak year, indicated in brackets) to 9, that is, upon completion of the 100 h requirement; (2) from Years 10 to 12, that is, from middle to senior years; and (3) across the entire secondary school cycle (from the Year 7 or 8 peak until Year 12). For (2) and (3), the additional numbers and percentages in brackets refer to the enrolments specifically in the Continuers course.

Table 7. NSW government secondary schools: Top 8 languages, Same student cohort 2016 – 2021

	Year 7 2016	Year 8 2017	Year 9 2018	Shift Yr 8 to Yr 9 (& Yr 7 peak to Yr 9)	Year 10 2019	Year 11 2020	Year 12 2021 (Continuers in brackets)	Shift Yr 10 to Yr 12 (Cont’rs in brackets)	Shift Yr 7 OR 8 peak  to Yr 12* (Continuers in brackets)
Japanese	11,601	11,241	2,209	−80% (−81%)	2,150	1,431	1,046 (468)	−51% (−78%)	−91% (−96%)
French	7,534	7,780	1,142	−85%	1,093	677	481  (202)	−56% (−82%)	−94% (−97%)
Chinese (Mandarin)	2,496	2,175	477	−78% (−81%)	496	715	495 (69)	+0% (−86%)	−80% (−97%)
Italian	2,077	2,881	276	−90%	237	247	166 (38)	−30% (−84%)	−94% (−99%)
Spanish	1,189	1,464	192	−87%	132	371	260 (67)	+97% (−49%)	−82%  (−95%)
Indonesian	2,098	1,197	123	−90% (−94%)	95	63	53 (30)	−44% (−68%)	−97% (−99%)
German	1,127	1,822	239	−87%	226	191	144 (62)	−36% (−73%)	−92% (−97%)
Korean	412	285	118	−59% (−71%)	110	212	157 (12)	+43% (−89%)	−62% (−97%)
Total	28,534	28,845	4,776	−83% (−83%)	4,539	3,907	2,801 (948)	−38% (−79%)	−90% (−97%)

Source: NSW Department of Education. Data include enrolments in NSW School of Languages distance education and NSW Secondary College of Languages

Please note: major peak enrolments in dark green, minor peak (Year 11) in light green (see text below).

If we take Year 7 as our initial base year, we observe that from Years 7 to 9 and 10 all languages suffer a significant decline in enrolments. The attrition from the peak enrolment year (either Year 7 or 8), to Year 9, ranges from −90 and −94% respectively in the case of Indonesian and Italian, to −59 and −71% for Korean, which however starts from a much smaller basis.

In the progression from Years 10 to 12, enrolments continue to decrease for most languages, albeit to a lower degree (overall −38%). The rate of attrition ranges from −56% for French to −30% for Italian. While Chinese enrolments tend to stay stable, enrolments increase for Spanish and Korean. Both the relatively lower decreases for all languages and the increases for these two languages can be explained with new students joining the cohort in Year 11 through various HSC courses, in particular the Beginner courses, as indicated above. That said, these courses are not sufficient to stem overall declines from Years 10 into 12. If we single out the Continuers, enrolment decreases are much higher, ranging from −49% for Spanish to −89% for Korean.

In any case, as shown in the table, if we consider the attrition rate of this single student cohort moving through the entire secondary cycle, it is clear that for most languages, the overwhelming majority of language students have already abandoned such study by Year 9. While the addition of courses at Year 11 reduces the apparent fall in language learners from Year 7/8 to Year 12 to −90%, this is somewhat misleading: the proportion of Continuers who stay in the course until Year 12 from the Year 8 peak is only 3% given an overall −97% fall.

With respect to Victoria, Table 8 shows language enrolments specifically in in-school programmes in government secondary schools across Years 7–12.

Table 8. Language enrolments in in-school programs in VIC government secondary schools (top 8 languages) – Years 7-12, 2020

2020	Year 7	Year 8	Year 9	Year 10	Year 11	Year 12	Total	% of total language enrolments	Rank
French	8,018	7,605	4,044	1,773	739	547	22,726	21	1
Japanese	8,074	6,950	3,744	1,395	599	471	21,233	20	2
Italian	7,419	6,364	3,886	628	268	188	18,753	17	3
Indonesian	6,302	5,588	1,705	604	204	193	14,596	14	4
Chinese (Mandarin)	5,625	4,508	1,859	678	534	479	13,683	13	5
German	4,069	3,465	1,669	641	311	261	10,416	10	6
Spanish	1,432	1,296	165	55	60	51	3,059	3	7
Auslan	614	245	397	198	30	27	1,511	1	8
Total	41,553	36,021	17,469	5,972	2,745	2,217	105,977	100

Source: Victorian Department of Education and Training, 2021. Data do not include VSL enrolments.

Please note: major peak enrolments in dark green

In contrast to NSW, where peak enrolment may be in either Year 7 or 8 (cf. Tables 6 and 7), the highest number of students in Victoria is always in Year 7. Moreover, despite formal policy in favour of language education through in-school programmes until Year 10, enrolments across Years 7–10 in Victoria nevertheless still fall substantially for all languages. It is to be observed, however, that the attrition is not as sharp as in NSW, particularly from Years 8 to 9 (cf. the rates of shift in Tables 7 and 9).

Similarly to NSW, attrition also occurs in the transition from Year 10 to the senior years, where enrolments appear to be considerably lower, with the exception of Spanish. It is important to recall, however, that in Victoria students enrolled in the senior years will generally have studied the specific language across all the previous years. Therefore, unlike NSW, enrolments in the senior years do not usually include students taking up language study in Year 11.

As in the case of NSW, in Table 9 the degree of attrition across the years is traced through the trajectory of a specific student cohort, specifically for the years 2015–2020.

Table 9. Vic government secondary schools: Top 8 languages, Same student cohort 2015 – 2020

	Year 7 2015	Year 8 2016	Year 9 2017	Shift Yr 8 to Yr 9 (and Yr 7 peak to Yr 9)	Year 10 2018	Year 11 2019	Year 12 2020	Shift Yr 10 to Yr 12	Shift Yr 7 to Yr 12
Chinese (Mandarin)	4,110	3,369	1,869	−45% (−55%)	890	633	479	−46%	−88%
French	6,595	6,390	3,616	−43% (−45%)	1,473	548	547	−63%	−92%
German	3,786	3,080	1,689	−45% (−55%)	627	305	261	−58%	−93%
Indonesian	6,803	5,970	1,677	−72% (−75%)	562	472	193	−66%	−97%
Italian	6,535	6,033	3,463	−43% (−47%)	694	261	188	−73%	−97%
Japanese	6,469	5,125	2,727	−47% (−58%)	1,273	548	471	−63%	−92%
Spanish	806	526	214	−59% (−73%)	180	63	51	−72%	−94%
Auslan	194	110	106	−4% (−45%)	25	30	27	−8%	−96%
Total	35,298	30,603	15,361	−50% (−56%)	5,724	2,860	2,217	−61%	−94%

Source: Victorian Department of Education and Training, 2021. Data do not include VSL enrolments.

Please note: major peak enrolments in dark green, minor peak (Year 10 or 11) in light green

Notwithstanding formal policy, it is clear that some attrition is already visible in Year 8 in Victoria. That said, the overall attrition from Years 7 (as the peak year) and 8 to Year 9 is considerably lower than in NSW (cf. Table 7), in that six of the eight languages lose fewer than 60% of enrolments in those transition years in Victoria. However, very substantial attrition occurs instead in the transition from Year 9 to 10. The attrition rates also tend to be higher – and more similar to those noted above for NSW – as students move from Year 10 to Year 12, ranging from −8% for Auslan to −73% for Italian.

In a similar fashion to NSW, it appears that the overwhelming majority of students in Victoria has abandoned the study of a language before Year 12, with shifts ranging between −97% for Indonesian and Italian to −88% for Chinese. Yet the similarity in numbers disguises the fact that while in Victoria Year 12 enrolments generally reflect continuous language study across the six years of high school, in NSW a substantial proportion of Year 12 enrolments involve language study only in the last two years of secondary schooling.

However, it is at this point that a more nuanced approach to attrition in Victorian secondary schools is needed. The true extent of attrition is in fact also to a substantial degree mitigated – in a way that is not at all obvious when comparing the data tables for NSW and Victoria. In the first instance, unlike the case of NSW, enrolments in distance education and government-run Saturday classes through the VSL are always provided separately in annual reporting, and are not included in the Victorian in-school data and therefore are not included in Tables 8 and 9. A substantial number of government school students in that State complete their upper level language study (including Year 12) through such provision (of 7,923 VSL secondary enrolments in 2020, 69% were government school students, i.e. 5,427 including 1,332 at Year 12) and through community language schools. It appears therefore that the unexpectedly large drop off in enrolments after Year 9 is at least in part a reflection of the consideration given by schools to such matters as perceived limited resourcing, as well as a progressive reduction in the number of subjects students are able to select as they move across years, forcing them to specialise in anticipation of Year 12. In this context, students may be encouraged by schools and/or by necessity to continue language study through other mechanisms which are made available to them and are also widely promoted to schools and students as a positive learning option. In effect, despite the policy, the necessary conditions are not yet in place for a much larger number of in-school language education programmes to continue and thrive directly within secondary schools beyond Year 9.

On a more positive note, there is also a marked tendency in Victoria for students to undertake Year 12 language study in Year 11 and even Year 10. Available data show that in 2020 only 56% of government students who completed any kind of Year 12 language study did so in that year. Over 40% did so instead in Year 11 and 3% in Year 10. These students do not appear in the data tables previously presented, especially as they may have undertaken such study outside of an in-school programme.

When all of these factors are taken into account, the proportion of students in the Victorian government school sector to have completed Year 12 language study at any point in their secondary career rises to 18% of all students graduating from the Victorian Certificate of Education in 2020. By way of comparison, the proportion of students completing Year 12, regardless of pathway, in government schools is only 8% for NSW in 2021.¹⁰

Discussion

The synchronic and diachronic analyses presented in this study have highlighted how the 2011 introduction in Victoria of a ‘strong’ policy in favour of F-10 language education has resulted in a substantial positive shift in overall language enrolments in government schools (see e.g. Table 1). This shift contrasts starkly with the trends observed in NSW, as highlighted through our comparative approach, and more broadly points to a reversal in Victoria of negative patterns in language enrolments observed over time in Australian language education.

At primary level, for the 12 most widely studied languages, enrolments in Victoria are much higher and have overall increased substantially (+78%) over the decade-long timeframe considered, whereas they have decreased (−12%) over a similar time frame in NSW. When we consider trends for the most widely studied languages at secondary level, similar patterns emerge, albeit to a lower degree, with higher language enrolments in Victoria compared with NSW for most languages and substantial increases over the longer term for most languages under consideration in Victoria – counterbalanced by a general fall in numbers in NSW. In Years 7–9, we have observed in Victoria a more even distribution of language enrolments across the years compared with NSW, where student attrition from Year 8 to Year 9 is particularly dramatic. In the case of NSW this is undoubtedly a consequence of the minimum 100 h requirement ending in Year 8 in many schools. In the absence of any policy intervention in NSW similar to the Victorian policy, despite some positive indications for some individual languages, language enrolments in that State display instead worrying long-term and ongoing decline overall in both primary and secondary schools.

Yet, in the progression from Year 10 to Years 11 and 12, in both States language enrolments tend to fall for all languages. Of note is that while overall enrolments are generally higher in Victoria until the end of Year 10, these appear to fall below those in NSW in Years 11 and 12. This shift in circumstances is in the first instance the result of NSW students taking up language study in Year 11 through the provision of upper-level options. This is an important point when considering candidatures for the final Year 12 examination, in that, as already observed, VCE enrolments in Victoria are more generally the result of continuous language study across the six years of high school, whereas, as is evident in Table 6, most Year 12 HSC candidates in NSW have studied the language for only two years, with very few identified as Continuers. In addition, it is clear that the number of Year 12 Continuers in NSW is also much lower than in Victoria. Some caution is, however, also needed when considering trends in Victoria in that closer inspection of the available data shows that as students move towards upper secondary, language learning moves increasingly from in-school to external provision that is not included in Tables 8 and 9 for Victoria (unlike comparable tables for NSW), supporting a much higher number of language learners at that level in that State.

In our view, the very different policy settings can account for the clear differences that have emerged in the detailed analysis of language enrolments in government schools in the two States under investigation. In particular, the requirement of the Victorian language policy to provide a language programme (in theory if not in practice) from first year of primary schooling up to Year 10 explains the flourishing of language study at primary level in Victoria compared with NSW, where there is no such obligation. Such a requirement also explains the more continuous commitment to language study that students in Victoria appear to demonstrate – at least until the end of Year 9 of secondary school, whereby they are more than likely to have undertaken a minimum of ten years of language learning across the seven years of primary (F-6) and at least the first half of secondary (Years 7–9) schooling. By way of contrast, given weak policy settings in NSW, it is entirely possible for a student to complete primary and secondary schooling having only done the mandatory 100 h language requirement over a one-year period in secondary school. This difference points on the one hand to the effect of different mandatory State policies, and on the other, to the different value ascribed to language education in each State.

By facilitating different entry points, the NSW language policy articulates a more flexible approach so as to accommodate the wishes and needs of different types of learners. It also provides access to students to learn a language from Year 11 when they might not have previously had the opportunity to do so. One positive outcome is that this approach gives more ample scope to students’ agency and choice by allowing them to make decisions later in their school trajectory regarding subjects for their final examination. However, there is another side to this coin: these flexible arrangements also present language study as an area of endeavour that does not require the same amount of commitment as other Key Learning Areas, such as mathematics, in that, first, it can be taken up for a relatively short time, and second, it does not appear to encourage continuity across the secondary years.

Conversely, the strong commitment and the continuity required by the Victorian policy shapes language study as an area of more equal value and standing with other Key Learning Areas, at least until mid-secondary level. While in Victoria the core value attributed to language education is that it is a serious, important and valuable contributor to students’ overall educational success, this does not seem to be the case in NSW (cf. also Munro, 2016). Paradoxically, however, this very different message conveyed by the Victorian policy can also act as a disincentive if students believe that, even though they enjoy learning a language, the hard work and commitment required to succeed in it lack value in view of other considerations, such as not needing the language in future studies or careers (cf. Kavadias et al., 2022b).

Therefore, the overall attrition for language students through to the senior secondary years is an equally worrying issue in both States. While the dramatic fall in language enrolments in the transition from Year 8 to Year 9 in NSW is predictable as a result of the general ending of the mandatory 100 h requirement, more research is still needed to understand why there is such a drop in in-school enrolments in Victoria in the transition between Years 9 and 10 in a policy context which technically mandates the provision of language education until the end of Year 10. In addition, investigation is also needed as to why the five point bonus for Year 12 language study in Victoria is not sufficient to stem the significant decline in in-school provision and language enrolments from Year 9 on. It may be that Year 9 students are unaware of it or consider it to be so far off that it is not motivating enough for them to continue for another three years.

One note to add here is that despite uniform policy settings in each State, the impact on different languages in terms of enrolments can vary significantly. For instance, we note in both States the exponential increases in enrolments in Australian Indigenous languages in primary schools – a reflection of increased interest in Australian society more generally, but also of more specific policy initiatives in both States in favour of the promotion of Aboriginal language and culture as valued areas of learning in schools.

Conclusion

Our comparison of language enrolments in government primary and secondary schools in NSW and Victoria has yielded insights into the impact that language policy can have in the Australian context firstly in terms of numbers and secondly on the conceptualisation and standing of language education in each State.

As we have shown, the formulation of a ‘strong’ language policy has resulted in considerably increased language enrolments over time in Victoria. Therefore, following the example of that State which technically requires schools to offer language education from Foundation to Year 10 (F-10), NSW as well as other Australian States and Territories should have more extensive mandatory language policies at both primary and secondary level. This would contribute to establishing a more solid foundation for language study and ensuring the necessary continuity in language learning over a longer time period. The compulsory nature of language education would also require, if not result, in more effective support by the school leadership, and consequently also by the teaching staff and the broader school community. In such context some of the structural barriers, such as timetabling issues, known to impact on language enrolments, will likely also be more easily removed. Moving in this direction, a recent review of the NSW Curriculum recommends the introduction of mandatory language study in primary schools in that State (Masters, 2020). Unfortunately, it is yet to be acted on.

The results of our analyses also indicate that a ‘strong’ policy is not sufficient to provide long-term impetus to language study at secondary level, especially within schools, and that policy needs to be accompanied by changes that can improve the students’ language learning experience during the compulsory years. Going back to the factors affecting retention identified in the literature (see Section ‘Current challenges in language education in Australia’), studies highlight the need for pedagogical improvements, with more tailored training for language teachers to enable them to adopt engaging approaches that can attract and retain students, make their learning experience enjoyable, and overcome their perceptions of languages as excessively difficult, irrelevant, gendered or elitist subjects. Innovations are needed in curriculum design and in resource development, also through the use of technology, and including a clearer differentiation between the primary and the secondary curriculum (Morgan et al., 2021, p. 33). For example, in-country experiences that have proved key to stimulating student motivation and in turn successful retention could be simulated through recourse to technology to allow for broader access. There is a pressing need also for more clarity regarding the expected learning outcomes, possibly through alignment between syllabus outcomes and proficiency-based tests (Cruickshank et al., 2020, p. 210), which would make language study a more appealing and valuable investment for the learners. The increasing popularity of the International Baccalaureate with its compulsory language study requirement could also enhance the value of language education in Australia.

More broadly, retention would be assisted by policy shifts at higher levels, for example involving changes to the tertiary entrance scores, particularly in those States, like NSW, where languages tend to be particularly penalised (Cruickshank et al., 2020, p. 209); and expanding incentives such as the bonus points for language students to raise their University entrance score.

Other forms of action aimed at influencing public discourse and attitudes in favour of languages are necessary, in order to shift and expand the national discourse regarding language education to one that more effectively embraces educational, cultural, cognitive, and personal motivations to study a language, and moving away from strictly instrumental and economic reasons that have often dominated discussions around language learning in Australia, especially with respect to Asian languages (see e.g. Lo Bianco & Slaughter, 2009; Mason & Hajek, 2020). A recent successful example is the 2022–2023 National Languages Campaign organised by LCNAU (Languages and Cultures Networks for Australian Universities) aimed at school leavers to encourage them to pursue language study at university level (https://www.acicis.edu.au/lcnau-national-languages/), which has attracted considerable attention online. Similarly, co-ordinated national promotion in secondary schools about the benefits of language study at that level of education would also be useful in addressing attrition across years.

Finally, there is a pressing need to gather on a regular basis systematic and comparable data regarding language enrolments at the national level in Australia, including in the Catholic and independent sectors. As recently suggested (Morgan et al., 2021, p. 63), this should be possible through a streamlined, online process for data submission, since schools in the non-government sector are likely to collect and maintain databases for their language programmes. Access to such data would allow for better and broader monitoring of trends in language enrolments across the nation and within specific States and Territories, impact of different language policies in different settings and in turn with the aim to support improved provision of language education in schools. Our analysis of language enrolment data for NSW and Victoria highlights many of the challenges of cross-comparability given current differences in reporting.

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Antonia Rubino

Antonia Rubino is Associate Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Sydney. She has research interests in multilingualism in migration contexts, educational linguistics and language policy. She has conducted extensive research on different generations of Australian Italians, focusing on the intergenerational transmission of heritage languages and their educational and policy implications. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

John Hajek

John Hajek is Professor of Italian Studies and director of the Research Unit for Multilingualism and Cross-cultural Communication (RUMACCC) at the University of Melbourne. He is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. He has a broad range of research interests including different aspects of language education in Australia’s education system.

Notes

1 As recorded in December 2022, out of a population of 26,268,359 people, the population of NSW was 8,238,800 and of Victoria 6,704,300, cf. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/dec-2022.

2 Cf. https://www.educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/languages/

Cf. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/stage-6-learning-areas/stage-6-languages

https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/languages-education/guidance/promote-learning-language.

3 Cf. https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/languages. We are grateful to Ms Teresa Naso, Principal of the NSW School of Languages, for some of the information regarding NSW.

4 Cf. also https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/k-6-curriculum-requirements.

5 Cf. https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/languages/s6.

6 Cf. NSW Department of Education. It needs to be borne in mind that individual students may also be enrolled in and undertaking more than one language course in the same year.

7 https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/languages-education/policy.

8 The data we rely on were the most recently available at the time of writing this article: Victorian data are for 2011–2020 and for NSW 2012–2021.Throughout the article in our analysis percentages have been rounded.

9 This estimate has been calculated by applying the overall percentage of enrolments in government and non-government schools in NSW in 2021, i.e. 58% compared to 42% (ACARA, 2021).

10 As mentioned in Section ‘Current challenges in language education in Australia’, across all school sectors in Victoria the proportion of students to complete Year 12 language study was an even higher 22% (by far the highest proportion in Australia) – a reflection of the greater prestige of language study in the independent and Catholic school sectors.