Advocating for the interests
of teachers of English to speakers of other languages and dialects and their students.
Advocacy
Our Advocacy
Advocacy in TESOL is a central ACTA objective. Our ACTA Advocacy pages thus aim to play a pivotal role in outlining these issues and the various ways you can engage and deal with them.
Issues discussed here are both Federal and State matters. Advocacy for the needs of EAL/D learners and teachers in the Federal arena is a matter of agreement across the State Associations, and usually (but not always) takes place through the ACTA Council.
State/territory advocacy issues will in some cases be addressed differently according to the relationships between the State or Territory TESOL associations and its State or Territory government and education systems.
ACTA presents the matters here for information sharing across State/Territory associations. Members are encouraged to contact their State/Territory association for details of advocacy actions planned and underway in their particular State/Territory.
Digital Technology
Digital Technologies Advocacy Group is dedicated to promoting quality education 
with and about digital technologies in different EAL/D (English as an Additional Language / Dialect) settings across Australia. We strongly believe that digital technologies are central to improving educational, settlement, and employment opportunities, engaging with the community, enhancing well-being, and creating a more equitable society. We strive to empower EAL/D individuals, organizations, and communities to participate in the digital age meaningfully, critically, and creatively.
Recent Advocacy
Schools
Recent Advocacy
Opportunity to participate in a national research project: Deadline extended!
Great news! The State of EAL/D Education in Schools National Survey deadline has been extended.
You now have until 20 December to take the survey.
Investigating the state of English as an additional language/dialect (EAL/D) education in Australian schools and tracing EAL/D teaching courses at Australian universities
- Are you an EAL/D teacher?
- A mainstream teacher of EAL/D learners?
- A tertiary EAL/D educator?
You are invited to complete the State of EAL/D Education in Australian Schools Survey, to describe the current situation in your school or institution.
The State of EAL/D Education in Australian Schools Survey is part of an ACTA funded and Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approved national research project entitled, Fading footprints: Tracing EAL/D teaching courses at Australian universities and investigating the state of EAL/D education in Australian schools.
This survey aims to identify the impact of education reform policies on the provision and effectiveness of EAL/D programs in schools and update results from our 2016 national survey. We anticipate the report findings will be used in a national media campaign to inform implementation of the Government’s Better and Fairer Schools Agreements.
The survey can be accessed via http://tesol.org.au/2024survey. There is additional information and a QR link on this page.
The survey period is 4 November to 20 December.
Please feel welcome to share the survey link with your networks.
ACTA’s submission to the Senate Education Inquiry into the Better and Fairer Schools Bill has now been published.
Our submission includes ACTA’s response to the NT Government’s recent announcement that targeted funding for bilingual programs will be pooled within the ‘needs-based’ allocations to schools.
ATESOL ACT has made a submission to the ACT Government Inquiry into Literacy & Numeracy in ACT Government Schools.
It makes some general points about current issues in approaches to literacy.
ACTA had a meeting with key members of the federal Department of Education’s National Schools Reform Agreement Task Force recently and committed ACTA to several follow actions, including:
- Developing a draft of what a national EAL/D measure can do, how it addresses Recommendation 5c, what it might look like, and what would be involved in its implementation; and
- Elaborating on the need to create a stand-alone EAL/D unit capable of implementing leadership of a national EAL/D reform agenda.
We have already begun work on the measure, with the help of a number of members of ACTA associations, and plan to send a draft to the Task Force by the end of March. We have also submitted a proposal for the establishment of an EAL/D specialist unit within the Department.
Click here to read the EAL/D Education Performance Framework
Click here to read the ACTA Paper to NSRA Taskforce- Dept. Restructure
Following a meeting with interim ACARA CEO Stephen Gniel and Director, Curriculum Sharon Foster on 8 February ACTA was asked to review the proposed changes to the existing ACARA EAL/D Course Advice and Annotations. To kick off the review Sharon Foster spoke to a joint forum of the ACTA Schools and First Nations EAL/D Consultancy Groups on 20 February, with over 30 members of ACTA member associations from around Australia contributing to the discussion. If you would like to join one of these groups and participate in the review of the ACARA materials, please contact ACTA President, Prof. Chris Davison
Following the release of the Expert panel report Improving Outcomes for All: The Report of the Independent Expert Panel’s Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System (see Expert Panel’s Report - Department of Education, Australian Government), a representative group of ACTA Councillors had a very productive meeting with Dan Skehan, Senior Advisor to Federal Minister for Education, The Honourable Jason Clare, on Wednesday 20 December.
The Report was delivered to all Education Ministers on 31 October 2023, and published in December 2023. It highlights areas of reform focus for all levels of governments’ consideration as they negotiate the next National Schools Reform Agreement (NSRA), including a number of recommendations central to ACTA’s mission.
ACTA, represented by the President E/Prof Chris Davison, Chair of the ACTA Schools Consultancy Group Dr Michael Michell, Co-Chair of the ACTA EAL/D First Nations Consultancy Group Liz Easton, NT councillor Fran Murray, and Vice-President Dr Helen Moore, commended the Expert panel recommendation 5C, which argues that to understand the progress of students and report on Australia’s education goals, governments commit to revising the Measurement Framework for Schooling in Australia to ensure it collects essential data, including d) identifying and defining priority equity cohorts clearly, by replacing ‘language background other than English’ (LBOTE) with ‘English as an additional language or dialect’ (EAL/D). This recommendation is a policy lynchpin for EAL/D education at the national level, and will require collection and reporting of nationally consistent English language proficiency data based on a common English language proficiency measure.The 2027 timeline for identifying and defining the EAL/D cohort allows ample lead time to validate the English proficiency measure, support reliability of teacher assessment, and build systems’ data capabilities.
Implementation of this recommendation as part of the NSRA has value for state and territory jurisdictions as it provides a nationally comparable basis for assessment of EAL/D need, allocation of targeted resources, development of EAL/D teaching programs and tracking the English language progress of the EAL/D learner cohort. It strengthens systems’ capacity to respond to the 200,000 EAL/D learners (additional to the current 600,000) projected to enrol in schools over the next four years as a result of Australia’s increased and sustained immigration.
ACTA has a face to face meeting with ACARA on 8 February to follow up these implications, and will also lobby state and territory Ministers as appropriate. Detailed information about previous failures in EAL/D policy in the NT were used by the ACTA group to show how increased funding alone does not necessarily lead to improved outcomes for learners. Although the Expert Panel’s recommendations regarding First Nations Assistant Teachers (Recommendation 4B) identified the need for improved pay and training pathways which better recognise the prior learning of these educators, ACTA also highlighted that the overall failure to follow through on the recommendation to identify English language learners in the rest of the report provides no assurance that the agenda includes attention to supplying and equipping teachers to meet EAL/D learning needs.
The response to ACTA’s concerns was very positive and we have been invited to meet with the Departmental staff leading the negotiation of the next stage of the NSRA in mid January.
The president of ACTA, Chris Davison, wrote to Minister Clare in October 2023.
Follow-up to the meeting of National Schools Reform Agreement Ministerial Reference Group, Hobart 6 October 2023:
ACTA welcomed our inclusion in the Ministerial Reference Group to identify solutions for creating a Better and Fairer Education System. However, the wide-ranging discussion in the Hobart meeting obviously allowed only limited time to consider the fundamental concepts that were central in our formal submission to the review.
Click below to read key concepts that ACTA sought to clarify/elaborate.
Click below to read ACTA's response to the Better and Fairer Consultation Review.
The Australian Universities Accord Panel Discussion Paper aimed to stimulate discussion about how Government, the sector and other relevant stakeholders might work together to deliver a higher education system that could meet the current and future needs of the nation.
The Paper outlined the fundamental challenges and opportunities facing the Australian higher education sector. Interested parties were invited to make submissions.
ACTA calls for EAL/D teachers to be included in the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan
On 3 November 2022, the Hon Jason Clare MP, Minister for Education, released a draft a National Teacher Workforce Action Plan for public consultation. The plan was developed to address the national issue of teacher workforce shortages.
Read the draft National Teacher Workforce Action Plan here.
ACTA provided its submission to the draft Plan. It included actions in early childhood and school settings already underway through the National Childhood Education and Care Workforce Strategy.
Read the final National Teacher Workforce Action Plan published on 15 December 2022 here.
ACTA calls for EAL/D learners to be included as a national priority equity cohort in the 2024 National Schools Reform Agreement
ACTA submitted its final response to the Productivity Commission’s Interim Report on the Review of the National School Reform Agreement (NSRA).
The submission challenges the national policy silence about EAL/D learners in the current Agreement and their non-recognition as an equity cohort within the national reform agenda.
ACTA argues for the inclusion of the EAL/D learner cohort in the next NSRA on educational equity and national interest grounds so that more than 600,000 Indigenous, migrant and refugee English language learners in Australian schools can benefit from the next intergovernmental school reform agreement.
ACTA’s submission draws on ACTA’s National Roadmap for EAL/D Education in Australian Schools and additional research to address all relevant Interim Report’s recommendations and information requests, and outlines the benefits of including EAL/D learners in the new NSRA in relation to:
- lifting outcomes for all learners
- improving EAL/D learner wellbeing
- supporting teachers of EAL/D learners
- fostering EAL/D informed school leadership
- measuring progress towards achieving EAL/D learner outcomes within the NSRA.
Read the Productivity Commission’s Interim Report on the Review of the National School Reform Agreement
The submission is uploaded as DR 124 on the Productivity Commission’s website.
The Commission will provide a final report by 31 December 2022 to allow time for the review’s findings to inform the design of the next intergovernmental school reform agreement and improvements to the National Measurement Framework for Schooling in Australia.
On July 14th the universities of NSW and Sydney, together with the Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA) and ATESOL NSW, hosted a public forum on the future of EAL/D education in Australia.
The forum provided an opportunity for key NSW stakeholders to consider a National Roadmap for EAL/D Education in Schools launched by ACTA on the 6 May. Click here to read that post.
Australia once had a world-class national system of specialist English language provision supporting newly arrived, migrant and refugee students’ participation and achievement in the English-medium curriculum. Over the last two decades, however, national commitment, effort and accountability for this vital educational access and equity program has faltered.
As Australia emerges from the pandemic and re-opens to the world, state and national leadership is needed to restore its former leading role and rebuild the effective English language and literacy provision that Australia’s English language learners need to successfully participate in school education and contribute to a cohesive and prosperous multicultural society.
ACTA calls for EAL/D education to be included in the next National Schools Reform Agreement
ACTA forwarded a submission to the Productivity Commission’s review of the National School Reform Agreement arguing that EAL/D learners be recognised as a priority equity cohort in the 2024 National Schools Reform Agreement and be included in the National Measurement Framework for Schooling in Australia which measures progress towards achieving the outcomes of the NSRA. It also recommended that the NSRA’s National Policy Initiatives be informed by ACTA’s National Roadmap for EAL/D Education in Schools.
Read the Productivity Commission’s submissions paper, Review of the National School Reform Agreement.
Read ACTA’s submission to the Productivity Commission’s review of the National School Reform Agreement.
The Commission will provide a final report by 31 December 2022 to allow time for the review’s findings to inform the design of the next intergovernmental school reform agreement and improvements to the National Measurement Framework for Schooling in Australia.
ACTA has launched its National Roadmap for English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) Education in Schools, calling for national ‘build back better’ reform of specialist provision for English language learners in schools ahead of the Federal Election.
The plan addresses longstanding and now pressing national policy issues that have affected the quality of English language provision for over 600,000 English language learners in Australian schools through twelve key actions aligned to the directions and initiatives of the National Schools Reform Agreement.
Read ACTA’s National Roadmap for English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) Education in Schools
Read ACTA’s media release
Past Advocacy, Initiatives and Reports
Data collated and presented by Michael Michell – Immediate Past President, Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA)
There is no national requirement for state and territory education systems to report publically on the cohort of students learning English as an additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) in their schools.
To fill this major gap in publicly available information, in 2021, ACTA investigated the number of EAL/D students who were enrolled in Government and Catholic schools across Australia in 2018-19.
Based on this data:
- there are well over 600,000 learners of English as an additional language/dialect (EAL/D) in Government and Catholic schools in Australia, including:
- 13,576 new arrivals
- 348,455 EAL/D learners in mainstream classrooms
- an estimated 27,329 Indigenous EAL/D learners
- 211,686 international students.
- there has been dramatic growth in EAL/D student enrolments over the past decade:
- 114% in NSW Government schools
- 62% in Victorian Government schools.
- there are major gaps in publicly available data on newly arrived, refugee, EAL/D in the mainstream, international and EAL/D Indigenous students.
These figures significantly under-report the number of EAL/D learners in Australian schools as they only identify a portion of EAL/D learners in the mainstream, and do not include those in independent schools.
For disaggregated figures by state or territory, Government and Catholic education system, and EAL/D learner category, see tables here.
Data was gained from the following sources: State Education Department annual reports (NSW, Victoria, WA); EAL/D program statistical reports (NSW, Victoria); Commonwealth Department of Education, Skills and Employment figures (number of students attracting low English proficiency loading) provided in response to Senate Estimates Question on Notice; Commonwealth Department of Education, Skills and Employment figures (number of school-aged international fee paying students) provided in response to Senate Estimates Question on Notice; and estimated of number of Indigenous EAL/D learners (school aged Indigenous students living in remote or very remote areas where there is limited contact with Standard Australian English who spoke an Australian Indigenous language or dialect at home and did not speak English well or at all) based on 2016 ABS census data.
This national report will be periodically updated as new information becomes available.
"ACTA welcomes this timely review of the 2008 Melbourne Declaration. Major changes have occurred over the last decade, particularly in the area of EAL/D education, which need to be reflected in the revised Declaration. ACTA believes the 2008 Melbourne Declaration needs updating specifically in the areas of language-in-education, English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) education and community languages education to both reflect and respond effectively to the contemporary linguistic landscape of Australia’s multicultural schools. Given their notable absence from the 2008 Melbourne Declaration, these areas need to be given explicit recognition in the revised Declaration."
Read more in ACTA's submission:
ACTA submission to the Review of the 2008 Melbourne Declaration (14 June 2019)
For more on the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (December 2008), read the original Melbourne Declaration and the Review of the Melbourne Declaration discussion paper
ACTA’s response to the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s Victorian Curriculum F-10 English as an Additional Language (EAL) Consultation is now published. The response considers the rationale for a new EAL curriculum, the nature of the EAL curriculum document, EAL curriculum development and consultation, and specific comments on the EAL curriculum rationale and aims, and the EAL scope and sequence.
ACTA's submission to the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools (Gonski Review) has now been published. ACTA's submission focused on the role of language in educational achievement; evidence on the difference that EAL/D pedagogy makes in classrooms when supported by schools and systems; the importance of a systemic approach including leadership development, specialist teacher standards, teacher education and professional learning; the unfinished business of defining and measuring EAL/D students’ educational success; the deterioration of EAL/D programs in schools under state and territory school autonomy and flexible resource management policies and restructures; and promising projects and tools of national significance that drive good EAL/D practice and continuous improvement. Each issue is addressed by specific recommendations.
ACTA’s submission responded to the Commission’s September 2016 draft report and was forwarded to the Commission on 18th October.
- ACTA submission to the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry on the National Education Evidence Base
- and can also be found along with submissions from other organisations and individuals on the Commission’s website.
Our submission focuses on the long-standing issue of the serious gap in national data collection and reporting in relation to the English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) student target group. As a subgroup of the larger population of students from language Backgrounds other than English (LBOTE), students for whom acquisition of English is essential for participation and achievement in the Australian Curriculum can only be identified on the basis of their levels of English Language Proficiency.
ACTA President, Michael Michell, and Secretary, Margaret Turnbull, presented at the Public Hearing in Sydney on Oct 20th and discussed ACTA’s submission before the two Commissioners. Michael says, "I think we made a strong case for the necessity and adoption of a national framework for assessing English language proficiency need to rectify the ‘invisibility’ of the EAL/D student target group and the associated policy and planning vacuum at the national level. The Commissioners had read ACTA’s submission, asked pertinent questions and listened intently to what we had to say." Transcripts of the Public Hearings are also on the Commission's website.
The Education Evidence Base Inquiry final report was sent to Government on 9 December 2016 and publicly released on 24 May 2017.
This report is about seeking ways to address the challenge of what data to collect and how to use it to support the generation of evidence about what works best in education, and the application of this evidence to inform decision making.
A biannual round-table forum for state and territory EAL/D Program Managers and curriculum officers was held at the 2016 'DIVERSITY: exchanging ways of being' Conference in in Perth in April.
This closed-meeting forum provided the opportunity for representatives from all states and territories and sectors, along with their state and territory association representatives, to network, discuss pertinent and pressing issues for EAL/D across Australia, and address common issues of concern.
For further information, please contact the ACTA Secretary.
What’s the state of EAL/D Education in Australia in 2016?
Over the last decade, the policy framework that has long supported EAL/D (English as an Additional Language or Dialect) teaching programs as Australia’s educational access and equity response to school-aged migrant, refugee and indigenous students has completely changed. Overall responsibility for EAL/D has passed from Commonwealth to state and territory governments and now, under school autonomy and school-based management policies, is being devolved to schools. The policy imperative for EAL/D programs has changed from Multicultural and Language education to literacy assessment and performance.
So what is happening ‘on the ground’?
ACTA conducted its second national survey of school EAL/D educators to ascertain the current health of EAL/D programs in schools, and policy impacts and developments since its last report in 2014 (see below). Findings will be published in a ‘State of EAL/D’ Report and used to inform ACTA’s policy advocacy with governments and education systems.
ACTA invited EAL/D teachers, consultants and administrators to participate in the survey. The survey was open for a six week period from 8th Feb to 1st April. Watch this space for results of the survey to be posted.
Your participation will help ensure that the report accurately reflects the current state of EAL/D education across Australia’s state and territory education systems and will strengthen the effectiveness of ACTA’s policy advocacy on your behalf.
Michael Michell
President, ACTA
November 2014
After collecting responses from over 200 members across the country, and analysing over 1000 comments, ACTA is proud to release the final report on the ACTA 2014 State of EAL/D survey. This report reflects current experiences and challenges faced by EAL/D teachers through anonymous quotes, accompanied by respective sector and jurisdiction, and comments on apparent trends. The writers have strived to remain objective, quoting in context and covering all jurisdictions.
This report is for local associations and their members: to support their discussions and decision making in their local contexts, at the state and individual school level. As school funding continues to be decentralised (and this is occurring to different degrees across the country), ACTA believes that EAL/D advocacy will need to follow suit. With school autonomy comes opportunities and risks regarding the most effective use of EAL/D resources, and members may be best placed to inform and advocate where necessary.
We hope that this report will assist advocates in achieving the best possible outcomes for their students and themselves professionally.
In July, ACTA was invited to attend a consultation with the Australian Government Department of Education on the Students with Disability and English Language Proficiency loadings and the Review of the Low Socio-Economic Status loading. Following consultation with members, ACTA submitted this report to the Department at the end of September. We would like to thanks all those who contributed as well as the Department of Education for their consideration of our concerns.
ACTA Council has submitted a response to the Australian Parliament Senate Select Committee on School Funding inquiry. To read the submission which draws on the recent ACTA survey into school EAL visit the Senate Committee website.
The ACTA Submission is number #74.
Please note: Once a committee has authorised the release of a submission, subsequent publication of it is protected by parliamentary privilege. Please do not download and forward the submission to others but refer them to the above website.
No one doubts that teachers of English need to know how language works and to build this knowledge for students. But we do not know yet about the current 'state of the art' in the profession, particularly about the kinds of support English teachers need if they are to build students' language knowledge in coherent and cumulative ways, as prescribed by the Australian curriculum for English. Benchmarking teacher knowledge and know-how is crucial if we are to provide build a strong knowledge base in the profession, including English, literacy and EAL/D teachers.
The survey was developed as part of a study funded by the Australian Research Council titled Grammar and Praxis: investigating a grammatics for twenty-first century school English (DP110104309). The project team was led by Mary Macken-Horarik of the University of New England (UNE) and included Kristina Love, Len Unsworth and Carmel Sandiford of the Australian Catholic University (ACU).
2013-2014
- The Senate Education and Employment Reference Committee 2013 Inquiry into the Effectiveness of the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) has released its final report. ACTA's submission is referenced on a number of occasions.
- SBS news item Changes to NAPLAN needed to help disadvantaged students
ACTA Submission to the Standing Committee an Education, Employment and Workplace Relations: ‘The effectiveness of the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy’.
- ACTA’s submission to the inquiry: Submission 79.
- Committee Report
2010
ACTA's joint submission - with the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA) and Australian Linguistic Society (ALS) - to the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee Inquiry into the administration and reporting of NAPLAN testing.
The EAL/D Teacher Resource developed for the Australian Curriculum provides a range of materials for teachers of EAL/D learners. The resource includes an overview of EAL/D learning, an EAL/D learning progression, advice for teachers of EAL/D students, a glossary and references, along with EAL/D Learning Area Annotations for F-10 English, Maths Science and History and annotated EAL/D student work samples.
- Read ACTA's submission to ACARA on the draft general capabilities for the Australian
Curriculum. (8 August 2011) - Read ACTA's letter to ACARA regarding the Languages Shape Paper. (29 April 2011)
- Read ACTA's submission to ACARA on the draft senior years English Curriculum. (5 August 2010)
- Read ACTA's submission to ACARA on the draft K-10 Australian Curriculum in English, mathematics, science and history. (30 May 2010)
ACTA has attended National Curriculum forums in an advisory capacity to represent the interests of EAL and EAD learners around the country.
- Read ACTA's position statement on the need for inclusivity of EAL/EAD students in the National Curriculum
- ACTA's position statement on the National Curriculum.
- ACTA's 3-part paper on the National Curriculum.
- ACTA's responses to the National Curriculum framing papers (February 28, 2009).
- Read the initial advice statement on the National Curriculum in English.
Adult ESOL
Recent Advocacy
Release of New Occupational Standard Classification for Adult Literacy/Numeracy Teachers
A new Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) occupation was released by the ABS on 6 December 2024. It is 259931- Adult Literacy/Numeracy Teacher, and can be found here: Occupation 259931 Adult Literacy / Numeracy Teacher | Australian Bureau of Statistics. This is a significant achievement in the way foundation skills teachers are recognised. DEWR believes that in the longer term, it will contribute to a better understanding of the workforce.
ACTA Vice-President, Helen Moore, represents ACTA on the DEWR Foundation Skills Advisory Committee. Please contact her at if you have any issues you would like her to raise through this group.
Update on the National Foundation Skills Strategy
Through the National Skills Agreement, the Commonwealth, State and Territory Skills Ministers agreed to develop a 10‑year National Foundation Skills Strategy by the end of 2024 to strengthen the quality and sustainability of the sector.
A Commonwealth-State working group was established earlier this year to develop the Strategy.
The working group has now developed a high-level document that includes focus areas where actions need to occur.
These focus areas include
- access to Foundation Skills training,
- sector workforce development, and
- mechanisms and governance arrangements underpinning the foundation skills sector. Improved data and research is important to all focus areas.
The Strategy was recently considered and agreed by Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council (SWMC), and is available on the DEWR website here: National Foundation Skills Strategy 2025–2035 – Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Australian Government
The Strategy will be delivered through an action plan to be agreed and funded through decisions of the Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council in 2025. Funding of $53 million over five years is available under the National Skills Agreement to support activities. In 2025, governments will engage with key national, state and territory stakeholders, and partner with First Nations organisations and communities to develop initiatives and actions to operationalise the vision and national focus areas of the Strategy.
ACTA Vice-President, Helen Moore, represents ACTA on the DEWR Foundation Skills Advisory Committee, which will be involved in consultations on the Strategy in 2025.
Please contact her at if you have any issues you would like her to raise through this group.
4 December 2024
Following from ACTA’s submission to this Inquiry 2024 September- ACTA’s Submission to Parliamentary Inquiry into Contract Management Frameworks – Australian Council of TESOL Associations, ACTA Vice-President, Helen Moore, gave evidence in a hearing on 4 December.
The Hansard transcript from the hearing will be available shortly on the Inquiry website. Those interested should also read the Hansard of the first hearing on the AMEP. Both transcripts are at: Public Hearings – Parliament of Australia
A statement Helen tabled can be accessed here and also on the Inquiry website.
In this statement, Helen stated that the initial contract written by the Commonwealth Department of Education and Training was defective. She also pointed out problems with competitive contracting, particularly problems in using KPIs to evaluate provider performance, the absence of any evaluation of competitive contracting itself, the stifling effect of competitive contracting, and the need for a more comprehensive examination of the AMEP than is possible in this Inquiry.
A report on this this hearing was in the Canberra Times was on 5 December 2024 under the banner of “Outsourced scheme like a ‘combination of all the incompetent bad things we hear of’”. The article can only be accessed by subscribers. However, the text is available through digital offerings of state libraries and databases [Look for Newsbank: Access Australia and International News.]
18 December 2024: Update
Further to the Inquiry hearing, Helen provided a written response to questions asked in the hearing by Mr Brian Mitchell, Member for Lyons (Tas), Labor. Click here to read it.
The Inquiry Committee has now sent further questions to Helen, which she is working on. They will be posted on this webpage after sending to the Committee.
Attachments included with Helen’s Response to Mr Mitchell:
-
- ACIL Allen 2015 amep_evalution_report_-_for_public_release
- ACTA Proposal for an AMEP Advisory Body
- ACTA Standards-based Quality Assurance
- ACTA Towards a Payment Model to Incentivise Authentic Outcomes from the AMEP
- HOMEAFFAIRS_2165_RFT – Attachment A – Statement of Requirement
- HOMEAFFAIRS_2165_RFT – Attachment C – Pricing Schedule
- HOMEAFFAIRS_2166_RFT – Attachment A – Statement of Requirement
- HOMEAFFAIRS_2167_RFT – Attachment A – Statement of Requirement
- Life Course centre AMEP Impact Evaluation Project – Paper A
VET Sector News:
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations has announced the release the VET Workforce blueprint: a national plan to address workforce challenges.
To support the Blueprint’s release, the Australian Government, in collaboration with states and territories, has announced an initial suite of foundational national actions. These include:
- occupational mapping for the VET workforce
- a VET workforce data strategy
- an ongoing research program for key workforce issues
- mapping and analysing compliance and administrative burden to inform strategies to reduce this burden
Many members of ACTA’s Adult ESOL Consultancy Group contributed to the development of this blueprint at a meeting held in December last year.
Announcement:
ACTA’s submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the contract management frameworks operated by Commonwealth entities is now online.
Our submission consists of two files:
- ACTA’s submission (re the Administration of the Adult Migrant English Program contracts)
- ‘Exhibits’: Evidence the supports arguments that are made in our submission
Thanks to members of ACTA’s Adult ESOL consultancy group for their input into this submission.
You can read all submissions to the inquiry at the Parliament of Australia web site.
VET Workforce Blueprint
The Australian Government, in collaboration with states and territories, is developing a VET Workforce Blueprint to support, grow and sustain the VET workforce. The Blueprint will identify strategies and actions for workforce issues such as attraction, retention, development, and career progression.
Over the past few months, dandolopartners has been working with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (the Department) to support consultation with a range of stakeholders, which has included roundtables in each state and territory and online.
The Department is undertaking consultation to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to contribute to the development of the VET Workforce Blueprint and to:
- test current understanding of the challenges faced by the VET workforce
- identify whether potential actions will result in effective change
- garner additional potential actions
As part of this consultation process, the Department is inviting further engagement through a public submissions process and a survey of those who have left the workforce in the last five years. Contributions will help to inform the development of the Blueprint.
Submissions Process
You can participate in the public submissions process and survey by visiting the Department’s website.
Submissions
Any member of the public can make a submission by responding to the multiple choice and free text questions in the online submission form (link below).
The public submissions process will be open until 11:00PM (AEDT), 26 March 2024.
Follow this link to complete a submission.
Survey
The survey is intended to gather insights from anyone who has left the VET workforce within the last five years.
The survey will be open until 11:00PM (AEDT), 26 March 2024.
Follow this link to complete the survey.
Follow this link to read further information about the development of the Blueprint.
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) is working on designing a new stream in the Skills for Employment and Education (SEE) Program). This stream seeks to improve First Nations people’s access to tuition and training in literacy and numeracy. A SEE Program Stream 2 – First Nations Delivery Working Group has been providing feedback to the Department on the design and intent of the draft guidelines.
DEWR has now announced a public consultation process about this proposed program. The consultation will be open from 13 February 2024 until 6pm (AEDT) on 12 March 2024.
It can be accessed via this link.
The Department invites interested stakeholders to participate in this consultation to inform the next stage of program development.
- The Department has prepared a consultation paper which provides information on SEE Program Stream 2 – First Nations Delivery, and seeks feedback on the draft Scoping and Delivery guidelines.
- In conjunction with the consultation, the draft guidelines will appear as a forecast opportunity on GrantConnect and will also include a referral link to the Department’s consultation hub.
Jobs and Skills Australia is leading the development of a new national study on adult literacy, numeracy and digital skills.
The Foundation Skills Study consists of four elements:
- a survey of Australian adult literacy and numeracy skills
- a feasibility study into how best to collect the literacy, numeracy and digital literacy skill levels of First Nations people
- analysis of Commonwealth administrative and other data to gain insights into the skill levels for priority groups
- defining digital literacy
In the latest Jobs and Skills Australia newsletter, you can read about
- the objectives of the survey of adult literacy and numeracy skills
- how the survey will be conducted
- the advisory groups that will help to shape its development
You can also find out about the Foundation Skills Study at the Jobs and Skills Australia web site.
The Foundation Skills Study team welcomes your questions and comments. Their contact details are included in the newsletter.
Through ACTA’s representation in the Foundation Skills Advisory Group set up in 2022 by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), ACTA was nominated as a key stakeholder in a significant consultation on developing a VET Workforce Blueprint.
The Blueprint will recommend strategies and actions that will create stability and quality in the VET workforce.
The Adult ESOL Consultancy Group sponsored the participation of 20 AMEP, SEE Program and LLN teachers and managers across Australia in an on-line meeting that was held on 11 December. This meeting was chaired by a senior DEWR official. Click here to see the Facilitation slides that were used during the meeting.
If you have questions or any additional information you would like to provide to support this work, please contact the team at the department via . You can also keep up to date with what’s happening through the department’s website. Following consultations, a draft Blueprint will be developed for the consideration of Skills Ministers in early 2024.
Reaccreditation of the EAL Framework
The (adult) EAL Framework curriculum was reaccredited on 1 January 2024, and a Committee was put together to support the reaccreditation process. The Committee sought feedback on the draft units for:-
- Certificate II in EAL (Employment)
- Certificate III in EAL(Employment)
- Certificate IV in EAL (Employment/Professional)
For further information about these draft units, please visit the VicTESOL website at the link below
The ACER Review of the Australian Core Skills Framework and Digital Literacy Skills Framework and Relevant Assessment Tools
The ACER Review of the Australian Core Skills Framework and Digital Literacy Skills Framework and Relevant Assessment Tools
The ACER team would like thank everyone who took part in the consultation phase of the Foundation Skills Frameworks review project. The richness and diversity of feedback – provided through discussion forums, focus groups, interviews and the online survey – are a testament to your passion and expertise. Our consultation activities are now complete, and we are in the process of documenting our findings.
A consistent message we heard during consultation was the need for more support material and professional development to use the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) and the Digital Literacy Skills Framework (DLSF). In view of this finding, we are compiling a list of resources that support framework users. We would love to hear from you about any publicly available resources that helped you to understand and apply the frameworks, including those resources that might be in a need of a ‘refresh’.
More than 500 individuals generously shared their insights and time with us. While framework users are a diverse group, we heard many common refrains that will inform our final report (due 30 June 2022). Themes arising from the consultation include the need to:
- Understand the purpose of the frameworks to describe skills at level – and that the frameworks are not designed as curriculum or assessment tools.
- Recognise the diverse contexts and wide range of online assessment tools based on the ACSF and DLSF – and the challenges of using them with learners with varying digital skill levels.
- Define the concept of digital literacy – and distinguish it from other terms such as digital skills, digital fluency, digital proficiency and digital mastery.
- Clarify the relationship between the ACSF and the DLSF – and determine how they relate to other digital and foundation skills frameworks in the increasingly crowded VET framework space.
- Make minor changes to improve the currency and sufficiency of the frameworks – and remain conscious of the frequently heard caveat: Beware of the unintended and significant consequences of ‘tinkering’.
Report drafting throughout June 2022
The ACER team worked closely with the Department to consider the implications of the findings for the ACSF and the DLSF.
SBS TV and on-line have reported on concerns about the proposed new funding model for the AMEP. The reports include comments by Dr Helen Moore, ACTA Vice-President.
To see the on-line report, click here: Fears over new funding model for Australia’s migrant English program (sbs.com.au)
To listen to audio of the TV news item, click here: Concerns sparked over Adult Migrant English Program funding (sbs.com.au)
To read Helen Moore’s article in the VALBEC journal Fine Print, which describes the key issues, click here.
To read ACTA submissions about this proposed funding model, click here.
Past Advocacy, Reports and Initiatives
The Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs (DHA) invited public feedback on their proposed Reform of the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP). DHA held forums for EAL teachers on 16-17 June and ACTA held briefing meetings on 7 and 9 June to prepare teachers for these forums and to encourage participation in forums and submissions.
ACTA has made two submissions to the 2021 Parliamentary Inquiry into The Importance of Adult Literacy.
To see/download this and other submissions, please go to: Submissions – Parliament of Australia.
ACTA's is Submission number 85 and its more up-to-date Supplementary Submission is 85.1
For Hansard of ACTA's evidence to the Inquiry, download the hearing on 19 August 2021 at Public Hearings - Parliament of Australia.
ACTA's member association ATESOL NT also made two submissions that focus on remote schooling in the NT (105 and 105.1). Its Supplementary Submission 105 is a landmark documentation of the current situation.
For more details, click here.
To find out more about the Inquiry and read/download the final report entitled “Don’t take it as read: Inquiry into adult literacy and its importance”, visit the Inquiry home page. To read the press release, click here.
RECORDING OF THE WEBINAR & OTHER RESOURCES
March 10 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm AEDT
A follow on event from the ACTA Forum on Future Directions of the AMEP (11th Nov. 2020)
The Department of Home Affairs provided answers to the questions that arose in the forum. These were collated and summarised under relevant headings by Helen Moore and Jakki Cashman – see AMEP-Forum-Nov-2020-Questions-by-topic.pdf
Please view the Department’s answers in the file below:
ACTA Forum 11-11-2020 Department of Home Affairs response
Ms Larkins and the AMEP Team agreed to participate in a follow-up “listening” meeting. The meeting was held online on Wednesday 10th March 2021 7-9pm AEDT.
The forum focussed on providing feedback to these questions:
- What resources do teachers need to ensure quality teaching? How should they be shared?
- How can the AMEP support the different needs of the diverse student cohorts, particularly those who have low literacy or limited formal education?
- How can the AMEP benefit from advances in educational technology? What resources do teachers and students need in terms of digital and remote learning?
- What is the ideal teaching environment (e.g. mode of delivery, class size, mixed levels)?
- What role should AMEP providers play in seeking employment outcomes for students?
The webinar recording is now available below, and other information from the forum will be added here soon.
Hosted by ACTA in collaboration with VicTESOL
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RECORDING OF THE WEBINAR & OTHER RESOURCES
Wednesday 11th November 2020
Learn about the Commonwealth Government’s vision for English language provision for adult migrants
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Presenter Alison Larkins was appointed in late 2019 as Commonwealth Coordinator-General for Migrant Services. Her role is to work closely within the Commonwealth and State/Territory governments, industry, and the community sector to drive improvements to employment, English language, and broader settlement outcomes, and through this work, to promote the contribution of migrants, refugees and humanitarian entrants to Australia. |
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Experienced AMEP teachers Jakki Cashman (Canberra) and Skye Playsted (Queensland) will provided, followed by audience questions. |
The webinar recording, and information from the webinar, is now available on the VicTESOL website:
For questions posted in the Q&A box during the webinar, download this file:
AMEP Forum Nov 2020 - Questions by topic
The AMEP team in the Department of Home Affairs is currently considering these questions and their response will be posted here once it becomes available.
Ms Larkins and the AMEP team in the Department of Home Affairs have generously agreed to a second on-line meeting early in March 2021. The aim of the meeting will be for Alison and the AMEP team to listen to participants’ ideas around some of the key issues raised at the last meeting.
Key questions will be circulated before the meeting. The meeting will consist of break-out groups to discuss the questions, followed by reports back to the whole meeting and discussion.
For further details, please watch this space!
Hosted by the Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA) in partnership with VicTESOL and ATESOL ACT.
ACTA is delighted that the Department of Home Affairs has set up an AMEP Advisory Committee in line with one of the recommendations of the 2019 Social Compass AMEP Evaluation. The Committee is chaired by Alison Larkins, who was appointed in late 2019 as the Commonwealth Coordinator-General for Migrant Services. For the official announcement, including the names of Committee members, see this media release from the Department of Home Affairs:
Announcement – Establishment of the AMEP Advisory Committee
The Council is further pleased that ACTA Vice-President, Helen Moore, was invited to join this Committee. Helen advises that the Committee has had two very productive meetings and, as the announcement indicates, its Work Plan includes consideration of curriculum & assessment, teacher qualifications, online/remote learning and incentivising settlement outcomes.
For decades, ACTA and other advocacy groups have argued against the limits on adult migrants’ access to the AMEP because of the eligibility requirements that were instituted in the 1992 Immigration Education Act.
On Friday 28th August, 2020, Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge announced major reforms to the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP).
The reforms extend migrants’ access to English language tuition by removing three key 1992 eligibility requirements:
- the limit on tuition hours (formerly 510 hours with various capped extensions)
- a time limit on when migrants can access the AMEP (formerly 6-12 months to apply and 5 years to complete) – it is now open-ended for all adult migrants in Australia prior to 1st October 2020
- the cut-off proficiency level (formerly less than “functional English”) and now less than “vocational English”, which is defined as English lower than IELTS 5.5 (which is approx. equivalent to ACSF 3).
These changes are therefore truly historic.
They will come into force once the Immigration Education Act is amended. In the meantime, greater flexibility within existing AMEP provision will operate.
Read ACTA's Media Release: Welcome reforms to the Adult Migrant English Program
For more information:
- Official advice from the Department of Home Affairs: Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) Reform Announcement, 28 August 2020
- Minister’s announcement, go to: Address to the National Press Club - Keeping Australians together at a time of COVID
- Other relevant media, go to: The Hon Alan Tudge MP, Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs - Media Hub
- ACTA Advocacy on the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) here on the Adult ESOL Advocacy page
Following ACTA President Margaret Corrigan’s letter to the Acting Immigration Minister, the Hon. Alan Tudge, she and the ACTA Vice-President (Helen Moore) have been invited to a (online) meeting on 21 July 2020 with Ms Alison Larkins, Coordinator-General for Migrant Services in the Department of Home Affairs (21 July, 2020). The link to the briefing paper sent in preparation for this meeting is below.
The paper is a more comprehensive description of current issues and proposed solutions, and draws from consultations with the ACTA Adult ESL Working Group, the VicTESOL and ATESOL ACT Adult ESL Working Parties, and ACTA’s informal email list of adult EAL educators and researchers.
Download the briefing paper sent in preparation for the meeting here:
For a brief report on the meeting, click here:
Report on Meeting with Coordinator General Migrant services
Comments and questions are welcome: write to Helen.
ACTA President, Margaret Corrigan, has written to Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge about the implications for the AMEP of the suspension of immigration for the foreseeable future. The letter recommends lifting existing AMEP eligibility requirements in order to address the backlog of unmet English language learning needs in the Australian community. Download from the link below:
Have you taught or managed in programs for international students and/or adult migrant and refugee English language learners, for example in the AMEP, SEE Program, TAFE, university, ELICOS and community and State-funded programs?
Then you’ll know that the closure of Australia’s borders has huge implications for your program and employment!
To help ACTA advocate on your behalf, we need a sound evidence base. So please complete our survey!
Click here to start the survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ACTApost-school
You’ll need this password to start the survey: ACTA
(upper case)
On 28th May, ACTA made a submission to the Senate Inquiry Into COVID-19. It dealt with the effects of the suspension of immigration on programs for English language provision in the post-school sector (adult migrants and international students).
Download and read ACTA's submission here:
ACTA Submission to the Senate COVID-19 Inquiry - Sub379_Australian Council of TESOL Associations
You can see also ACTA's submission (Submission 379) and other submissions, as well as more information about the Senate inquiry on the website of the Senate Select Committee on COVID-19
In 2019, an Evaluation of the Adult Migrant English program (AMEP) was undertaken by the independent consultancy firm, Social Compass. To access their report (published August 2019), click here.
To see ACTA’s submission, click here: ACTA Submission to the AMEP Evaluation, April 2019
In late 2019, the Government also released their response to the Shergold et al. Review into Integration, Employment and Settlement Outcomes for Refugees and Humanitarian Entrants. Click here to see that review and the Government’s response.
Following both reports, the Department of Home Affairs invited responses to a series of questions. To see ACTA’s response to these questions, click here
ACTA Response to Dept of Home Affairs on Improving the AMEP - Request for feedback
The Settlement Council of Australia was commissioned to conduct community consultations across Australia. The reports from these consultations can be found here.
In the new post-election Morrison Government, the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) has been moved back to the Immigration portfolio, whose Minister is the Hon. David Coleman, MP, the member for Banks (western Sydney). ACTA has written a letter to him requesting an urgent meeting and has supported this request with a paper outlining current problems in the AMEP and ACTA’s proposed solutions. A draft was widely circulated for comment. The final version has received unanimous support from those who have written to ACTA.
Following a nationwide survey of managers, teachers and volunteers in the AMEP in late 2018 and early 2019, and three forums held over March and April 2019, ACTA has now finalised a submission to the Evaluation of the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) “new business model”.
The Evaluation of the AMEP “New Business Model” is being conducted by the consultancy group Social Compass. The intended project outcomes are listed in the Statement of Requirements and the proposed methodology is outlined in the Evaluation Methodology Overview.
You can download and read the ACTA submission here:
ACTA submission to the AMEP Evaluation March-April 2019
Further to ACTA’s previous submission, and in the light of additional feedback we have received as a result of its wider circulation and placement on our website, the Australian Council of TESOL Associations ACTA offers seven further recommendations to the Evaluation of the AMEP “new business model”.
ACTA supplementary submission to the AMEP Evaluation - 1 May 2019
To see other submissions/reports on the AMEP Evaluation, go to:
- Sydney, 2 March 2019 in collaboration with ATESOL NSW, Sydney School of Education and Social Work (University of Sydney), and the School of Education at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
- Melbourne, 30 March 2019 in collaboration with VicTESOL and the Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne.
- Brisbane, 6 April 2019 in collaboration with QATESOL.
These three ACTA Forums focus on issues relating to the current Evaluation of the AMEP “New Business Model”. See above for details.
Forum sessions are:
- The Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF): the appropriateness, effectiveness and practicality of utilising the ACSF as a benchmark in initial, progressive and exit assessments; the use of the ACSF in aligning the AMEP and SEE Program through a common assessment framework for English proficiency; the place of the ACSF in the wider VET system; the validity and reliability of using data based on any assessments of student progress as a benchmark or Key Performance Indicator.
- Current curriculum in the AMEP: appropriateness, effectiveness and practicality of current curriculum and curricular options in the “targeted tuition streams” (“Social English” and “Pre-Employment”); the impact of both the ACSF and DET policy on (i) “aligning” the AMEP with the SEE Program, and (ii) regulating the AMEP within the wider VET system.
- Teacher qualifications – stipulated program, curriculum licencing and regulatory requirements, including the VET Certificate IV in Training & Assessment (for further details on a recent report to DET, see AMEP Curricula and Teacher and Assessor Qualifications Guide).
- Competitive contracting and the “multi-provider” model: The appropriateness, effectiveness, value and viability of the current multi-provider service delivery model in the AMEP; whether it should be extended to other regions; its place in the overall competitive contracting model used to deliver the AMEP.
For the Power Point slides and Notes from the Discussions at each Forum, please click on the links below:
Sydney Forum
Presentation slides:
- Item 1: The ACSF
- Item 2: Curriculum now used in the AMEP
- Item 3: Teacher qualifications
- Item 4: Competitive contracting and the “multi-provider” model
Notes:
Melbourne Forum
Presentation slides:
- Item 1: The ACSF
- Item 2: Curriculum now used in the AMEP
- Item 3: Teacher qualifications
- Item 4: Competitive contracting and the “multi-provider” model
Notes:
- Composite notes from Melbourne Forum – to follow
Brisbane Forum
Presentation slides: to follow
Notes: to follow
To continue the discussion, please join the ACTA Adult ESOL Interest Group: Professional Conversations group on Facebook.
[Please note that while membership for this group must be approved, it is a 'Public Group', and any posts and comments are accessible to anyone on Facebook. Please consider this before posting or commenting.]
Comments can also be made to ACTA via your state/territory association or to .
An Expert Panel has been commissioned by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to review the VET sector. For details, go to: https://www.pmc.gov.au/domestic-policy/vet-review.
Based on a first pass of some of the extraordinary wealth of data from the ACTA Survey AMEP and SEE Program teachers, managers & volunteers (for which ACTA warmly thanks the 421 people who responded!) the ACTA Submission to the VET Review addresses four main issues:
- The ASQA requirement that all VET sector teachers (including AMEP and SEE teachers) hold the TAFE Certificate 4 in Training & Assessment,
- Standards of Provision – facilities and infrastructure,
- Use of student progress assessments as the basis of a Key Performance Indicator (KPI), and
- Working Conditions
You can download and read the ACTA submission here: ACTA submission to the VET Review - January 2019
See below for details of the Survey.
In December 2018-April 2019, ACTA conducted a comprehensive survey of AMEP and SEE Program teachers, managers and volunteers seeking their perspectives on the operation of these Programs under the current contracts (from 1st July 2017). The questions were drawn from consultation with practitioners and covered a range of topics, including curriculum, assessment and working conditions.
The response was magnificent!! ACTA warmly thanks the 435 people who gave up their time to do the survey and provide such a wealth of comments. You have given us an extraordinarily rich resource, which we can use in future advocacy on your behalf.
The size and complexity of the survey data have led to a decision not to write a complete report on the survey. It would just be too big and unwieldy. Rather, the survey results will be used to support future submissions and, if time allows, papers on specific issues. For example, see the ACTA submission to the VET Review - January 2019 and the Power Point presentations in the AMEP Evaluation Forums.[link to item above (2 above)] The ACTA submission to the AMEP Evaluation also used these data to address the Evaluation’s Statement of Requirements.
In the light of the profound concerns raised by our members about the consequences of the 2017 contracts for the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), ACTA prepared a comprehensive Background Paper examining this Program, including its relationship to the Skills for Employment and Education (SEE) Program. The report includes verbatim accounts from teachers and recommendations for change.
Download the report here:
Problems in the AMEP & SEE Program 25 May 2018 - an ACTA Background Paper
In early August 2016, the Department of Education & Training circulated a draft Request for Tender (RTF) for the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) and Skills for Education and Employment Program.
A key proposal is to split the AMEP into two “streams”: Pre-Employment and Social English. The Social English stream is to be taught by graduates with no teaching qualifications of any kind in classes of up to 25 (compared to pre-employment classes of 20). Expected attainment is one indicator on the The Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) compared to two in the other classes. The justification given in briefing sessions was that these classes would be “less rigorous”. Other aspects of the draft are also of concern to ACTA.
ACTA sent a response to the draft RTF to Minister Simon Birmingham - you can download the document here:
ACTA response to Draft Request for Tender for the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) 2017- 2020
- 2019- Submission on the Proposed Character Test Bill
- 2017- Parliamentary Response to Proposed Legislation (Refers to ACTA's submission)
- 2017- ACTA Supplementary Submission to the Australian Citizenship Amendment Bill
- 2007- Submission to: the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee Inquiry into the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Testing) Bill 2007 Citizenship Test 2007
Teacher Education
Recent Advocacy
Read ACTA’s submission here.
Read about the Expert Panel here: Teacher Education Expert Panel - Department of Education, Australian Government.
Read the Panel’s final report at the link above or here.
Past Advocacy, Initiatives and Reports
MEDIA RELEASE – 17 AUGUST, 2021
TEACHER EDUCATION FAILS MORE THAN HALF A MILLION
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS
Teacher education is failing to respond to the widespread linguistic diversity of Australian schools, according to the recent submission to the Department of Education, Skills and Employment Quality Initial Teacher Education Review by the Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA).
Based on publicly available data, ACTA documented the following:
- well over 600,000 learners of English as an additional language/dialect (EAL/D) in Government and Catholic schools in Australia, including:
- 13,576 new arrivals
- 348,455 EAL/D learners in mainstream classrooms
- an estimated 27,329 Indigenous EAL/D learners
- 211,686 international
- dramatic growth in EAL/D student enrolments over the past decade:
- 114% in NSW Government schools
- 62% in Victorian Government
- major gaps in publicly available data on English language learners and provision for
- no reference to teaching EAL/D learners in the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, which governs teachers’ accreditation and career
- no clarity or transparency in State/Territory qualification requirements for specialist EAL/D teachers.
- specialist EAL teacher education courses directed toward the international student market because of the lack of demand by school education employers for qualified EAL/D teachers.
- EAL/D course closures and their specialist university staff retrenched due to the COVID lockdown.
- only two preservice programs in Australia offer EAL/D courses for specialist teachers and core content on meeting the needs of English language learners for all
- no effective workforce planning for EAL/D
ACTA recommended that Initial Teacher Education could be made more responsive to the linguistic diversity of Australian schools by:
- elaborating national teacher education and leadership standards for EAL/D teaching
- specifying course content requirements for national accreditation of EAL/D teacher education programs
- mandating minimum EAL/D course requirements for specialist and mainstream teachers
- ensuring effective national EAL/D teacher workforce planning.
To read the ACTA submission, click here.
Further information: Michael Michell, ACTA Spokesperson on EAL/D in schools: ph. (02)96104870
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education
Recent Advocacy
Opportunity to participate in a national research project: Deadline extended!
Great news! The State of EAL/D Education in Schools National Survey deadline has been extended.
You now have until 20 December to take the survey.
Investigating the state of English as an additional language/dialect (EAL/D) education in Australian schools and tracing EAL/D teaching courses at Australian universities
- Are you an EAL/D teacher?
- A mainstream teacher of EAL/D learners?
- A tertiary EAL/D educator?
You are invited to complete the State of EAL/D Education in Australian Schools Survey, to describe the current situation in your school or institution.
The State of EAL/D Education in Australian Schools Survey is part of an ACTA funded and Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approved national research project entitled, Fading footprints: Tracing EAL/D teaching courses at Australian universities and investigating the state of EAL/D education in Australian schools.
This survey aims to identify the impact of education reform policies on the provision and effectiveness of EAL/D programs in schools and update results from our 2016 national survey. We anticipate the report findings will be used in a national media campaign to inform implementation of the Government’s Better and Fairer Schools Agreements.
The survey can be accessed via http://tesol.org.au/2024survey. There is additional information and a QR link on this page.
The survey period is 4 November to 20 December.
Please feel welcome to share the survey link with your networks.
ACTA’s submission to the Senate Education Inquiry into the Better and Fairer Schools Bill has now been published.
Our submission includes ACTA’s response to the NT Government’s recent announcement that targeted funding for bilingual programs will be pooled within the ‘needs-based’ allocations to schools.
Announcement:
We are thrilled to announce that ACTA’s contribution to the Foundation for Learning and Literacy Symposium is now online!
Join ACTA Councillor Fran Murray as she explores “The role of First Language in Learning: The Power of Literature in students’ First Language in developing Bilingualism and Biculturalism” with co-presenters Jacinta Alimankini, Rachel Kantilla (Wurrumiyanga) and Anita Painter (Barunga).
Watch the video below.
You can watch all other contributions to the symposium on YouTube.
The ACTA Consultancy Group on Indigenous English as an Additional Language or Dialect provided feedback on the draft International Decade of Indigenous Languages Priorities Paper (the Priorities Paper) in 2023. In partnership with the International Decade of Indigenous Languages Direction Group (the Directions Group), the authors of the draft Paper incorporated ACTA’s feedback into the revised Paper, specifically regarding the importance of a national approach to stopping First Nations language loss, and greater recognition of bilingual-biliterate learning and non-traditional and emerging First Nations languages.
The Paper was endorsed by the Directions Group in March 2024 and provided to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Language Policy Partnership to feed into their language priorities under Target 16 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
- The updated Priorities Paper can be read here. The Paper is intended to be a living document and change if and when the need arises.
- The ACTA submission can be read here.
Updates on the ongoing work of the Directions Group and Languages Policy Partnership are available at the following web sites:
Closing the Gap Webinar Recording
On 29 February the Commission hosted a webinar where Commissioners Romlie Mokak and Natalie Siegel-Brown shared key messages from the Closing the Gap Review.
See the recording of the webinar below. Other resources can be found on the Commission’s website.
Share your Experience of the Review
The Productivity Commission would appreciate your feedback on how you experienced the review process. Please fill out the brief survey below to share your thoughts. This will help them to improve their work practices and support their ongoing work on the National Agreement.
- The survey will only take about 5 minutes of your time. Your answers will be anonymous.
- Thank you for your participation.
ACTA had a meeting with key members of the federal Department of Education’s National Schools Reform Agreement Task Force recently and committed ACTA to several follow actions, including:
- Developing a draft of what a national EAL/D measure can do, how it addresses Recommendation 5c, what it might look like, and what would be involved in its implementation; and
- Elaborating on the need to create a stand-alone EAL/D unit capable of implementing leadership of a national EAL/D reform agenda.
We have already begun work on the measure, with the help of a number of members of ACTA associations, and plan to send a draft to the Task Force by the end of March. We have also submitted a proposal for the establishment of an EAL/D specialist unit within the Department.
Click here to read the EAL/D Education Performance Framework
Click here to read the ACTA Paper to NSRA Taskforce- Dept. Restructure
Following a meeting with interim ACARA CEO Stephen Gniel and Director, Curriculum Sharon Foster on 8 February ACTA was asked to review the proposed changes to the existing ACARA EAL/D Course Advice and Annotations. To kick off the review Sharon Foster spoke to a joint forum of the ACTA Schools and First Nations EAL/D Consultancy Groups on 20 February, with over 30 members of ACTA member associations from around Australia contributing to the discussion. If you would like to join one of these groups and participate in the review of the ACARA materials, please contact ACTA President, Prof. Chris Davison
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) is working on designing a new stream in the Skills for Employment and Education (SEE) Program). This stream seeks to improve First Nations people’s access to tuition and training in literacy and numeracy. A SEE Program Stream 2 – First Nations Delivery Working Group has been providing feedback to the Department on the design and intent of the draft guidelines.
DEWR has now announced a public consultation process about this proposed program. The consultation will be open from 13 February 2024 until 6pm (AEDT) on 12 March 2024.
It can be accessed via this link.
The Department invites interested stakeholders to participate in this consultation to inform the next stage of program development.
- The Department has prepared a consultation paper which provides information on SEE Program Stream 2 – First Nations Delivery, and seeks feedback on the draft Scoping and Delivery guidelines.
- In conjunction with the consultation, the draft guidelines will appear as a forecast opportunity on GrantConnect and will also include a referral link to the Department’s consultation hub.
In their most recent meeting (14 November), the Indigenous EAL/D Consultancy Group met with Pauline Halchuk, Director of the Indigenous Language Policy Taskforce in the Australian Government Office of the Arts. Pauline spoke briefly on her role, particularly in relation to her work on Closing the Gap Outcome 16: “ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and languages are strong, supported and flourishing.”
The bulk of the meeting was devoted to members sharing their professional experiences and perspectives on this goal. The meeting concluded with Pauline summing up the key messages she took from members’ input:
- the need for appropriate training pathways and support for Indigenous teachers
- barriers to Indigenous language speakers teaching in schools and being appropriately recognized and remunerated
- the interconnectedness of different Closing the Gap Outcomes and especially the crucial role of school education
- the effectiveness of learning on country and teaching remote students in their languages
- and the potential of independent schools to be highly responsive to their local Indigenous community.
Pauline drew attention to recently released resources and reports, and said she would welcome feedback.
For further information, read Yalbilinya: National First Languages Education Project
Arts Minister Tony Burke says that “culture cannot be disconnected from language” at the launch of Australia’s Action Plan for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (23 August 2023).
To watch his speech on YouTube, click here (5 minutes).
Past Advocacy, Reports and Initiatives
ACTA’s member association, ATESOL NT, made two detailed submissions to the 2021 Parliamentary Inquiry into Adult Literacy and Its Importance (105 and 105.1) and also gave evidence in a Hearing on 29th July.
To view ACTA’s media release endorsing these submissions, click here.
To read an AAP syndicated article based on this media release, click here.
To listen to ABC Darwin news items following this media release, click here.
To view a follow-up letter from ACTA president and Vice-Presidents to the Hon. Key Wyatt, Minister for Indigenous Australians, click here. To read the reply from Acting Education Minister Stuart Robert, click here.
To view the ATESOL NT submissions, go the Inquiry website here and scroll down to Submissions 105 and 101.5. You will need to download them. Please note: 101.5 is a landmark documentation of the current situation in remote NT schools and also includes important recommendations.
You can also view submission 101.5 on ATESOL NT's website here.
You can view Hansard of ATESOL NT’s evidence on the Parliamentary Inquiry website here. You will need to scroll down to the hearing on 29 July 2021. You will need to download the PDF file. (If you would like to read ACTA’s evidence, download the hearing on 19 August 2021).
For details of ACTA’s submission 85 to the Inquiry and updated Supplementary submission 85.1, click here.
To find read the Inquiry’s final report entitled “Don’t take it as read: Inquiry into adult literacy and its importance”, visit the Inquiry home page. To read the press release, click here.
For further information and updates, go to the ATESOL NT website.
RELEASED: 15th September, 2021
Misguided Commonwealth and NT Government policies are directly contributing to remote Indigenous students’ falling school attendance and abysmal literacy levels, according to two scathing submissions by a teachers’ organisation to a current federal Parliamentary Inquiry.
“Applying the same education policies to students who are culturally and linguistically different doesn’t result in equity,” said Fran Murray, the ATESOL NT representative to the Australian Council of TESOL Associations. “In fact, it’s widening the gap, not closing it.”
The submissions explain why Closing the Gap targets for Indigenous education are increasingly out of reach: remote schools are in crisis. Meanwhile, the number of Indigenous young people in NT prisons has doubled in the past year.[1] John Lawrence SC, former head of the NT Bar Association, who has over 30 years’ experience working in the NT legal system observes: “The inexcusable failing of our education system, clearly revealed by their failure to teach Aboriginal children to read and write, is one of the major reasons for the increasing numbers of Aboriginal youth being captured by the oppressive carceral regime that is the NT Juvenile Justice system.”
Clear evidence of Commonwealth and NT Government education policy failure is:
- Only 14% of very remote Indigenous students attended school even 4 days a week in 2020.[2]Numbers may have fallen further in 2021.
- Fewer than 4% of Year 9 remote Indigenous students met minimum writing standards in 2019.[3]
- Currently 100% of young people in Darwin and Alice Springs prisons are Indigenous, while suicide is now the leading cause of death among NT adolescents in remote communities.[4]
In their submissions, the Association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages in the Northern Territory (ATESOL NT) describes how Indigenous education policy consistently ignores the fact that “more than 8 out of 10 people in remote communities speak an Indigenous language.” For example, Indigenous students in remote communities are required to sit NAPLAN tests, which are designed for English-speaking students. As beginning English learners, the students cannot understand NAPLAN questions, so they are routinely told to guess answers by “colouring in the bubbles on the test pages”.[5] In response to disastrous NAPLAN results, especially for remote Indigenous students, millions have been wasted on imported commercial remedial literacy programs. These are unsuitable for students in remote communities who “do not use English outside school”.[6]
The Association identifies nine destructive policies and programs. Chief among them are:
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The NT Government’s “effective enrolment” funding formula
Since 2012, the NT Government’s “effective enrolment” formula has funded schools according to student attendance (not enrolment) rates for the previous 12 months. As a result, “many remote schools have lost up to 50% of their budgets” and both Indigenous and non- Indigenous teaching positions have been cut. These schools are now locked in a vicious cycle of shrinking budgets that lead to lower attendance, causing further funding cuts:
[Remote] students generally enrol in larger numbers in terms 1 and 4. To staff classes with fewer teachers, class sizes have to be large. These students find large classes intimidating, so they cease attending.[7]
Unstable and shrinking budgets are making it impossible for remote schools to plan ahead, engage in outreach, and attract qualified and stable staff, all of which are necessary in promoting student attendance.
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Imported American and British remedial literacy programs and other short-lived initiatives
In their panicked response to inevitably catastrophic NAPLAN results in 2015, the NT Government mandated that remote schools use an American “Direct Instruction” program costing $25-30 million. It included flying instructors from America to remote NT communities several times a year. In 2018, this expensive, inappropriate and clearly failing program was cancelled. A second remedial literacy program (Read, Write Inc) – this time imported from Britain – is now in place. Its content assumes that students live in England, and it completely ignores the need for Indigenous language speakers to develop spoken English as a basis for reading in English.
In 2020-21 the NT Government’s own programs, Literacy and Numeracy Essentials (LANE) and Employment Pathways (EP), funded through Commonwealth Indigenous Education money, were also cancelled. The result:
Indigenous communities are experiencing program fatigue. … Staff and students are reluctant to engage with programs that may be cancelled a year later.[8]
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Restricted secondary schooling options
The 2015-2024 Indigenous Education Strategy limited secondary schooling options for most remote Indigenous students to either NT and interstate boarding schools or the new local, community-based Employment Pathways (EP) program. In Term 3 2020, EP was terminated, leaving 537 secondary students in 32 remote communities stranded. Boarding school is now the only option for many remote students. According to a 2020 independent study, and confirmed by numerous anecdotal examples, these students often drop out and return to their communities. The result is:
The sense of failure by students who drop out of boarding school discourages other younger students in the community from continuing their education.
With pathways blocked to secondary education and limited employment opportunities, these young people are at increased risk of being caught up in the justice system and/or, tragically committing suicide. TESOL NT has received reports of Indigenous students suiciding at boarding schools or on return to their communities.[9] Far from reducing incarceration rates, they are increasing, with the NT Government projecting increases (based on stricter bail laws) of 10% p.a..
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Failure to employ qualified Aboriginal teachers, Assistant Teachers and English language teachers in remote schools
In 2012 the tertiary course which trained Aboriginal teachers was cancelled. Aboriginal teachers and Assistant Teachers are essential to promoting Indigenous language-speaking children’s learning in and through their first languages alongside English. With reduced and insecure budgets (see 1 above), remote schools have cut Aboriginal staffing, and cannot attract or retain qualified English language teachers. In 2021 the NT Government’s Professional Learning for remote teachers is now focussed on the roll-out of the British program Read Write Inc.
The teachers’ submission contains 32 recommendations that respond to the educational needs and aspirations of Indigenous language speakers in remote communities. High priorities are:
- stable, timely and adequate budgets to remote schools to allow planning, community outreach and the employment and retention of Aboriginal teachers, Assistant Teachers and qualified English language teachers
- Australian- and locally-made programs, teaching resources and professional development appropriate for teaching speakers of Indigenous languages in remote communities
- restoration of viable pathways to secondary schooling and employment in remote Indigenous communities.
For ATESOL NT submission 105 & supplement 105.1, see: Submissions – Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au) or Advocacy: ATESOL NT submission to adult literacy inquiry – ATESOL NT
Enquiries: Dr Helen Moore AM, ACTA Vice President.
[1] Don Dale to expand, years after its closure was recommended, as NT youth detainee numbers rise – ABC News
[2] ATESOL NT Supplementary Submission, p. 17.
[3] Trend results – Mean scores (acara.edu.au)
[4] Youth detention census – Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities. FactCheck Q&A: are Indigenous youth suicide rates in the top of Australia the highest in the world? (theconversation.com). Robinson, G., et al (2020), School-Based Prevention in Very Remote Settings. Retrieved: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.552878/full
[5] ATESOL NT Suppl. Submission, pp. 40-42. See this section for how these students should be assessed.
[6] ATESOL NT Suppl. Submission, pp. 25-31.
[7] ATESOL NT Suppl. Submission, pp. 16-19. The NT Government’s 2017 review confirmed that: “schools where funding is reduced due to the application of effective enrolment are in remote locations, are socioeconomically disadvantaged and have a high concentration of Indigenous students.” https://education.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/464792/Report-from-the-Review-of-the-Global-School-Budgets-Funding-Model.pdf p.33. In 2018, Independent NT MP Yingiya Mark Guyula reported: “The Federal Government states it will provide $10222 per enrolled student on Elcho Island in 2018. This is over $6 million in Federal Government funding alone that should be given to the school and community. However, I have met with the School Council and they have been advised they will receive less than $4 million in total for 2018. I have spoken with other schools in the region and they are all facing similar situations.” (Media release available from Mr Guyula’s office.)
[8] ATESOL NT Suppl. Submission, pp. 20-22.
[9] Boarding Off Country: a study of education in one NT community. https://apo.org.au/node/308093. ATESOL NT Suppl. Submission, pp. 33-34.
The Australian Government has asked the Productivity Commission to develop a whole-of-government evaluation strategy for policies and programs affecting Indigenous Australians, to be used by all Australian Government agencies. The Commission will also review the performance of agencies against the strategy over time. A draft report is expected in February 2020.
ACTA has made a comprehensive submission to the Commission based on widespread consultation with our networks across Australia. For details about the Evaluation Strategy and to read the other 100 submissions, which are very interesting, go to https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/indigenous-evaluation
- ACTA's response and recommended additions to the draft Capability Framework for Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander EAL/D Learners, which has been developed as part of the projects initiated by the Senior Officers National Network Indigenous Education (SONNIE) and the National Alliance for Remote Indigenous Schools (NARIS) (10 October 2012)
- ACTA's submission to the Inquiry into the Australian Human Rights Commission Amendment (National Children's Commissioner) Bill 2012 (1 June 2012)
- ACTA's submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Inquiry into language learning in Indigenous communities (22 August 2011)
- ACTA's joint submission (with ALAA and ALS) to MCEECDYA on the Stage 2 Consultation Draft of the Indigenous Education Action Plan (IEAP) 2010–2014 (3 March 2010)
- ACTA's media release on bilingual education
- ACTA's letter to parliament in support of retaining bilingual education in the Northern Territory.
Refugee Youth
Recent Advocacy
- Do you teach students aged (approximately) 16 to 30 who have
a refugee or refugee-like background? - Or do you work with teachers who teach refugee youth?
- Would you be interested in meeting and working with other educators
who are committed to advancing quality English language provision for refugee youth
in schools, vocational education (VET), universities and community settings? - Can you give some of your precious time to assisting ACTA in developing our advocacy
to better meet the English language learning needs of refugee youth in Australia?
ACTA is setting up a new Consultancy Group tasked to improve our knowledge about the learning needs and aspirations of refugee youth who are learning English as an additional language, and to develop policy proposals and provide leadership in advocacy for these young people. The Group will seek to collaborate closely with other groups with related aims.
The co-convenors will be Dr Sally Baker and, for the interim, Dr Helen Moore, AM.
- Sally is Associate Professor, Migration & Education at the Australian National University, and Co-Chair of the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (RESIG). She has a background as an adult English language teacher, working in the ESOL program in the UK and in the AMEP in Newcastle, before becoming an academic and teacher educator.
- Helen is ACTA Vice-President and President of ATESOL ACT. Her background is in TESOL teacher education and TESOL-related advocacy, policy and research in adult and school settings. She co-convenes the ACTA Indigenous EAL/D Consultancy Group. She will act as interim co-convenor until the ACTA AGM, after which it is hoped another Councillor will take up this role.
The first meeting will be on 16th April 2024 from 2–4pm AEST (fully online).
This meeting will commence with a general consultation on the mission/vision statement for the new CG, as well as scoping ideas for ongoing advocacy.
The second half (4–5pm) will be co-facilitated with the Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network, and will revisit their consultation on the AMEP and multicultural young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. This will form the basis for a meeting between the Department of Home Affairs and MYAN, RESIG, and ACTA in May 2024 (date TBC). MYAN will also bring two youth multicultural youth advocates to this meeting to speak to their experiences of English language learning.
CG Membership is open to members of state and territory TESOL associations who are ACTA members. To find out how to join your local association, go to Contact Us – Australian Council of TESOL Associations
If you have further questions about the purpose of the group, please contact Dr. Sally Baker
If you would like to participate in this ACTA Consultancy Group, please contact Susanne at Please include brief details about your experience and interest in English for refugee youth.
Adult ESOL Consultancy Group Guest Speaker: Sally Baker
On October 11, Dr. Sally Baker spoke to the Adult ESOL Consultancy Group about the Refugee Student Settlement Pathway (RSSP). This exciting new pathway into post-school education for refugees is being developed by the Australian Refugee Welcome University Sponsorship Consortium (ARWUSC); and led by Sally( at the ANU) in collaboration with the Australian Commonwealth Government, Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia (CRSA), and the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (RESIG).
New Refugee Youth Consultancy Group
ACTA is establishing a new consultancy group (CG). This group will focus on English language provision for refugee youth, spanning all sectors (school, post-school, AMEP and community). It will be convened by Associate Professor Sally Baker, who is leading the design of a ground-breaking new post-school educational migration pathway for refugees described above. The CG will also act as a sounding board and support for Sally in this project.
For more information about the RSSP, see:
ACTA Advocacy Archives
ACTA has undertaken advocacy on a wide range of issues over the years. We're moving more of our documents from our archives to this site.
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Early Childhood Education
Recent Advocacy
With the expert input and feedback of its Early Childhood Education Consultancy group, ACTA responded to the Productivity Commission’s draft report on Early Childhood Education and Care on 12 February.
You can read ACTA’s response here.
The Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA) is committed to strengthening Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) for all young children whose caregivers speak languages other than English, and who are consequently learning English in addition to their home and family languages. These children are located in urban, regional, rural and remote communities across Australia. They come from linguistically, culturally and socio-economically diverse communities, and include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and migrant and refugee families.
This submission advances three proposals that will improve the quality and effectiveness of ECEC in serving the children and families for whom we specifically advocate but, just as importantly, the whole Australian society and economy.
Read ACTA's submission - Productivity Commission Inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care here.
This Early Childhood Education (ECE) Principles document is a statement of the Australian Council of TESOL Association’s (ACTA’s) beliefs and values about home language-based English as Additional Language and/or Dialect (EAL/D) education in the Early Childhood (EC) years with a focus on the education of children in the years before schooling.
The ECE Principles encompass all EAL/D learners: newly arrived, migrant and Australia-born children, refugee and refugee-background children, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children functioning at all levels of home language and English language proficiency. The ECE Principles bring together the shared thinking of a large group of early childhood practitioners and researchers with EAL/D expertise from across Australia. The ECE Principles document is intended to raise awareness of issues to do with language/s for practitioners, researchers, policymakers, key stakeholders and State, Territory and Commonwealth governments.
The ECE Principles reinforce the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (the Convention), which underpin the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (DET, 2019).
The ECE Principles also align with the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration In particular, the Council of Australian Governments is committed to closing the gap in educational achievement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and ECE plays a critical role in achieving this outcome (DESE, 2019). Target 3 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (2020) states that: Children are engaged in high quality, culturally appropriate early childhood education.
For more information please email
In November 2021 TESOL in Context, the peer-reviewed publication of the Australian Council for TESOL Associations (ACTA), published a volume specifically dedicated to Languages in Early Childhood Education.
The Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA) appreciates the opportunity to become part of the national conversation about developing the Early Years Strategy by responding to the Early Years Discussion Paper.
ACTA is committed to strengthening Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) for all young children whose caregivers speak languages other than English and who are consequently learning English in addition to their home/family languages.
ACTA advocates for the rights of children and families to maintain their languages and to be supported in learning English, in addition, not as a replacement. We support the maintenance of Australia’s rich “language wealth” in the speakers of First Nations and overseas languages, young and old.
ACTA members believe that Australia should harness our shared linguistic diversity and multilingual resources encouraging all children to learn and use home and community languages, while at the same time adding to their English communication skills. In so doing, the Commonwealth Government would advance its commitment to the current lead policy in Indigenous affairs, Closing the Gap, by supporting First Nations children who are speakers of diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages to thrive in their early years and beyond.
An inclusive and strengths-based strategy would enable ECEC settings to reflect and nurture children’s diversity. It is about every child accessing, participating meaningfully in, and experiencing positive outcomes from, ECEC programs. Inclusion is important as it nurtures children’s sense of identity, and their confidence in themselves as effective learners, as they take their first steps into education contexts outside their family/caregivers. Intentionally catering for diversity and enhances children’s experiences in high quality ECEC.
ACTA's complete Response to the Discussion Paper can be read here.
ACTA's Principles for Early Childhood Education can be found here.
ACTA feedback on the National Vision for ECEC in Australia
- support young children’s educational and development outcomes
- encourage parents’ workforce participation, and
- grow a strong and sustainable workforce.
Read the ACTA feedback on the National Vision for ECEC in Australia here
This Early Childhood Education (ECE) Principles document is a statement of the Australian Council of TESOL Association’s (ACTA’s) beliefs and values about home language-based English as Additional Language and/or Dialect (EAL/D) education in the Early Childhood (EC) years with a focus on the education of children in the years before schooling.
The ECE Principles encompass all EAL/D learners: newly arrived, migrant and Australia-born children, refugee and refugee-background children, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children functioning at all levels of home language and English language proficiency. The ECE Principles bring together the shared thinking of a large group of early childhood practitioners and researchers with EAL/D expertise from across Australia. The ECE Principles document is intended to raise awareness of issues to do with language/s for practitioners, researchers, policymakers, key stakeholders and State, Territory and Commonwealth governments.
The ECE Principles reinforce the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (the Convention), which underpin the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (DET, 2019).
The ECE Principles also align with the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration In particular, the Council of Australian Governments is committed to closing the gap in educational achievement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and ECE plays a critical role in achieving this outcome (DESE, 2019). Target 3 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (2020) states that: Children are engaged in high quality, culturally appropriate early childhood education.
For more information please email
In November 2021 TESOL in Context, the peer-reviewed publication of the Australian Council for TESOL Associations (ACTA), published a volume specifically dedicated to Languages in Early Childhood Education.
Past Advocacy, Reports and Initiatives
In November 2021 TESOL in Context, the peer-reviewed publication of the Australian Council for TESOL Associations (ACTA), published a volume specifically dedicated to Languages in Early Childhood Education.
"In the context of ever-changing global movement of peoples in and between countries, linguistic diversity, and diversity in modes of communication and expression have become increasingly vibrant and visible (D’warte & Slaughter, 2021). These changes have also been reflected in research scholarship into languages acquisition where monolingual-centric assumptions have been disrupted by heteroglossic perspectives that view the linguistic repertoire of any individual, including the very young child, as complex – shaped by the “linguistic, cognitive, social and emotional” characteristics of the individual (Seltzer & García, 2020, p. 2). In orienting this to the classroom, Cummins & Early (2011) argue that the relationship between language and identity cannot be untwined but that indeed, a critical precondition for learning involves recognising and engaging with the cultural and linguistic knowledges and learning experiences of students."
[Reference: Slaughter, Y., Keary, A., Gillian, P., & Bonar, G. (2021). Editorial: Languages in Early Childhood Education. TESOL in Context, 30(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.21153/tesol2021vol30no1art1571]
This issue contains four articles:
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Leveraging Languages for Learning: Incorporating Plurilingual Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education and Care / Caroline Cohrssen, Yvette Slaughter, Edith Nicolas
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Mothers as First Teachers: Exploring the Features of Motherchild Interactions That Support Young Aboriginal Children’s Multilingual Learning at Playgroup / Janet Scull, Jane Page, Wan Yi Lee, Lisa Murray, Dorothy Gapany, Samantha Stewart, Marilyn Murukun, Nuala Scannell, Rona Lawrence, Jonica Dhurrkay, Felicity Hayes, Verity Burarrwanga, Leah Chynoweth, Michelle Callahan, Jessica Noella Goveas, Megan L. Cock, Susan Mentha, Patricia Eadie, Joseph Sparling
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Knowing Who You Are: Heritage Language, Identity and Safe Space in a Bilingual Kindergarten / Kerry Taylor-Leech, Eseta Tualaulelei
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The Niichii Project: Revitalizing Indigenous Language in Northern Canada / Shelley Stagg Peterson, Yvette Manitowabi, Jacinta Manitowabi
Three books are reviewed in this issue:
- Bilingual Families: A Practical Language Planning Guide
- Rooted in Strength: Using Translanguaging to Grow Multilingual Readers and Writers
- Early Language Learning and Teacher Education. International Research and Practice
Click to view TESOL in Context. Vol 30 No 1.