MLTA ACT News

Current and recent

Canberra Region Languages Forum Update, November 2023

The Canberra Region Languages Forum Update for December 2023 has been sent out to subscribers by the Convener, Dr Mandy Scott. News items in this update include:

Good news for Year 11-12 students wishing to learn languages not available through schools in the ACT – CIT Solutions is taking on the delivery of the senior secondary languages programs set up by the Canberra Academy of Languages (CAL).
But what is happening to the ACT Education Directorate's Languages Education Action Plan? No news since its mention in an ABC News article in mid-August 2023.
Student petitions protesting the proposed discontinuation of five European languages at Macquarie University: Croatian, Modern Greek and Russian.
Languages in Australian Higher Education Symposium, Thursday 14 December 4-5.30pm Free and online option
Learning the languages of our community, fantastic 30-minute discussion about languages on ABC RN on 29 November.
Survey on Language transmission in multilingual families.

Feedback and contribution to future updates welcome.
Details of previous Forum Updates are available at Canberra Region Languages Forum website.

Call for nominations for the Fiona Arthur Award, posted 26 October 2023

The 19th of June saw the anniversary of the passing away of our dear friend and colleague, Fiona Arthur. The MLTA ACT Inc. is pleased to announce that nominations for the Fiona Arthur Language Teaching Award for 2023 are open. Members are able to nominate themselves or nominate another member for the award. Nominations must be supported by a Principal or Senior Executive Teacher. The award recognises the contributions that a member of the MLTA ACT Inc. makes to the teaching and learning of languages in the ACT. The nominated candidate must demonstrate that they are:

Engaging with current theories of education.
Modelling and promoting effective and innovative language teaching practice.
Contributing to the education and professional development of language teachers.

Nominations should clearly address each of the three criteria. Nominations must be submitted by COB Friday 17 November, 2023 in this Google form.

A panel comprised of the MLTA ACT Inc. Executive will meet after the nomination due date and assess all nominations against the criteria. The successful recipient of the 2023 award will be announced in Term 1, 2024.

The recipient of the MLTA ACT Inc. Fiona Arthur Language Teaching Award will receive a perpetual plaque for their school, an Award Certificate and a voucher to the value of $450 for the purchase of resources from INTEXT. Please see also this flyer containing the above information. If you have any queries, contact the MLTA ACT Executive Committee at mlta.act.inc@gmail.com

Call for contributions for MLTA Contact Newsletter, posted 28 September 2023

We would like to receive your contributions for the Semester 2, 2023 CONTACT publication. For details, see the broadcast email of 15 September from Myriam Davies, Contact Editor, via the MLTA ACT mailbox. Please send your articles to myriam.davies@ed.act.edu.au and include "CONTACT" in your email subject by the start of Week 8 of Term 4 (Friday 1 December).

AFMLTA News in Brief additional news for September, posted 28 September 2023

The September 2023 edition of AFMLTA News in Brief has been published, to advise members that AFMLTA immediate Past President, Nathan Harvey, had passed away, and to extend condolences to his family and friends.

ACARA update on the Australian Curriculum: Languages Review, posted 31 August 2023

The Review of Languages continues with the next phase of Languages now available for consultation. The consultation site for Chinese for Background and First-Language learners, the Framework for Classical Languages, Classical Greek and Latin continues until September 12.

The site now also includes consultation on Auslan, with pathways for First-language learners and Second-language learners, Years Foundation to Year 10, and Years 7 to 10 for each pathway; and the Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages, with pathways for First-language learners, Second-language learners and Language Revival, Years Foundation to Year 10. Consultation on Auslan and the Framework remains open until 7 November 2023.

The consultation page for all these draft curriculum for consultation can be accessed via the v8.4 website banner, or a direct link here: You can view this page at https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/consultation/languages.

AFMLTA News in Brief additional news for August, posted 20 August 2023

The August 2023 edition of AFMLTA News in Brief has been published. News items in this edition of AFMLTA News in Brief include:

National Assembly
2023 AFMLTA Conference (7-9 July) held in Perth
Awards

Atelier de cuisine chez Le Trè Bon, posted 20 August 2023

An enjoyable and informative workshop was provided by Christophe Gregoire at Le Très Bon in Bungendore on Saturday 19 August. After an informative introduction about Escoffier, with asides about Paul Bocuse, among others, and the development of restaurants in the western world, participants prepared Tartiflette and Crème Brulée and finished with lunch. Thanks to Lena for organising workshop accreditation, so that those who attended will receive four accredited hours of TQI Professional Learning.

Dates confirmed for 2024 Multicultural Festival, posted 31 July 2023

Dates have been confirmed for 2024 National Multicultural Festival. It will be held from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 February 2024. The next opportunity to drop in for a chat about planning will be on Tuesday 1 August 2023 at the Theo Notaras Centre, 180 London Circuit. See the NMF web page for details.

CLSA workshops, posted 26 July 2023

Community Language Schools Association ACT – The MLTAACT has been providing professional learning workshops for the CLSAACT teachers for many years, as part of an agreement put in place by the ACT Department of Education. Each year, the MLTAACT committee organises four 90-minute workshops and in recent years these have been online rather than in person. Presenters will be paid $450 for the time put towards preparing a workshop. If you are interested in presenting a workshop, email Jo Chilver via mlta.act.inc@gmail.com and please type CLSA Workshop in the subject box.

Workshops are usually held on Thursday evenings from 18:30-20:00. The proposed dates for this year are:

Term 1	Term 3	Term 4
Week 7 – 8 June	Week 4 - 17 August Week 9 – 14 September	Week 3 – 26 October
Workshop Title: Lesson Planning and Delivery using high-impact teaching strategies	For 17 August - IT tools for teaching For 14 September - TBC	TBC

Many of the CLSA teachers are not qualified teachers, and as such, they appreciate practical, easy to apply presentations. We have received feedback from CLSA teachers regarding their preferences, and they are particularly interested in the following areas.

IT tools for teaching
Differentiation
Hands-on activities, including assessment tasks

If you are interested or would like to know more, please email Jo Chilver via mlta.act.inc@gmail.com.

MLTA Contact Newsletter June 2023 edition published, posted 1 July 2023

MLTA ACT has published the Semester 1, 2023 edition of MLTA Contact Newsletter. Our thanks go to Myriam Davies, Contact Editor, for bringing together another fine edition.

News items in this edition of MLTA ACT Contact Newsletter include:

Message from the President
Message from the Vice-President
From the German Network
From the French Network
French Section of MLTA ACT
Dante Alighieri Society
Francophonie Competition and Embassy Visit
A Bilingual Puppet Show and Flamenco workshops
Open Night at Dickson College
Adult Classes Enjoying their End of Semester Party - German Language School
Canberra Grammar Primary School’s BRIDGE Partnership with Cor Jesu School in Malang, East Java, Indonesia
Professional Learning with Joe Dale
Indonesian News – - St Jude's School
Languages at Campbell High
Canberra Academy of Languages
CI Down Under, Sydney, January 2024, Unlocking the Power of Comprehension Based Language Teaching

AFMLTA News in Brief additional news for June, posted 1 July 2023

The additional June 2023 edition (June #2) of AFMLTA News in Brief has been published. News items in this edition of AFMLTA News in Brief include:

Babel Volume 56 update (Issues 1 & 2 have been mailed to members and Issue 3 is now available online)
Link to the full conference program
Invited speakers for the 2023 AFMLTA Conference (7-9 July) in Perth
2023 Patji-Dawes Language Teaching Award

Reminder about articles for MLTA Contact Newsletter, posted 7 June 2023, updated 17 June 2023

We would like to receive your contributions for the Semester 1, 2023 CONTACT publication. For details, see the broadcast email of 23 April from Myriam Davies, Contact Editor, via the MLTA ACT mailbox. Please send your articles to myriam.davies@ed.act.edu.au by the start of Week 9 (Friday 19 June - extended copy deadline).

AFMLTA News in Brief, posted 7 June 2023

The June 2023 edition of AFMLTA News in Brief has been published. News items in this edition include:

Invited speakers for the 2023 AFMLTA Conference (7-9 July) in Perth
Register for AFMLTA 2023 International Languages Conference
2023 Patji-Dawes Language Teaching Award

Canberra Region Languages Forum Update, May 2023

The Canberra Region Languages Forum Update for May 2023 has been sent out to subscribers by the Convener, Dr Mandy Scott. News items in this update include:

Upcoming events

Little kids learning languages, ANU (in-person only) Friday 12 May 3.30pm - 5pm. Contact evan.kidd@anu.edu.au for more details.
Tapestry of Cultures Family Festival, NMA, Saturday 13 May 2023, 10am – 4pm. Multilingual poetry spot 2.10pm-2.40pm.
Program Launch: Poetic City 2023 - Winter Edition, Civic, Saturday May 13, 2pm-3.30pm.
ACT Community Language Schools Open Day, Albert Hall, Saturday 20 May 10.30-1pm. Contact Manu at actclsa@gmail.com for more details.
Mother Tongue - Multilingual Poetry Open mic, Smiths Alternative, Monday 22 May 7pm – 8.30pm.
Poetry and Protest: Philippine Poetry Through the Years, Griffith ACT, Sunday 28 May 2pm-4 pm.
Festival of Languages, ANU Saturday 17 June, 10.30am-4pm.
International Symposium on Bilingualism, Macquarie University or online, Mon 26 – Fri 30 June.
Focus on Languages in the recently released National Cultural Policy ‘Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place’.

Other news

First accredited training course for ACT Community Language School teachers has begun.
News from Canberra Academy of Languages: Seeking teacher of Japanese for Semester 2; Tag der deutschen Sprache; Proposal about languages education again lodged with ACT government.

MLTA PL for Term 2, posted 16 May 2023

For our second PL event this year, and in light of the number of on-line PLs we have presented over the last 3 years, we are organising an opportunity for language teachers to meet in person for a morning on Saturday 17 June. The purpose will be to familiarise ourselves and begin working with the latest version of the Australian Curriculum for Languages. The event will not be TQI accredited but can be entered as teacher-identified. Morning tea will be provided. The event is free for members. Non-members are very welcome and the cost is membership of the MLTAACT. (link here). This event will be held at ACU in Watson (Blackfriars Building).

Program for the morning

08:30-09:00 Registration
09:00-09:30 Introduction and overview of AC: Language v9 revisions
09:30-11:00 Specific language groups – transitioning current units using the ACT scope & sequence document and support resources
11:00-11:30 Morning tea
11:30-12:00 Sharing time
12:00-12:30 Specific language groups – continue with transitioning.

More details to follow.

AFMLTA News in Brief, posted 15 May 2023

The May 2023edition of AFMLTA News in Brief has been published. News items in this edition include:

Invited speakers for the 2023 AFMLTA Conference (7-9 July) in Perth
Reminder that nominations are invited for three positions on the AFMLTA Executive Committee
Reminder about deadlines for award nominations
Link for conference registration
Callfor papers for AFMLTA 2023 Conference.

2013 AFMLTA Conference Scholarship for 2023 reminder

Reminder about applications for the 2013 AFMLTA Conference Scholarship. As advised in an email to members on 3 April, applications for the 2013 AFMLTA Conference Scholarship for 2023 are open. This scholarship provides financial assistance for members wishing to attend conferences to further their professional development. This year, the scholarship will support members to attend the 2023 AFMLTA International Languages Conference to be held from 7-9 July, in Perth. Successful applicants will be supported with their registration fee being paid ($575) for the AFMLTA 2023 International Languages Conference. The successful applicants will also receive up to $400 financial assistance to support their travel and accommodation costs.

Applications close: 4pm Friday 28 April 2023. Applications can be submitted through this Google Form. All applicants will be notified whether they have been successful by 4pm Monday 22 May 2023. Applicants will be reimbursed upon presentation of receipts for their travel and accommodation costs to the MLTA ACT Inc. Executive Treasurer. via the email address mlta.act.inc@gmail.com. The registration fee will be paid directly by the MLTA ACT Inc.

AFMLTA News in Brief, posted 3 April 2023

The February 2023 and March 2023 editions of AFMLTA News in Brief have been published. News items in the February edition include:

New year greetings for 2023
Registration invitation for AFMLTA's 2023 Conference (7-9 July) in Perth
Call for papers for AFMLTA 2023 Conference.

News items in the March edition include:

Registration reminder for AFMLTA's 2023 Conference
Call for papers reminder for AFMLTA's 2023 Conference
Call for nominations for AFMLTA Awards
The emailed version also includes a call for nominations positions on the AFMLTA Executive Committee from 2023: President Elect, Vice President, Promotions Officer and Secretary. Nominations are invited before 7 June 2023. Please visit the What's New page of AFMLTA website for more information.

MLTA AGM

The MLTA ACT Executive Committee invites you to attend the MLTA ACT Inc.’s Annual General Meeting. The MLTA ACT AGM will be held at Campbell High School Library (15 Treloar Cres, Campbell) on Thursday 23rd March, 2023 starting at 4:15pm. Light refreshments from 4pm. Please refer to the broadcast email, sent on 23 February to members, for details. If you have any questions, please email the MLTA ACT Committee.

Canberra Region Languages Forum Update, February 2023

The Canberra Region Languages Forum Update for February 2023 has been sent out to subscribers by the Convener, Dr Mandy Scott. News items in this update include:

Languages at the Multicultural Festival in Civic Friday 17 to Sunday 19 February.
International Mother Language Day Walk, Sunday morning 26 February.
Mother Tongue - Multilingual Poetry Open mic, Monday 27 February 7pm-9pm.
Call for EOI to present at ANU Language Teaching Forum, to be held monthly on Tuesdays 4.15-5pm.
New funding model for ACT Community Language schools yet to be announced.
The Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge Open to all ACT students preschool - year 12. Books can be in any language, registration required by Friday 17 March.
A glimpse of the range of language programs in the ACT area for adults and children.
Canberra Academy of Languages news.
Focus on Languages in the recently released National Cultural Policy ‘Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place’.

MLTA ACT Meet and Greet

MLTA ACT Meet and Greet will be held on Friday 24 February from 4 pm to 6 pm at The Pavillion on Northbourne.

CONTACT MLTA Newsletter December 2022

MLTA CONTACT Newsletter December 2022 edition published. The latest MLTA Newsletter was published at the end of 2022 and circulated to members via broadcast email from the Executive Secretary. The pdf is also available here.

FIPLV Conference 2024, posted 5 December 2022

The next biennial FIPLV Conference will be held from Saturday 6 July 2024 to Tuesday 9 July 2024.

The Fédération Internationale des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes is the international association of teachers of languages.

The conference venue will be the spectacular Owen G Glenn Building, Auckland, New Zealand.

For details, please visit FIPLV website.

French network news, posted 5 December 2022

French Network Leader, Lena Britton, has sent out the latest update for teachers of French - see today's broadcast email from Lena. Items include information about Francophonie events next year:

The main event will be at the Alliance Française on Friday 24 March.
Primary schools participating will be asked to prepare a presentation of a French-speaking country.
The presentations produced by the High Schools will focus around the ten words selected by the International Organisation of the Francophonie.
For college students, there will be joint events with the ANU presenting different point of views from the French-speaking countries.

Previous years

MLTA ACT news items for previous years are available as pdf documents, listed below, commencing with the most recent year.

Last updated

Canberra

The MLTA ACT Works 4U!