John Hajek is leader of the national Languages and Cultures Network for Australian Universities (LCNAU) and director of the Research Unit [...]]]> Professor John Hajek has been added to the list of keynote presenters for #AFMLTA2013. Professor Hajek joins Dr Lid King, Associate Professor Lesley Harbon and Professor Tim Lindsay as the invited keynote presenters for this event.

John Hajek is leader of the national Languages and Cultures Network for Australian Universities (LCNAU) and director of the Research Unit for Multilingualism and Cross-cultural Communication (RUMACCC) at the University of Melbourne where he is also Professor of Italian Studies. With extensive experience in languages education (European and Asian),  he has published  widely  across a range of language and linguistic areas.

You can find out more about Professor Hajek from http://languages-linguistics.unimelb.edu.au/academic-staff/john-hajek

Professor Hajek’s keynote presentation is titled “Snapshots from the edge: Australia, languages, languages education and the Asian/Global Century”. Read the abstract at http://afmlta.asn.au/submissions/ocs-2.3.5/index.php/AFMLTA2013/AFMLTA2013/paper/view/118

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is releasing the draft Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Languages for national consultation during May 2013 for the following [...]]]> The Federation has received the following  information about the next stage of development of the Australian Curriculum: Languages. All members of state MLTA are encouraged to provide feedback on these materials.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is releasing the draft Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Languages for national consultation during May 2013 for the following languages:

• 13 May – French, Indonesian, Korean, draft Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages
• 20 May – Modern Greek, Spanish, Vietnamese
• 27 May – Arabic, German, Japanese

This consultation period also provides an opportunity to give feedback on the overarching aspects of the Languages Learning Area that apply to all languages (including the Preamble, Rationale, Aims and Organisation of the Languages Learning Area). Feedback can be provided until 25 July 2013.

The draft materials are available through ACARA’s consultation website –www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/consultation . You will need to register on this website to read, review, download, or print the draft curricula and complete the online consultation survey.

Following consultation, all feedback will be analysed and used to revise the draft materials before they are published as the Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Languages for the languages listed above.
ACARA encourages and welcomes the involvement of all educators and the wider community during the consultation process. Please take the opportunity to review the draft materials and provide feedback on the Australian Curriculum: Languages.

Presentations are grouped according to content; research & theory, practice & pedagogy, technology, policy and general issues.

Don’t forget to register – less than 3 months to go!

In other news, the AFMLTA welcomes Language [...]]]> Abstracts of presentations for this year’s AFMLTA National Conference 2013 are now available from the dedicated website conference2013.afmlta.asn.au

Presentations are grouped according to content; research & theory, practice & pedagogy, technology, policy and general issues.

Don’t forget to register – less than 3 months to go!

In other news, the AFMLTA welcomes Language Perfect as a Gold Partner sponsor for this year’s conference. You can read more about them at the conference website or check out www.languageperfect.com

A range of sponsorship opportunities have been announced for companies and other organisations to partner the AFMLTA in holding this year’s National Conference. Interested parties should download the Conference Partnership Proposal & Form

The academic program of the conference is shaping up well and registrations are coming in from around the country and abroad. We hope that [...]]]>

A range of sponsorship opportunities have been announced for companies and other organisations to partner the AFMLTA in holding this year’s National Conference. Interested parties should download the Conference Partnership Proposal & Form

The academic program of the conference is shaping up well and registrations are coming in from around the country and abroad. We hope that many organisations will take advantage of the opportunities provided.

To register please visit the conference website conference2013.afmlta.asn.au and [...]]]> There are now less than 10 days for members of state MLTAs to take advantage of the special earlybird rate for this year’s AFMLTA National Conference. The earlybird offers $100 off the normal membership rate, but only if paid for by 15th March.

To register please visit the conference website conference2013.afmlta.asn.au and follow the links or click the direct link here.

Registrants are encouraged to take advantage of the direct online payment available through Paypal. (You do not need a Paypal account.)

For those that wish to be invoiced please complete registration at the site only.

For more information about this edition and the journal please see the Babel – Journal page.

Lid King established the Languages Company in 2008 in order to support the National Languages Strategy. A languages teacher in secondary, higher and adult education, advanced level [...]]]> The first plenary speakers have been confirmed for this year’s AFMLTA National Conference and include Dr Lid King (UK), Professor Tim Lindsey and Associate Professor Lesley Harbon

Lid King established the Languages Company in 2008 in order to support the National Languages Strategy. A languages teacher in secondary, higher and adult education, advanced level examiner and materials writer, Lid was Director of CILT from 1992 to 2003, during which time he led the organisation through a period of significant expansion, setting up regional centres (Comenius Centres), a national conference programme with supporting publications and research dissemination, new on line information services and support for business languages.  Since 2003 he has been NATIONAL DIRECTOR FOR LANGUAGES taking forward the implementation of the National Languages Strategy for England.  He is co-author – with Lord Ron Dearing – of The Languages Review, and has represented the UK on languages at both the European Union and The Council of Europe.

Tim Lindsey is Malcolm Smith Professor of Asian Law, Director of the Centre for Islamic Law and Society at the Melbourne Law School. He holds a Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Letters from the University of Melbourne and completed his PhD thesis in Indonesian studies. He teaches and researches Indonesian law, shari’a (Islamic law), comparative law and law reform in developing countries. He is the Chair of the Australia-Indonesia Institute and practises at the Victorian Bar. His publications include Indonesia: Law and Society; Law Reform in Developing Countries; The Indonesian Constitution; and Corruption in Asia. He is a founding editor of The Asian Law Journal.

Lesley Harbon will present this year’s Horwood Memorial Lecture. During her university undergraduate career, Lesley added German as a foreign language to her repertoire and then began a teaching career that took her across Australia, teaching Indonesian and German at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Her work with language-teacher education developed through positions she has held since the mid 90s in teacher-education faculties at the universities of Tasmania and Sydney. For 15 years, until early 1990s, Lesley edited Pelangi, a publication for the teaching and learning of Indonesian in Australian schools published at the University of Southern Queensland Press. From 2002 until 2006 Lesley edited Babel, the journal of the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Assocations. She continues to research in the areas of language-teacher education, intercultural-languages education, bilingual-immersion education and study-abroad short-term programs for language teachers.

Details of each presentation will be published as they become available.

For more information about this year’s conference including registration details, please see the dedicated conference website conference2013.afmlta.asn.au

Take advantage of earlybird rates and register before March 15 2013

If you are a member of your local MLTA or NZALT, you will be eligible for the reduced member rates. To join [...]]]> Registration for the 19th biennial AFMLTA National Conference to be held in Canberra from July 5-8 2013 is now open.

Take advantage of earlybird rates and register before March 15 2013

If you are a member of your local MLTA or NZALT, you will be eligible for the reduced member rates. To join your local MLTA please visit the affiliations page for details
If you also intend to attend the Japanese Studies Association of Australia 2013 Conference there will also be a combined rate which we are currently finalising

Registration rates

• Earlybird member (before 15/3/2013) – $575
• Earlybird non-member (before 15/3/2013) – $700
• Member (between 15/3/2013 and 15/6/2013) – $675
• Non-member (between 15/3/2013 and 15/6/2013) – $800
• Student full registration (before 15/6/2013) – $475
• Day registration (before 15/6/2013) – $330

Full registration includes welcome reception, morning and afternoon teas, lunches, and conference materials.

Day registrants may purchase a ticket for the welcome reception separately at $65.

Conference dinner attracts an additional fee of $110.

Extra tickets for the welcome reception cost $65.

To register please visit the Registration page on the dedicated conference website, http://conference2013.afmlta.asn.au