We Are One, We Are Many: Portraits of Australian Bilingual Schools by Donald F

We Are One, We Are Many: Portraits of Australian Bilingual Schools By Donald F. Hones

We are one, but we are many, education may not be widespread in Aus- background other than English. Italian, And from all the lands on Earth we come tralia, but in certain schools and commu- Greek, Cantonese and Mandarin are the — from Woodley & Newton, nities, it thrives. most common languages other than En- I am/We are Australian In the last months of 2003 I had the glish spoken in the home (Miller, 2003). In opportunity to visit, and learn from, the addition, it is estimated that 200-250 Lalor North Primary School lies bilingual education programs at several Aboriginal languages are still spoken in tucked away in a quiet suburb north of schools in the state of Victoria, Australia. Australia (Lo Bianco & Rhydwen, 2001). Melbourne, Australia. Cars jam the side In the study that follows I address the cul- In the 1970s, multiculturalism poli- streets as parents drop their children off tural, historical and political contexts of cies finally began to address the needs of at the start of the day. Across the street, immigrant bilingual education in Austra- linguistically diverse students in the beautiful roses grow in front of small, well- lia and particularly, Victoria. schools. English as a Second Language kept homes. A football oval—“Australian I collected data through participant (ESL) programs were offered to students, Rules” football in this part of the country, observation, audiotaped interviews, and and some schools began programs in bilin- mate—lies a short distance away, the grass library research to build ethnographic por- gual education. However, mirroring devel- gleaming in the mid-morning sun. traits of three schools containing four bi- opments in the USA, Australia began to To all appearances, this is a typical lingual programs, with target languages roll back support for bilingual education school in a typical neighborhood. But in- of Chinese, Greek, Macedonian and Indo- by the 1980s, and funding for ESL pro- side there are some surprises: Student lit- nesian. Through a process of interpretive grams was cut. A discourse of main- erary and art work adorns the wall, but interactionism (Denzin, 1994), I examine streaming began to guide federal policies the Cyrillic alphabet is used, and the lan- these portraits, and include comparisons (Miller, 2003). Though mainstreaming was guage is Greek. In a classroom in another and contrasts to bilingual education pro- championed as a way to limit the wing of the building, students congregate grams in my country, the United States. marginalization experienced by language around a computer, editing and producing Finally, implications for educators, learners, it also resulted in the loss of a newspaper, but the language is policymakers and others are suggested, needed language support (Ozolins, 1993). Macedonian. including ways that supporters of bilingual The birth of the Australian nation in Though separated by thousands of education in other nations can learn from 1901 was accompanied by two acts of Par- miles from the homelands of their parents these portraits of three school programs. liament, both of which seemed intended to and grandparents, students at this school ensure that Australia remained predomi- in Australia master language and aca- Australian Immigrant Languages nantly British. The Immigration Restric- demic content in the language of their eth- and Public Education tion Act 1901 was designed to preserve nic communities, and English. Bilingual racial purity by introducing a dictation test Australia in the Twenty-first Century in any European language. The Common- is a nation with immigrants from many wealth Naturalisation Act 1903 denied Donald F. Hones cultures. It is estimated that one in four Asians and other non-Europeans the right is an associate professor Australians is foreign born, and one in to apply for naturalization, receive pen- in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction twenty is from Asia. Linguistically, Aus- sions, or vote. Immigration to Australia at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, tralia is also diverse, with about 25% of swelled after World War II and in the af- Oshkosh, Wisconsin. the population coming from a language termath of Vietnam. By 1970s, the last

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION 14 vestiges of “White Australia” policies were bilingual programs for “community lan- lingual programs situated within four abandoned for an immigration policy of guages”—those spoken by large numbers schools in the state of Victoria, Australia. non-discrimination based on race, color or of immigrants in a community, as well as I integrate historical, sociological, psycho- nationality (Hage, 2002). for the study of languages of strong re- logical and cultural perspectives to find the According to the 2001 census, 16% of gional or economic interest. The support “circles of meaning” present in the lives of the Australian population spoke a lan- for bilingual programs was strongest in participants at these schools (Rabinow guage other than English in the home. Over areas where multilingualism flourished, and Sullivan, 1987). two hundred languages were listed for Aus- especially in Victoria and New South A narrative approach to will be used tralia. Numerically, the top 10 community Wales. In promoting bilingual approaches, to reconstruct stories of the classroom and languages in Australia are (with number policymakers and educators in Australia people’s lives. Narrative research is cho- of speakers): drew on evidence of academic success for sen as a method in that it focuses on hu- students educated over several years and man agency, and the ability of individuals through all major academic areas in two to creatively construct their lives within Table One: languages (Genesee, 1987; Lindholm & social and historical contexts (Casey, 1995). Top 10 Languages Other Than English Aclan, 1991). Conle (2000) suggests the value of narra- Spoken in Australia, 1996 and 2001 In 1997 the government of Victoria tive inquiry not only for research, but for began the Bilingual Schools Project, with professional teacher development. Language 1996 2001 % change the goal of supporting content-based lan- The interpretative style for these eth- Italian 375,834 353,606 -5.9 guage instruction for schools in community nographic portraits draws on a combina- Greek 269,831 263,718 -2.3 languages (such as Chinese, Greek, and tion of grounded theory (Glaser and Cantonese 202,194 225,307 +11.4 Arabic 177,641 209,371 +17.9 Arabic) as well as important regional lan- Strauss, 1967) and interpretive interac- Vietnamese 146,192 174,236 +19.2 guages (such as Indonesian and Japanese). tionism (Denzin, 1994). Interpretive Mandarin 92,065 139,288 +51.3 Schools in the project were required to pro- interactionism “begins and ends with the Spanish 91,270 93,595 +2.5 vide at least two Key Learning Areas (in- biography and the self of the researcher,” Tagalog 70,343 78,879 +12.1 cluding science, mathematics, studies of and encourages personal stories that are German 99,050 76,444 -22.8 society and the environment, etc.) in the thickly contextualized, and “connected to Macedonian 71,414 71,994 +0.8 target language across several grades, and larger institutional, group and cultural con- From Monash University Language and Society Centre (2003). teaching in the target language at a mini- texts” (Denzin, 1994:510-511). This study Multilingualism in Australia. at http://www.arts.monash. mum 7.5 hours per week (Bilingual Schools reflects an outsider perspective, that of a edu.au/language_and_society/past_projects/multilingual.html Project, 2003). Twelve primary schools and visiting American. My interpretation of 3 secondary colleges were originally cho- these programs is colored by comparisons The five years between 1996 and 2001 sen for support under the bilingual project. made, consciously and unconsciously, to saw a tremendous growth in numbers of Theresa, a bilingual teacher at contexts of bilingual education in the speakers of Asian and Middle Eastern lan- Kinsella Primary School, recalls the high United States. guages, while the languages of earlier Eu- level of support that accompanied this ini- At the outset of the study I decided to ropean immigrant groups showed a de- tiative: focus on primary schools, as these would offer the most variety of languages taught. cline. Chinese, including Mandarin and The government set out to retrain an Cantonese, is now the most widely spoken enormous number of teachers, and was They would also help me draw compari- language next to English (Australian cen- extremely generous. They paid for the sons and contrasts to bilingual schools in sus, 2001). Language use patterns vary training of the teachers, they paid for in- the United States, which are largely a across states and regions, and from city to country experiences, they were very sup- phenomenon at the elementary school level. city (Monash University, 2003). Cities with portive. Next, I decided to contact several of the twelve schools which had received support the highest percentage of speakers of lan- This state support for bilingual teachers from the Victorian government. I chose to guages other than English are Sydney and and schools has helped existing bilingual contact schools which taught languages Melbourne, at 26.4% and 25.4% respec- programs to continue and expand, and spoken widely in the community, as well tively (Clyne, 2003). many newer programs to get off to a good as those which taught languages impor- start. The decrease in funding in the last tant for Australia’s region of the world— Victorian Government Support few years, however, has forced schools with Asia and the Pacific. bilingual programs to rely more and more for Bilingual Education For this reason I chose not to visit some on themselves, and the quality of their pro- schools whose bilingual programs are highly Michael Clyne, whose work over many grams may have been compromised as a regarded, such as Camberwell’s French pro- years has shaped the field of bilingual edu- result. cation in Australia, writes: gram (De Courcy, 1993). Rather, I wished to visit programs which challenged, in some Throughout the history of Australia… Ethnographic Portraits, ways, the pre-eminence of European lan- there has been an open-ended tension Interpretive Interactionism guages, unless they were used widely in the between English monolingualism as a community. I visited five schools in total, symbol of a British tradition, English This study develops ethnographic por- monolingualism as a marker of Aus- traits of bilingual programs. I rely on par- and at three I was able to observe class- tralia’s independent national identity, ticipant observation, field notes, room practice. These schools—Abbotsford, and multilingualism as a reflection of a audiotaped interviews, and a relatively Lalor North, and Kinsella—became the cen- social and demographic reality. (2003:9) small number of cases to build an inter- tral focus of the study. pretation that relies on rich description Sources of data include participant ob- From the 1970s until part way through (Atkinson & Hammersley, 1994). From servation and field notes in classrooms, the 1990s, the pendulum swung in favor of data sources I develop portraits of five bi- around the schools and communities over

SPRING 2005 15 the course of three weeks; digital photo- as a Vietnamese LOTE (Language Other In the front of the room are two flags, the graphs of classroom activities; audiotaped Than English) program which provides 3.0 stars of the Southern Cross and modified interviews with selected teachers and ad- hours of Vietnamese instruction per week. Union Jack on a field of blue; and the yel- ministrators; data collection from district There is also the Chinese bilingual low sun on a field of red and black of Ab- and government records; and library re- program, open to all students, which pro- original Australia. search. vides up to 13 hours per week (about 60% Downstairs at the bilingual rooms I of academic time) in Chinese. Ken tells me meet My Hoa Lam, who is just back from a The Schools that many of the parents want their chil- trip to China. She is about 5’3”, slim, with dren in the Chinese bilingual program dark hair and eyes, dressed today in a Abbotsford Primary School Abbotsford is an inner suburb of Melbourne, a 10-minute tram ride down Victoria Street from the city center. This is a neighborhood that has seen waves of immigrants come and go since the Second Mural World War. Italians have lived here, then outside Greeks, Turks, and Chinese. Now it is home to a thriving Vietnamese community, with Abbotsford some Africans recently moving in. Viet- namese and Chinese restaurants, baker- School ies, markets and other businesses line both sides of Victoria, and by midday the side- walks are crowded with people. To the south looms a series of low-in- come apartments, known as “the flats”— these are where many of children reside who go to Richmond West and Abbotsford Pri- mary schools. Richmond West is across the street from the flats; Abbotsford is on the other side of busy Victoria, down a quiet side street. The building is an old two-story struc- ture, with high windows and dark brick. Yet, a touch of color and creativity gives some in- dication of the spirit of the place. On the side of a garage, above the school parking lot is a beautiful mural: In it, the artists morph a rainbow serpent, symbolic to the traditional owners of Australia, into a red and gold Chi- nese dragon. Buddhist temples, riverside which, at 19 years, is one of the most es- white skirt and blouse. She has built this huts, flying horses, kangaroos, and other cul- tablished bilingual programs in the area. bilingual program and has been with it tural items fill the background. Though small in size, the school continues since its beginning in 1985. My Hoa gives Australia restricted immigration of to attract parents and children from the me a sketch of the bilingual program: Years people of non-European descent until the crowded flats across Victoria Street. The Pre-4 receive developmental bilingual in- 1970s. Large numbers of refugees have neighborhood has its social problems, says struction in language, math, and inte- come from Vietnam and other parts of Ken, “yet this school is seen as a safe place.” grated studies (science and social studies). Southeast Asia, but the largest group of We go upstairs for an assembly and Overall, they receive 13 hours per week in Asian immigrants have been speakers of enter a room with dark wood panels and Chinese. Years 5-6 continue language de- various varieties of Chinese. Some have high ceilings. I learn that the children in velopment in Chinese, but only 7.5 hours come as refugees from political crackdowns the bilingual program are preparing for a per week, in part due to a lack of resources. inside China. Some, fearing the takeover concert that will be videotaped by the My Hoa is the only Chinese language of their city by China, have come from Hong Victoria state department of education. bilingual teacher at present, although she Kong. Others have fled Chinese ethnic com- They will be singing “Waltzing Matilda” in currently is supported by a bilingual as- munities in Southeast Asia, or have come Chinese and English, and a song that has sistant and a student teacher. The program for business reasons (Clyne, 2003). come to represent Australia’s effort to come is structured so that My Hoa can work with Principal Ken Coughlan greets me at to grips with its identity as a diverse na- the Pre-2 children in Chinese, while Dina his office. He is about 5’10”, slim, with tion, We are Australian: Kambardis, her cooperating teacher, works with the 3-4 children in English. At a cer- sharp blue eyes, dressed in a green sweater, I came from the dreamtime from the dark green pants and polished black shoes. dusty red soil plains tain point in the day they switch groups. He is very proud of the school and its Chi- I am the ancient heart, the keeper of the My Hoa greets each of the children as nese/English bilingual program. He also flame they enter the classroom. She then intro- shares some demographics: The school is I stood upon the rocky shore duces me, and the children all greet me, in small, with about 80 students. Approxi- I watched the tall ships come Chinese. They seem to be a happy group, For forty thousand years I’d been the first mately 75% are Vietnamese, and 25% and look smart in their green and white Australian. Chinese. There is an ESL program, as well checkered school uniforms. Together with

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION 16 My Hoa they read a book about Santa D: What do you think an astronomer does? We are one, but we are many Claus. She models the strategies of an ef- S1: Digs? And from all the lands on earth we come fective language arts teacher, asking pre- D: No. We share a dream, and sing with reading questions, and checking compre- S2: Does research in space? one voice: D: Very good! hension along the way. She is a great com- I am municator, utilizing lots of body language, Dina also has engaged the entire class You are facial expressions and different tones of in an experiment of sorts, and after lunch We are Australian. voice. She smiles a lot. she produces the results, contained in a After the reading, My Hoa, with much box with several smaller parcels inside. Lalor North Primary School participation on the part of the children, The children had baked gingerbread teddy Lalor is a newer suburb about 30 min- begins to web main ideas from the story bears, and had individually packaged their utes north of Melbourne by train, a haven onto the white board. As a non-Chinese bears, each using the same limited pack- for second generation Greek families and speaker/reader, it is interesting to see how aging materials, to try to prevent it from others who have departed inner suburbs these beautifully written characters serve breaking when sent through the mail. The such as West Richmond. Wandering up the to connect ideas in the minds of these bi- children are excited as they open their en- busy street from the station, I get direc- lingual children. Following this, the chil- velopes, to see if their bears are still whole, tions to the school at an auto repair shop. dren draw their own pictures on a holiday or partially broken. Dina regrets that she Backtracking, I wind my way through quiet theme, each with a one-sentence descrip- did not have enough funds to post each en- residential streets, lined with smaller tion in Chinese. velope separately, rather than all packed homes with beautiful gardens, many fea- Dina takes the 3-4 children and they into one larger box: “Every teddy bear turing roses in white, yellow, and red. read a book, followed by a cloze exercise. should have the same conditions,” she tells Lalor North Primary school lies in the Some of the Pre-2 children practice writ- the students. “That way you can truly test midst of a residential neighborhood on a ing Chinese characters with My Hoa, while the packaging.” large plot of land. The different wings of others choose Chinese language computer Before classes end for the day, students the school are separated by a broad court- programs to practice. The programs are reconvene to practice once more their songs yard, and there are playgrounds and play- definitely gauged to the interests of the chil- for the upcoming concert. They sing “Little ing fields nearby. The school looks new, and, dren, containing animated characters go- Drummer Boy” in English, and “Santa according to principal Barry O’Brien, has ing through a variety of adventures. The Claus is Coming to Town” in Chinese. They recently undergone some renovation. computers will also be used for English lit- then practice “Waltzing Matilda” in both Large-scale Greek migration to Aus- eracy practice later, as the children draft languages. It sounded great in Chinese, tralia began in the 1960s, with many flee- letters to pen pals in China. A dark-eyed actually. The children sing beautifully, and ing a repressive regime in Greece and civil girl with a bright smile responds to her it is especially moving to hear these recent war in Cyprus. Today the Melbourne area friend, Zheng Rurxi: immigrants singing the refrain of “We are boasts one of the largest Greek communi- I like my school and my classmates as Australian”: ties in the world (Clyne, 2003). Lalor North well and how many people is in your school? I like to make friends with you. I am nine years old. My teacher name is called Dine and My Hou. I like ice cream as well. You spelt “cold” wrong… Her classmate, who is also reading the letter, interrupts her, pointing to Zheng Rurxi’s Chinese letter, saying, “It’s “cool”—“cool and deli- cious.” The correspondent deletes her ulti- bilingual mate sentence, then writes instead, instructor I went to China before but came back to My Hoa Lam Australia… goes over My Hoa tells me that some of the Chinese pen pals will be able to visit Abbotsford, a song with but it is unlikely that the students in this students class will be able to afford a trip to China. Some students, however, have made the trip with their families. Dina, the English teacher within the bilingual classroom, has long dark hair, kind eyes and a bright smile. She grew up in this neighborhood in a Greek-speaking household, and her mother still lives nearby. She has a warm manner with the students, and takes seriously their need to develop academic vocabulary in English, as her discussion with the 3-4 students about careers illustrates:

SPRING 2005 17 Primary School has been at the forefront in providing Greek language instruction to the children of Greek immigrants over the past quarter century. What makes Student Lalor North exceptional, however, is that it has two developmental bilingual pro- produced grams. The Greek/English program began books in 1978, and in 1984 the school initiated a Macedonian/English program. Together, and a these programs involve about half of the bulletin school’s 316 students. In addition, students not involved in either bilingual pro- board gram are offered Italian language, and stu- from the dents who need it receive ESL. The stated aims of the bilingual program are: Macedonian ◆ To ensure a smoother transition bilingual from home to school for children of program non-English speaking backgrounds ◆ To support children who are learning English as a second language ◆ To develop English, Greek and Macedonian languages as children progress through their education ◆ To develop Macedonian and Greek for children who want to be compe- tent in a second language late and prepare an extensive Macedonian to help the bilingual programs and other ◆ To prepare students to speak, read, resource collection. school programs to succeed. write and think in two languages. Across the courtyard I meet Jim It is a diverse group culturally, reflect- (Primary School Information Book, Polites, who has been developing, teaching ing the cultures of the school: Besides 2003, p. 30) and coordinating the Greek program for Greek and Macedonian Australians, there Each bilingual program involves chil- over 25 years. He is a genial man with a are newer representatives from Vietnam, dren from Years Pre-6, and all areas of friendly smile, slightly graying hair and the Middle East, and Africa. Looking the curriculum are taught in the target glasses. He tells me that the Greek pro- around at this large group of multiethnic languages. This includes technology gram has three Greek teachers, one funded parents, teachers, and volunteers sharing classes taught in Greek as well as physi- by the Greek consulate, and 2 bilingual as- food, drink and ideas together, it is hard cal education, art and music classes sistants. Similar to their Macedonian coun- not to conclude that this school will con- taught in Greek and Macedonian. Years terparts, they have put together a wonder- tinue to support diverse cultures and lan- Pre-4 receive approximately 13 hours of ful collection of Greek language materials guage education into the future. either Greek or Macedonian per week and resources. (about 60% of academic time). Years 5-6 The Greek program has grown smaller Kinsella Primary School in recent years, and now numbers about receive 8 hours in the languages each Kinsella lies in northeast Victoria, 50 students. Most of the children are third week. The coordinator of the Macedonian about two hours by train from Melbourne. generation Australians, and most of their program relates that state test results It is Ned Kelly country: The famous parents speak only English at home. Yet, for their students have been “quite good, bushranger grew up just down the road in with strong support from parents, children if not better than the mainstream.” Two Greta, roamed the nearby Strathbogies and are eager to learn Greek. About one-quar- students have won state achievement the mountains of the Great Dividing range, ter of the Pre-2 students raise their hands awards in math. There are currently 83 and was captured in a shootout with police when Jim asks them if they have been to students in the Macedonian program, and in Glenrowan. The poor immigrant Irish Greece or Cyprus, so cultural links remain it is growing. selectors who populated this part of important. As with their Macedonian peers, In the Macedonian bilingual class- Victoria in his time are gone, but Kinsella participants in the Greek bilingual pro- rooms, I see Year 4-5 students editing a still seems in touch with its roots. gram test well and do well academically student-produced Macedonian newspaper Kinsella Primary school serves chil- upon leaving Lalor North. on the computer; students modeling self- dren from Kinsella as well as the outlying In the gymnasium, the 5-6 Macedonian produced shirts with proposed school logos rural areas. There are three or four one- class are practicing a traditional dance for which they have designed; and a Year 5-6 story buildings with classrooms separated an upcoming cultural program. It is quite classroom festooned with student-pro- by small courtyards, with athletic fields in lively, with many complex moves across the duced booklets, and students producing back. In the front hall as one enters is an room, and the young people seem very en- essays of several pages while I watch. The Indonesian rickshaw. An ornamental gar- gaged. In the staff room, a special morning Macedonian teachers are young and engag- den in the Indonesian style is just off a tea has been spread in honor of parents ing, and they are supported by bilingual side hallway. The several classrooms de- and volunteers who have given their time assistants who are helping to gather, trans- voted to the Indonesian language program

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION 18 sport more examples of art and life in that respond in Indonesian. Next, she works ented students from their grade level class- vast country: A fiercesome, flying dragon with the children on their numbers. With rooms, as Theresa reports: hovering from the ceiling; twin statues of her pleasant smile she encourages stu- The trouble is that the kids who are good smiling goddesses in the Balinese tradi- dents as they count up to 100 by 2s and 3s, at languages are normally excellent at tion; photographs of fisherman with tackle, and then backwards, all in Indonesian. their first language. By taking those kids peasants with water buffalo. Pak’s sister has also spent time with the into the bilingual program in our first The Indonesian program has been in students in the past, teaching them tradi- year, there was a great deal of resent- place since 1996. Four Indonesian language tional dances while she was in Kinsella on ment. Since then, we have really modi- teachers form the core of the program. One an extended stay. Unfortunately for the fied our approach. You’ve seen them in is a native speaker, currently working on school, Pak will need to relocate while she our classrooms, you’ve seen the kids her teaching credentials for Australia. finishes working on her teaching creden- who come up and talk to you. They are the ones who are not coping. While it About one-thirds of the school’s 478 chil- tials for Australia. helps to balance the teacher loads in the dren are in the Indonesian bilingual pro- In the Year Six classroom, Theresa is school, I don’t know that it is in the gram. From Years 2-6, they receive 7.5 facilitating the children’s complex math children’s best interest to be placed in hours of Indonesian language, cultural games. Next, they divide into groups and there when they find it difficult. How- study and math each week. In several of prepare to categorize, and visually repre- ever, those kids still get more assistance the classrooms Indonesian language teach- sent superlatives as manifested in the than I think they would in the main- ers team with regular classroom teachers natural world: highest mountains, deep- stream class, because there are two of to deliver instruction. est ocean trenches, and longest rivers. Al- us involved in the classroom, myself and the mainstream teacher. Theresa, tall, bright-eyed, and well-or- though they will speak in English during ganized, is the coordinator and lead teacher the group work time, all student presenta- All of the children in the bilingual program in the bilingual program. She describes the tions, and all teacher talk, is in Indone- are entered in the Indonesian Language rationale for adopting Indonesian as a lan- sian. Before they break for morning tea, competitions at the regional and national guage of instruction in rural Victoria: the children gather to practice a song and levels. Last year, Kinsella finished first in dance they will be performing in There were a lot of people in the area the regionals and students took over 60% with positive feelings towards Indone- Melbourne. Led by one of their peers, a sea of distinctions in writing and listening at sia. This was an area during the Second of young people in green and gold uniforms the nationals, often competing against World War where a lot of divisions were perform a swaying, handclapping sidestep, older students. As Theresa states, “the chil- sent over to Asia. For example, my uncle singing with clear voices: dren have done exceptionally well.” served in Java and was a prisoner of The principal and teachers in the bi- war, and they had really good relation- Ayo mama jangan mama marah beta Dia cuma cuma cuma cium beta lingual program recognize the challenge of ships with Indonesians. But the main developing a strong Indonesian program reason was that the characters are so Ayo mama jangan mama marah beta alike with English, and the sounds are La orang muda punya biasa in a predominantly monolingual community setting. Diana suggests a proactive way so alike, so it makes it easier to do. That Later, Theresa tells me, meant that more of us could qualify in to solve this dilemma: “Ideally I would like Indonesian than if we had taken on a We run a specifically cultural program, in- to see an Indonesian community grow up different language. cluding singing and dancing. That is a huge here that could support the program, and promotion, and makes other kids want to we could support them.” Theresa concurs, One of the challenges for Kinsella is to find, belong to that group. Next year I would but highlights barriers to attracting Indo- and retain, native speakers of Indonesian. like the grade 5 bilingual kids to begin nesian families from the Melbourne area: At any given time the program has had drumming after school as an option. one native Indonesian teacher on which There are all sorts of issues—they can’t they could count, and the presence of such An evaluation of the program at get the food they need here, the women teachers has been a great benefit for the Kinsella conducted in 2000 states that the won’t be examined by the doctors here, children in the program, as Theresa un- their constant need for visas and the Indonesian bilingual program . . . is over- consulate. Pak probably spent hours this derscores: whelmingly successful. The team teach- year trying to get her sister out here, ing model works…. All the teachers con- We have had lots of challenges in get- and she was a wonderful asset to the sider (the teaching of) math through In- program. But the cost to Pak was enor- ting staff. To me the key to any bilingual donesian successful…. Students’ recep- program is native speakers. We have mous, financially and in time. So the tive skills in Indonesian are excellent and dream of a community is very hard to been blessed. They have settled into the at least on par with state benchmarks. community, kids have loved them, and hold. We will have it for a moment, and (Ward, 2000: 101) they have really kept the program to- then the family demands come, and then gether. It is an issue for us in terms of Principal Diana Hutchinson, an energetic they have to go back to their communities in Melbourne. getting staff from overseas. When they supporter of the bilingual program, says, come over they have to pass an English “Ideally I would like to see every class as a language proficiency test and they have Realizing how often newly arriving to get a very high score. Getting the vi- bilingual class.” Unfortunately, the lack of immigrants are barely tolerated, and of- sas, getting letters of equivalency, is very teachers with native or near-native fluency ten openly despised, in many schools and difficult. Our last teacher actually got limits the program to about one-third of communities in Australia, the United deported at one stage. He had to go home the students in the school. The five bilin- States, and elsewhere, it is refreshing to for three months and then come back. gual classrooms tend to be larger in size, hear of this dream by educators in averaging about 25 students each. Kinsella to build a bilingual community In the Year 2 classroom I find Pak, the The presence of the bilingual program in their own back yard. native Indonesian speaker. She greets the has sometimes caused resentment by The study of Indonesian language children, asking them about the day of the other teachers, especially at the loss of tal- and culture will invoke mixed feelings week, the date, and the weather, and they

SPRING 2005 19 from many Australians in the aftermath grant bilingual education in Australia grams as well as language and content of the Bali bombings in late 2002. There model those in the United States. Each area studies. Each of these programs rep- was a government ban on travel by school nation has experienced tremendous growth resents hope for bilingual education, in groups to Indonesia which remains in through immigration over the last 200 Australia and elsewhere: A few commit- place. One student was pulled out of the years. Yet, despite the variety of languages ted people can make a difference; and with Indonesian program at Kinsella by a dis- spoken by immigrants at arrival, most lan- knowledge, communities will support bi- traught parent. However, most students, guages have declined within a few genera- lingual schools for their children. teachers and others responded differently, tions faced with the overwhelming domi- as Theresa explains: nance of English in formal education and Need for Support the media (Skuttnabb-Kangas, 2000). I think the kids sympathize with the Ba- There is great need for support, how- linese, they understand what is happen- Each nation has seen support for bilingual ing to them; and I think they really feel education grow in the 1970s, only to be re- ever, if these schools and others are going st sorry for themselves, as they really want placed by disdain, or open animosity, at to survive well into the 21 century. Much to go to Bali. That was our carrot—in different levels of local, state and national of this support has been given in the past grade 6 you got to go to Bali. And sud- governments during the ensuing decades. by state and national governments, and denly that carrot is gone. But we are In the United States, Spanish-English they need to be players again if bilingual finding that families want to go over. But programs are predominant in the field of schools are to succeed: they want the government ban (on bilingual education, due to the presence of school trips) lifted, to know that it is safe. ◆ Funding formerly provided by the large numbers of native Spanish speakers, state of Victoria needs to be renewed. many with home country connections nearby, Parents have continued to show interest This could support curriculum devel- in Mexico or Central America. In Australia, in the program, and have eagerly attended opment, training of teachers, and se- no single language tends to dominate bilin- Indonesian language classes themselves rious, ongoing evaluation of programs. gual programs. Some, like the Chinese pro- when those are available. The Evaluation Theresa at Kinsella laments the with- gram at Abbotsford, reflect more recent Report of 2000 cites drawing of former support, stating: immigration from Asia and the Middle The enthusiastic way in which many East; others, such as the programs at Lalor Bit by bit all the support has been parents attended conversation classes so withdrawn. For example, curriculum they could understand what their chil- North reflect wishes of more established European immigrant groups to pass on a money—now all that falls back on dren were saying; the proud way in the school. We also have had the which parents watched their children language to second, third and even fourth evaluation money stopped, and it perform an Indonesian dance or play the generations. As with the United States, makes me very concerned that they gamelam. (Ward, 2000:101) there are also programs in Australia that would spend a million dollars and reflect the economic interest in certain lan- nobody cares. guages, such as the Indonesian program at Learning from the Portraits ◆ More professional development is Kinsella, or the Japanese bilingual pro- needed for bilingual teachers and all Abbotsford, Lalor North, and Kinsella gram at Huntingdale, near Melbourne. staff at bilingual schools. This should offer many contrasts in their bilingual pro- In instructional terms, the programs include in-country scholarships where grams. The former two are grounded in the at Lalor North and Abbotsford come clos- possible. native languages spoken by many students est to modeling maintenance bilingual edu- in their schools and by members of the sur- cation as practiced in strong programs in ◆ Teachers with native speaking abil- rounding community; the latter immerses the United States, and elsewhere. Students ity in target languages should have predominantly English-speaking Austra- in their first 4-5 years of schooling receive their visas expedited, and every at- lians in a language that were chosen, in approximately half of their instruction in tempt should be made to help them part, for economic reasons. Similarly, the target language, and about half in En- qualify in a timely manner as teach- Abbotsford and Lalor North provide first glish. This first language support over sev- ers for Australian schools. language instruction over several years at eral years has resulted in higher academic about 50-60% of academic time; in short, achievement (Thomas & Collier, 1997). Implications language maintenance programs The Indonesian program at Kinsella, (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2000); Kinsella re- though strong, appears limited in scope, Desmond Cahill has written that “it mains closer to the lower limit for govern- when compared to immersion models in is time to exorcise the ghost of White ment support, using partial immersion of Canada, for example, where native English Australia…time to proclaim that cultural students in the target language about 30% speakers are immersed in French for 90% and language differences can exist in an of academic time. of school time in kindergarten and first Australia formed around shared core val- Abbotsford and Lalor Noreth are part grade (Genesee, 1987). The leaders of the ues” (2001: 58). Australia is a nation com- of a greater Melbourne urban area reflect- bilingual program at Kinsella seem to have ing to terms with its diverse identity. I say ing linguistic and cultural diversity; the will to immerse their students for more coming to terms because every day in Aus- Kinsella provides an example from rural than the approximately 30% of the school tralia there are reminders that many district where other languages than En- day; at present, they lack resources, espe- teachers, schools, communities, and the glish are seldom encountered. Of the three cially qualified teachers, to do this. press take multiculturalism seriously. schools, only Lalor North seems to be suf- However, in important ways these pro- As a visiting American, I could not help ficiently supplied with bilingual teachers. grams are similar to each other and to suc- but make comparisons to our struggle to At both Abbotsford and Kinsella the pro- cessful bilingual programs in many coun- come to terms with the fact of diversity in grams could grow if qualified teachers were tries. Each has strong support from com- the United States. As a supporter of bilin- available. munity, parents, administrators, and key gual education, I was struck most by how a In many ways the contexts of immi- teachers. Each offers strong cultural pro- few concerned teachers and administrators

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION 20 could make a difference, and could bring to Oaks, CA: Sage. Lo Bianco, J. & Rhydwen, M. (2001). Is the life bilingual programs which came to em- Cahill, D. (2001). The rise and fall of extinction of Australia’s indigenous lan- body the hopes and dreams of entire com- multicultural education in the Australian guages inevitable? In J. Fishman (Ed.) Can munities. schooling system. In C. Grant, & J, Lei threatened languages be saved? Reversing (Eds.), Global constructions of multicul- language shift, revisited: A 21st Century The implications seem most clear for tural education: Theories and realities (27- perspective (391-422). Clevedon, UK: Mul- educators and policymakers. Bilingual edu- 60). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum As- tilingual Matters. cators and their supporters should not give sociates. Miller, J. (2003). Audible difference: ESL and up, even in times when political opposition Casey, K. (1995). The new narrative research social identity in schools. Clevedon, UK: seems daunting. A few people working to- in education. In M. Apple (Ed.), Review of Multilingual Matters. gether can become many, and can make a research in education, 1995-1996 (211-254). Monash University Language and Society difference. Minority language communities Washington, DC: American Educational Centre. (2003). Multilingualism in Austra- will support bilingual approaches, although Research Association. lia. At http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ Clyne, M. (2003). Dynamics of language con- language_and_society/past_projects/ they need to be educated to the benefits of tact: English and immigrant languages. multilingual.html such an approach, especially if their com- Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Ozolins, U. (1993). The politics of language in munity language is in decline. Press. Australia. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Uni- Similarly, majority language commu- Conle, C. (2000). Thesis as narrative or “What versity Press. nities, even in relatively isolated areas, can is the inquiry in narrative inquiry?” Cur- Rabinow, P. & W. Sullivan. (1987). The inter- become very strong supporters of bilingual riculum Inquiry, 30(2), 189-214. pretive turn: A second look. In P. Rabinow programs. Such programs need not be con- De Courcy, M. (1993). Making sense of the & W. Sullivan (Eds.), Interpretive social fined to large, urban areas. Australian French immersion classroom. science: A second look (1-30). Berkeley, CA: Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural University of California Press. Finally, policymakers need to recognize Development, 14(3), 173-185. Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2000). Linguistic geno- that, in the aftermath of September 11, the Denzin, N. (1994). The art and politics of in- cide in education—or worldwide diversity Bali bombings, and other tragic events, the terpretation. In N. Denzin and Y. Lincoln and human rights? Mahwah, NJ: need for young people skilled in the lan- (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. guages and cultures of other lands is greater (500-515). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Thomas, W. & Collier, V. (1997). School effec- than ever. We owe it to our children, to our Genesee, F. (1987). Learning through two lan- tiveness for language minority students. nations, and to our world: To promote bilin- guages. New York: Newberry House. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse gual, multicultural education is to promote Glaser, B. & A. Strauss. (1967). The discovery for Bilingual Education. of grounded theory: Strategies for qualita- Victoria Department of Education. (2003). Bi- understanding, and to promote peace, in a tive research. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. lingual schools project. http://www. world with desperate needs. Hage, G. (Ed.). (2002), Arab-Australians today: sofweb.vic.edu.au/lem/lote/lbil.htm Citizenship and belonging, Mel-bourne, Ward, S. (2000). Kinsella East Primary School: References Australia: Melbourne University Press. Indonesian bilingual program evaluation Lindholm, K. & Aclan, Z. (1991). Bilingual report. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Atkinson, P. & Hammersley, M. (1994). Eth- proficiency as a bridge to academic Woodley, B. & Newton, D. (1997). I am/We are nography and participant observation. In achievement: Results from bilingual/im- Australian. N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook mersion programs. Journal of Education, of qualitative research (248-261). Thousand 173, 99-113.

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