Australia's Language Potential

In last week's edition Curriculum Leadership presented the National Statement for Languages Education in Australian Schools . This week the journal publishes extracts from a recent book that passionately endorses the need for foreign language instruction in Australias schools. Australia's Language Potential examines the changing fortunes of language policy in Australia, and summarises a collaborative strategy for managing linguistic diversity. Challenging the 'myth of the overcrowded school curriculum that has no space for any language other than English', the author calls for Australia to develop its language potential to the fullest, extending students' cultural awareness and their cognitive communication skills.