Canberra Academy of Languages

16/09/2026

Mid September update – see the latest on the News page on CAL website at https://cal.au/news.htm.

News from the Canberra Academy of Languages - this year and previous years.

13/08/2026

Languages are disappearing, and the problem is political: A review by Gerald Roche was posted today on The Conversation about Sophia Smith Galler's book "How to Kill a Language: Power, Resistance, and the Race to Save Our Words". Along with dramatic instances like dispossession and forced relocation, more subtle processes such as economic pressure and political indifference are examined in the book. The book differs from previous publications in that it includes a focus on the political dimensions of language loss. See the review at https://theconversation.com/languages-are-disappearing-and-the-problem-is-political-288917.

07/08/2026

A notice is currently on the Yarralumla Primary School website (https://www.yarralumlaps.act.edu.au/home) to advise that a targeted review will assess how the curriculum is being delivered to ensure it meets the needs of all students, aligns with system requirements, and maintains quality bilingual education. YPS runs a bilingual Italian program. To provide input, submissions are due via email to [email protected] by COB Tuesday 25 August 2026. (This is an extension from the original deadline of 11 August.)

24/07/2026

Budget estimates hearings are under way in the ACT Legislative Assembly. Education is on the agenda for Thursday 30 July and Tuesday 4 August 2026. If you are an ACT student of languages, or if you have previously studied languages with CAL or CIT Sol, and wish to provide input about the response you would like to see from the government in relation to the report on senior secondary languages, please let us know with a message from here, or with an email to [email protected].

21/07/2026

The ACT Government has published an activity report about its Language Education Action Plan as of June 2026. A link to the report is on the LEAP home page at https://www.act.gov.au/open/language-education-action-plan.

Based on what is in the activity report, it appears there has been no progress in terms of responding to recommendations 7 and 8 from the inquiry by the Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Social Policy into central provision of senior secondary language courses.

20/07/2026

If you are an ACT student of languages, or if you have previously studied languages with CAL or CIT Sol, and wish to provide input about the response you would like to see from the government in response to the report on senior secondary languages, please let us know with a message from here, or an email to [email protected].

11/07/2026

Our audio from the CAL Convener's discussion with ABC reporter Emmy Groves is now available from the News page on CAL website at https://cal.au/news.htm .

A couple of short segments from the discussion were included in the ABC TV evening news on 6 July about the languages inquiry by the ACT Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Social Policy into central provision of Year 11-12 language courses.

Also on the CAL News page are links to other recent items in the media about the report.

06/07/2026

Report this evening on ABC website https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-06/act-language-education-plan-not-fit-for-purpose-report/106885526

06/07/2026

Report this morning in The Canberra Times https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/9304542/language-gaps-in-act-public-schools-create-frustrating-system

02/07/2026

The report from the ACT Legislative Assembly's Standing Committee on Social Policy’s Inquiry into E-Petition 077-25: Access to 11–12 ATAR language courses was published today. See https://cal.au/news.htm for more about this.

We fully support the committee’s findings and recommendations. We would like to thank the committee members for the careful consideration that they have given to this important matter.