Is there cultural safety in Australian universities?

This paper examines the cultural safety offered to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students within their university environments. In the context of this paper, cultural safety includes cultural competency, as recently subscribed by Universities Australia and ‘extends beyond (to) cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity (Bin Sellik, 2003, p. 210) and includes putting in place explicit measures to address racism of all types. Informing this study were interviews and an online survey conducted with Aboriginal students and staff members of Aboriginal centres which formed part of a larger study investigating the Transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students into Higher Education (Oliver et al., 2013a; 2013b). Their responses provided evidence suggesting overt and covert experiences of racism, exclusion and cultural isolation indicating that there is still much to be done before cultural safety is truly attained in our universities. As such our findings support recommendations stemming from previous research indicating that cultural safety is an issue that needs to be brought to the attention of governing bodies within our higher education sector

Addressing the language and literacy needs of Aboriginal high school VET students who speak SAE as an additional language

Vocational Education and Training (VET) in high schools has had positive effects on the retention of Indigenous students, providing important pathways into further education and the workforce. However, low-level literacy (and numeracy) skills can make successful completion difficult, especially for students who speak Standard Australian English as an additional language or dialect. This article describes research undertaken to inform the development of a second language and literacy needs analysis model designed for high school VET teachers to address the needs of Indigenous students. The study draws on second language acquisition research, which demonstrates the value of using tasks as the basis for language teaching syllabus design, with needs analysis as a fundamental aspect of this. The project centred on Aboriginal high school VET students from remote and rural communities in Western Australia, who speak English as an additional language/dialect. Data collected included: individual and focus group interviews, training materials, and observation field notes on the language and literacy practices in classrooms and workplaces. The major findings focus on the development of oral language (for both job-oriented and social interactions in the workplace) and literacy skills, as well as the need to overcome ‘shame’ and develop confidence for speaking to non-Aboriginal people

Embracing plurality through oral language

The transmission and dissemination of knowledge in Aboriginal societies for the most part occurs orally in an Aboriginal language or in Aboriginal English. However, whilst support is given to speaking skills in Indigenous communities, in our education system less emphasis is given to developing equivalent oral communicative competence in Standard Australian English (SAE). Instead the focus is given to the ongoing assessment of reading and writing skills and grammatical knowledge – this is in direct contrast to the existing language experience of Aboriginal students. Therefore, for Aboriginal students to participate in mainstream society, we suggest that there is a need to nurture oral language skills in SAE and provide learners with the experience to develop their code-switching ability to maintain continuity with their first language or dialect. Drawing on previous research that we and others have undertaken at several schools, this paper highlights the need for three fundamental changes to take place within language education: (1) school policies to change and explicitly accept and support Aboriginal English in code-switching situations; (2) familiarity among school staff about the major differences between Aboriginal English and SAE; and (3) tasks that focus on developing and practising the ‘when, why and how’ of code-switching

English language growth and the international student

The provision of academic language and literacy support has undergone various reincarnations since the arrival of large cohorts of international students which placed additional responsibilities on our universities. Although initially a peripheral service accessed on a voluntary basis, the trend now is to reach more students by embedding such instruction within the disciplines. In this way students are assisted in addressing the specific literacy demands of their area of study. However, while language and academic support staff work closely to enhance students' assessment outcomes, the focus of instruction remains for the most part on the written product. In this paper we report on an investigation of international students' learning strategies and specifically those instigated outside their forma/learning activities. In particular, we present those affective variables that positively impact on the students' desire to improve their English language skills. Using methodology informed by Second Language Acquisition research, these learning strategies were classified as social, cognitive and metacognitive. Their use was then matched with GPAs, or normalised equivalents, to ascertain their effectiveness in relation to academic achievement

Introducing the Teaching and Learning Benefits of the WWW in Aboriginal Schools: Trials and Tribulations

In this chapter, projects undertaken at two independent Aboriginal boarding schools in remote Western Australia are described. Both projects have sought to provide instructional advice for teachers and to enhance students’ literacy levels through access to the internet. A dedicated website was developed for each school to respond specifically to the students’ language and literacy needs. Several positive outcomes resulted from the projects. At the first school, code-switching was accepted throughout the school and even formed part of classroom instruction. At the second school, staff in general showed great interest in supporting their students’ use of the online resource. Students who accessed the website were excited by the prospect of having their photos and videos uploaded and even suggested improvements to the site. Despite the above successes, the introduction of the websites at each school did not occur without problems which are described in this chapter

English language growth after university entry

Almost 800 international students from non-English speaking backgrounds enrolled at five Australian universities responded to an online survey accessed through a dedicated website. The survey captured demographics; language and language learning background; strategies for continuing to develop English; motivation, attitudes and beliefs about learning English; and academic learning strategies. These data were then matched with normalized measures of the participants’ academic achievement (e.g., Grade Point Averages or GPAs). Correlational analysis between students’ learning strategies for English and their academic standing was then undertaken. Additionally, students provided extensive rich qualitative data through open-ended questions and interviews. The findings of our research show that a range of language learning strategies which may be promoted in early to advanced second and foreign language learning environments in the home country may not be advantageous once entering university. In fact, our research suggests that some of these strategies may be detrimental to academic success. By contrast, risk-taking strategies appeared to favour success

The Role of Motivation in the English Language Growth of International Students After University Entry

Many international students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds undertake tertiary studies in Australian universities. Academic success is dependent, at least in part, on English language proficiency, and students need to be motivated to improve their language ability over a prolonged period throughout the course of their degree. The study reported in this article aimed to assess the role of motivation in improving the English language proficiency of international students. The sample, taken from five universities in Australia, included undergraduate and postgraduate (coursework and research) students. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered, using surveys and interviews. Results indicate that while the importance of English language is acknowledged, international students frequently encounter barriers which impede their motivation to improve. It is recommended that universities provide adequate ongoing support to sustain students’ motivation in order to improve student retention rates and to produce the desired graduate skills

ESL in Australia - A chequered history

A historical perspective of English as a second or additional language (ESL/EAL) in Australia reveals the field as in a constant state of flux, in spite of Australia's status as a nation of immigrants. This paper provides a contemporary review of the various phases of English language teaching in Australia for both adults and school-aged learners. It does so in the context of earlier pro-British monolingual attitudes, external global forces, ongoing changes in education policy, more recent national assessment regimes and the various global and local developments in the teaching of second languages. Historically the impetus for teaching English as a Second Language came with large-scale post-World War II arrivals from Europe. Language support for child migrants was only introduced some time later and has continued, although decreasing in availability in recent years. From the 1970s, more focussed programs were instigated with the arrival of refugees from war-torn countries. In this paper we describe the constant changes experienced by the providers and the recipients of English language instruction in Australia. Theoretically, the development of ESL instruction in Australia began with an essentially post-colonial perspective whereby the process of assimilation focussed on normalising the difference and/or deficit of non-English speakers and attaining the language skills of normative white middle-class native speakers (Pavlenko, 2003). Despite various investments in multiculturalism, the non-native English speaker in Australia remains the 'other', subject to sometimes intermittent and ad hoc funded assistance

A task-based needs analysis for Australian Aboriginal students: Going beyond the target situation to address cultural issues

While needs analyses underpin the design of second language analytic syllabi, the methodologies undertaken are rarely examined. This paper explores the value of multiple data sources and collection methods for developing a needs analysis model to enable vocational education and training teachers to address the needs of Australian Aboriginal students from remote communities who speak Australian English as an additional language (EAL). Adopting a task-based approach to needs analysis, data were gathered from educators, students, potential employers and Aboriginal community members using interviews, observation and document collection. The findings highlight the benefits of a needs analysis for triangulating multiple data sources and methods to identify the actual target tasks, including social workplace interactions as well as cultural issues. These findings have implications for all language needs analyses, particularly for EAL students from non-Western cultures