The Australian Government believes that all students should have the opportunity to develop their creative and linguistic skills, which are increasingly important in a globalised world.
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Support for Arts and Languages is provided through the Australian Curriculum. The Arts includes Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music, and Visual Arts. Languages enables the learning of languages other than English from a young age. Information on the various programs are listed below.
Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) program
The Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) program is a digital, play-based program that includes a series of interactive applications (apps) aimed at making language learning engaging and interesting to young children in preschool and the early years of school.
More information is available on the ELLA webpage.
English Language Learning for Indigenous Children (ELLIC) trial
The English Language Learning for Indigenous Children (ELLIC) trial will aim to improve English literacy outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander preschool children for whom English is an additional language or dialect (EAL/D). ELLIC will be underpinned by a play-based, interactive application (app), designed in consultation with Indigenous communities and subject matter experts.
More information is available on the ELLIC webpage.
Community Languages Australia
Community Languages Australia (CLA) is the peak body for the state and territory ethnic and community languages schools associations in Australia. The Australian Government provides support to CLA to lead national coordination of quality programs through community languages schools.
Community languages schools provide complementary language teaching and learning to the formal school education, providing opportunities for students with background in a language other than English to continue to learn the language of their heritage. The schools are locally managed through state/territory based ethnic school associations.
Across Australia, community language schools deliver language programs to over 110,000 students in more than 100 languages each year.
Bell Shakespeare
The Australian Government supports Bell Shakespeare to provide live theatre performances at schools, professional development opportunities for teachers including a regional teacher mentorship program, and a suite of digital resources aligned to the Australian Curriculum for classrooms. Annually, Bell Shakespeare's program reaches 80,000 students and teachers face to face and delivers around 450 live performances in schools across Australia.