Culture

A report commissioned by the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI), written by Dr Jane Orton, reveals the lack of Australian students enrolling in Chinese language study.

- Since 2008 the number of students learning Chinese in Australian schools has doubled to 172,832 – this is 4.7 percent of total school student numbers.

- There has been an overall drop over the past eight years of some 20 percent in the number of non-background classroom learners taking Chinese to around just 400.

On April 21 2016 the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) launched a report on Chinese language study in Australia.

The report, 'Building Chinese Language Capacity in Australia', commissioned by ACRI and written by Dr Jane Orton, highlights the gaps in Australia's Chinese language capacity and how these can be bridged, through careful and considered analysis.

1. The Australia in the Asian Century White Paper recognizes the need for an increased linguistic capacity within the Australian population: “Relying on the language capabilities of Asian-Australians for all of Australia’s relationships and engagement will not be adequate. Proficiency in more than one language is a basic skill of the 21st century”.[1]

2. In 2015 3,694,101 students attend school in Australia.[2] Of those:

Australia Piano Quartet (APQ), UTS Ensemble in Residence, has established a reputation as one of Sydney's premier chamber music ambassadors.

Their concert “Stories from China”, performed on August 6 2015, showcased the best of Chinese-Australian new work, including pieces from internationally-renowned composer Liza Lim and the young erhu specialist Nicholas Ng. Cutting-edge Australian composer Alex Pozniak created a special collaborative new work combining traditions from East and West.

The pieces performed were:

The UTS China Library was initiated by President Xi Jinping to enable the world to experience all aspects of China. It comprises a comprehensive information centre which includes books, audio visual materials and multimedia displays, as well as reading and study areas.

The library, which has been donated by the Government of the People's Republic of China, was formally handed to UTS by Madame Cui Yuying, Vice Minister of the State Council Information Office.