Page 8 - Accents December

Languages Victoria
Report on the AFMLTA Conference, Hobart, July 2019
by Jasmine Aviet
The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Language: Breaking through walls,’ with a particular focus on Indigenous languages. There were several plenary presentations on the current state of indigenous languages in Australia which really moved me and I feel my perspective on these languages has totally shifted. Their stories are rich and beautiful. In particular, Theresa Sainty told the story of how they are ‘waking up’ the sleeping language of palawa kani, an Indigenous language of Tasmania. It has totally changed my understanding of what it means for a language to ‘die out’ and the devastating effects that this can have for generations of people.
The parallel/elective sessions were a great opportunity for me to look at the areas that I wanted to develop in: extending my gifted learners and supporting my EAL/D learners. I came away with many strategies for each of my learners and, to my surprise, a better understanding of what a task-based classroom looks like.
My highlight of the conference was learning about Google Expeditions - an app which enables students to be led through key/noteworthy areas of a country. I am excited to try this within my Languages classes!
Of course I am very grateful for the opportunity to attend that was provided by MLTANSW. It was a fantastic experience, thank you!
Page 8 Volume 8 Number 2