More recently for a year or two I provided scripture classes in the Baha’i religion at Auburn North state school in Sydney just around the corner from Auburn West P S. The attitude at Auburn North was very inclusive vis-a-vis kids with Arabic and Mandarin and one other language which I can’t recall at present. Roll calls and announcements were made in these languages and the kids together with the faculty all seemed to benefit

On a separate but related matter:
A recent White Paper titled Australia in the Asian Century in its section on language tuition here fails to mention Arabic which to my mind is a serious oversight given its usage in the inner west of Sydney and elsewhere in OZ. This fine Plurilingual essay mentions it not. Sun Tzu and Machiavelli might advise us to promote it if only as a means to know one’s adversaries but in our more enlightened time we should consider it as an aid towards improving relations with our Arabic speaking citizens and with various troubled countries from whom we purchase oil

Previous Posts composed by Andrew and Robyn are on my list.