It’s Debatable – Multicultural Australia Remaining Monolingual at School

March 3, 2026

News

It’s Debatable – A Youth Perspective

Multicultural Australia Remaining Monolingual at School

Sharper minds, greater employability and the joys of stronger connection.

We all appreciate the benefits of learning a language, but more often than not it’s something we just don’t make time for. And while it’s never too late to learn a language, it’s undeniable that the neural plasticity we have as children makes it much easier.

And yet Australian students are increasingly abandoning foreign languages at school. In the 1960s, 40% of students chose a language. That’s dropped to just 8.6% of Year 12 students post-COVID.

What happened? Is it an issue at a school level or just a reflection of students’ disinterest? Why exactly are young people missing out on the chance to learn a language growing up?

For 2025 graduate Amos Williams, the choice to learn a language was an easy one.

“As a kid you could say I was totally sold on the Italian dream…I loved everything Italian so learning the language just seemed logical” – Amos Williams

Still, the only way Amos could learn Italian was through Cairns School of Distance Education. And while it’s an amazing program, distance education is not without the usual host of technical and quality difficulties.

His recent trip to Italy highlighted to Amos how strong language learning is in schools there, largely due to the close ties with other European cultures and languages.

But that same link in Australia seems to be missing. The number of students studying Indonesian has declined at the same time the population and importance of our closest neighbour has been on the rise.

Can this be put down to student behaviour or is it something structural?

Keeping in mind that 22.3% of Australians speak another language at home, it seems strange only 8.6% study a foreign language at school.

In a global workforce, Australian graduates are competing against those fluent in multiple languages and reaping all the cognitive, social and economic benefits. There’s a reason Victoria requires state schools to teach a language right up until Year 10 or why the International Baccalaureate – one of the most prestigious and rigorous qualifications – requires all students to study a foreign language.

But at the end of the day, language learning is only as good as what you put in. What’s the point in a class where people feel trapped?

Compulsory subjects risk sidelining language learning as something to be pushed upon students, not as something worth pursuing themselves.

Even more importantly, does forcing students into these language classes risk ruining it for those who genuinely want to be there? For Amos, the special shared moments singing songs or trying foods have always meant the most.

How does that environment change when you force people to be a part of what should be an enjoyable cultural exchange?

It comes back to the desire and drive to learn a language. How can we make Australian schools a more effortless and enjoyable space for language learning? Perhaps that means compulsory classes, more funding for departments or simply a greater range of languages.

Our schools can’t afford to be monolingual in a multicultural country, let alone in an increasingly interconnected competitive world. Not to mention there are more young people like Amos passionate about a foreign culture. Let’s meet them halfway and design a schooling system where language learning is treated as the asset it is.

Should we or shouldn’t we be pushing for more language learning at school? And what are the benefits?