Learning an additional language at a very early age is an invaluable advantage for children in our globalized world.
The Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) program uses interactive and play-based digital applications to engage children in language learning. It is currently available in Hindi, Modern Greek, Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, Indonesian, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish. It will also be expanded to include Korean, Vietnamese, Turkish and German.
The Goethe-Institut Australien welcomes the decision of the Turnbull Government to fund The Early Learning Languages (ELLA) program with a further $11.8 million. The funding will see the number of participating preschools doubled, and allow for the expansion of the program into primary schools and the inclusion of German as one of the 13 languages offered. The announcement was made on 15 June 2018 by Senator The Hon Simon Birmingham, Minister for Education and Training.
Playing a leading role in Europe, Germany is a significant economic partner for Australia. German-Australian bilateral relations will be further strengthened with the introduction of the German ELLA program. Teaching German has a long standing tradition in Australia with German being one of the most popular European languages together with French and Italian.
In 2017 the Goethe-Institut Australien launched a primary school initiative to support Early Language Learning. The ELLA program will be complementary to an extensive range of learning material and project ideas initiated by the Goethe-Institut and thus enhance students’ learning experience.