Syndicate content Subscribe to the RSS feed
Home › EDUCATION
 › 
Foreign languages

Asian Studies and the Myth That One Size Fits All

Mon, 16/06/2008 - 10:27 — Warren Reed

Warren ReedLet's face it, you ever only realise how fundamental your home grammar is when you study another language, especially one from a vastly different cultural or civilization bailiwick.

Prime Minister Rudd's personal interest in Asia and his two recent trips to the region have highlighted the importance to Australia of understanding why people think and act the way they do there. In Japan in mid-June, Mr. Rudd mentioned that he'd like to see Australia become, over time, the most Asia-literate country in the world.

That's an admirable aim, especially after the damaging slippage in Asian studies over the past decade. But we have a lot of work to do even to point in the right direction, let alone come anywhere near to achieving such a reasonable goal.

A key shaper of public opinion on these matters is the media. If reporters and commentators don't bother to get the names of the region's top people and places correct, opting instead for their own imagined pronunciation, then Australians will be left feeling that it's not a challenge worth taking seriously.

Understanding Asia’s Daily Concerns

Mon, 07/04/2008 - 10:28 — Warren Reed

Warren ReedWould an 'Asia Daily' news bulletin help Australia to better understand its closest neighbours?

Despite Australia becoming increasingly enmeshed with the Asian world - whether economically, politically or culturally - we are experiencing a serious decline in the numbers of young Australians studying the region's languages, as well as its history and thought patterns.

This leaves us with a growing information gap, and one that has little to do with major events. If an aircraft crashes in Indonesia, a bridge collapses in Vietnam, or floods devastate much of China, it's more than likely you'll see it on the nightly TV news. You'll also find coverage in the following day's newspapers. But the things that regularly impact on the lives of our Asian neighbours - in the way that interest rates, mortgage payments and skyrocketing rents do with us - receive scant, if any, attention here. You might see some analysis in a specialist journal, but that's about all. Most Australians, for example, would have no idea how a shortage of onions and potatoes in northern India can impact on the life of a citizen there.

Australians, whether locally born or from overseas, who are fluent in regional languages, can already access much of this information via the excellent news services provided by say, SBS TV and radio. But that's a relatively small part of our population.

Lost Generations

Tue, 04/03/2008 - 09:42 — Warren Reed

Warren ReedAt least a million Australias are overseas at any time, of which at least three-quarters reside on a permanent or long-term basis. Some represent Australian interests, but most don't ...

One of Australia's greatest achievements has taken place in Asia where much of this country's destiny lies. And no, it's not in the sporting arena. If it had been, it wouldn't go unheralded.

The story began in the 1970s when the first wave of young Australians shunned the usual option of gaining experience in the United States or Britain and started heading to Japan and the rest of Asia to study and work. The Japanese economy had taken off and trade with Australia was burgeoning.

Asian studies found its feet in Australian schools and universities at the time. Since then, Australia has created a sizeable body of talented people who work throughout the Asian region. They are in demand because of their professional and language skills, common sense and ability to get on with people of other cultures.

Cultural Melting Pot: Productive Diversity in the Workplace

Mon, 25/08/2008 - 11:20 — Warren Reed

Warren ReedScratch most Australian organisations and you'll discover a productive diversity that's too good to miss.

The most useful ideas that think tanks produce are those that are not only practical and applicable, but imbued with easy logic. Sometimes they provide a new slant on things so that existing processes can be made more efficient. Other times, they reveal hidden assets that few have identified, though they're right in front of our face.

One such example was a project undertaken nearly 15 years ago by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), in conjunction with the then Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), which was part of the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet. Sandy Hollway, who later went on to manage the Sydney Olympics ran OMA. The project looked at ways of making business more aware of the repository of skills, talents and contacts buried inside the country's multicultural workforce.

It is not uncommon in Australia to find firms scouring the globe for new markets for their products when, say, the brother of a foreign-born employee in the HR section is looking to import that very thing into their home country.