Wide Bay schools to take part in languages program
18 June 2018
Wide Bay schools to take part in languages program
Federal Member for Wide Bay, Llew O’Brien has welcomed the Coalition Government’s announcement to expand its successful Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) program into more schools in Wide Bay.
“I encourage all preschools and schools to join the ELLA program to give their students the opportunity to learn a second language,” Mr O’Brien said.
“The ELLA program has already been very successful in getting students engaged and interested in learning a language from an early age.
“In Wide Bay, there are already more than 20 schools helping over 400 young children to learn the basics of languages like Mandarin, French or Spanish, using fun and play-based digital applications, through the following centres:
- Pomona Early Childhood Centre, Pomona
- Busy Bees Child Care and Kindergarten, Noosaville
- Jellybabies Childcare Centre , Sunshine Beach Kindergarten,Sunshine Beach
- Kids Choice, Granville
- Like Home Early learning Centre, Murgon
- Smarty Pants Early Learning Centre, Cooroy
- Unndennoo Kindergarten, Maryborough
- Cooloola Christian College Early Learning Centre, Gympie
- Kilkivan Kindy, Kilkivan
- Parkside ELC, Gympie
- Goomboorian Playalong Activity Centre, Goomboorian
- Early Learning Centre, Gympie South
- Little Gems Child Care & Early Learning Centre, Maryborough
- Peregian Beach College Early Learning Centre, Peregian Beach
- C&K Tewantin Community Childcare Centre, Tewantin
- Goodstart Early Learning Gympie Early Learning Centre, Gympie
- Maryborough Central Early Learning Centre, Maryborough
- Carramar Community Kindergarten, Maryborough
- Kandy Kids Child Care Centre, Murgon
- Kids Bizz Early Education Centre, Gympie
- Murgon Child Care & Learning Centre, Murgon
“I encourage parents to talk to their preschools and schools about getting involved in the expansion of the ELLA program. Exposure to another language and culture can have significant benefits for children, such as better comprehension and problem solving skills.
“Knowing a second language can open up a whole new world of opportunities in this increasingly global economy. These language skills provided early in life will carry through to their later school years and beyond,” Mr O’Brien said.
Minister Birmingham said the Coalition Government’s commitment of an additional $11.8 million would see the number of preschools participating double to 5000 and extend the program into 300 primary schools reaching 30,000 school-age students across Australia.
“We’ve already seen some great results from the ELLA program, with more than 80,000 children in about 2,500 preschools across Australia being introduced to a second language through the use of our digital apps, “Minister Birmingham said.
“These new languages mean preschools and schools in Wide Bay can pick from 13 of the world’s most common languages to give children a taste of the world and set them up for the future” said Minister Birmingham
Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) is currently available in Hindi, Modern Greek, Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, Indonesian, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish. Additional options will include Korean, Vietnamese, Turkish and German.
For more information on ELLA visit: https://www.ella.edu.au/
