April 2023

We hope you have all had a restful break and wish you well as Term 2 begins!

The AFMLTA Executive Committee continues to be busy planning for the 24th AFMLTA International Languages Conference to be held in Perth on 7-9 July. You still have time to take advantage of the early bird registration rate which has been extended until 30 April. It’s also not too late to submit a proposal to present a session at the conference. The due date for submissions is also 30 April.

We are excited to announce some of our invited speakers for the Conference:

• Professor Kathleen Heugh (Professor of Language Education and Multilingualism at University of South Australia) will deliver the 2023 Keith Horwood Memorial Lecture at the opening reception on the evening of 7 July.
• Louka Parry (CEO and Founder of The Learning Future) has been confirmed as the speaker at the conference dinner on 8 July.
• Joanna McPake (reader in languages education at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland) will deliver a keynote presentation.
• Catherine Travis (Professor of Modern European Languages in the School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics at the Australian National University) will act as rapporteur at the close of the conference.

These speakers will provide us with stimulating and thought-provoking ideas, as well as interesting perspectives on languages education. You can read more about these presenters here.

We remind you that nominations are invited for the following positions on the AFMLTA Executive Committee 2023/24: President Elect, Vice President, Promotions Officer and Secretary. Nominations are invited before 7 June 2023. Please visit the what's new page of our website for more information.

We also remind you about the approaching deadlines for submission of nominations for awards recognising outstanding contributions in the field of Languages education. Nominations for the Patji Dawes Award are due by 28 April. The deadline for submission of nominations for AFMLTA Medal and Certificate of Merit is 22 May. You can read more about these awards and the nomination processes below.

Register now!

It's not too late! Registrations remain open to join us at our conference next month! Follow the link below and on Twitter #AFMLTA23

Venue: Mt Lawley Campus, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA

Program: See information about confirmed speakers, a draft program will be available soon

Partnerships: Visit our conference website for information

Queries: conference@afmlta.asn.au

Suggestions for accommodation whilst in Perth are included on our website. 

Image courtesy of the Notebooks of William Dawes, David Nathan, and the National Library of Australia

2023 Patji-Dawes Language Teaching Award

The Patji-Dawes award honours outstanding achievements in teaching languages other than English in Australia. The name of the award commemorates the earliest documented language education partnership in Australia’s history: that between young Indigenous woman Patyegarang (Patye or Patji, pronounced Pat-chee) and Lieutenant William Dawes.

The Patji-Dawes award was an initiative of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (CoEDL), developed as part of the Outreach program, which included a commitment to improving levels of multilingualism and accomplishment of additional languages in Australia, through understanding and public debate on how we learn and teach languages effectively.

Throughout the years of CoEDL, the award was supported and sponsored by AFMLTA and LCNAU. With CoEDL now concluded, the AFMLTA and LCNAU have proudly assumed responsibility for continuing the award, to recognise teachers of languages.

The award will be conferred on Sunday, 9 July 2023 at the 24^th AFMLTA International Languages Conference to be held at Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA.