SBS National Language Competition 2018 (NLC18)

Less and less Australian school leavers are dropping a second language in year 12 this made Australia came last in OECD, therefore SBS National Language Competition 2018 is setting up SBS National Language Competition in order to encourage more Australian students to retain and study a second languages.

SBS National Language Competition 2018 Source: SBS

There are over 300 languages spoken at homes in Australia. But not so many Australian students study or these languages are taught in classes or schools as it should.

SBS realize about this and it is holding the SBS National Language Competition for the third year now.

Australia also ranked last in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of students who study a second language. 

This has worried both the Australian government and academics, therefore the Australian Labor Party has promised that if it win the next federal election and become the new Australian government, it will allocate AUD 32 million dollars toward teaching Asian languages in Australian schools which will prioritize Hindi.

"What it's really about is about celebrating a love of learning languages, but also really trying to encourage language retention in Australia. What we know is that language is really intrinsically linked to culture, and, where people can retain their language, it really aids in their sense of identity and, actually, their sense of belonging here in Australia," said Mandi Wicks, SBS Language Content Manager.

Georges River College deputy principal Kate McCrae says many students who study a second language do it out of love for the subject.

“A lot of them are doing it because they love languages, so some of them might be doing the language that they speak at home but also studying a new language. Others will be looking to maybe do it at university. And, eventually, they will be citizens where they have to live and work globally, and having an advantage of multiple languages will be a real bonus for them." said McCrae.

The SBS National Language Competition closes on November the 18th and you can submit a photo of you and write a sentence or a paragraph how study a second language benefits you. 

Please check SBS National Language Competition website here for more information.#

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More information:

1) Some tips to help SBS Naitonal Language Competition 2018 https://www.sbs.com.au/radio/article/2018/09/12/nlc18-helpful-hints 

2) Some FAQs about SBS National Language Competition 2018 https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/turkish/en/article/2018/10/22/sbs-national-languages-competition-2018-faqs?cx_navSource=related-side-cx#cxrecs_s 

3) For technical problems and general enquiries, please email us at [e-mail]. For media enquiries, contact [e-mail]