One in three older Australians were born overseas – the majority of whom originally from a non-English speaking country.
There are over 300 community languages spoken in Australian households.
Yet, the number of people who spoke only English at home has risen by more than 500,000 since 2011 and the number of school leavers graduating with a second language is declining.
A Monash University project has found a creative solution to this problem by pairing up older migrants with high school students learning a second language.
Dr Hui Huang, the chief coordinator of the Chinese component of the program, says the project found mutual benefits for both the older and younger participants beyond language education.
