The Wire

Children achieve better results learning in their first language in the early years of education. This is the finding of a report released last week by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. The study challenges the Northern Territory government’s plan to cut back on bi-lingual education where schools in areas where traditional languages flourish are being told they must teach in English, and English only, for the first four hours of classes. This is despite the language being foreign to its students.