“That ICPA QLD lobbies the Department of Education to provide access to specialist LOTE teachers in rural and remote Queensland schools through circuits organised and managed by regional HR staff.”
LOTE is a compulsory subject of the Australian Curriculum. The Department of Education used to provide many rural schools with travelling LOTE teachers on circuits. This has been phased out in recent years and moved to an SDE model for most rural and remote schools. Teaching LOTE through SDE facilities is an inadequate form of education for a language other than English. Students cannot connect with a teacher from another culture. Often language barriers are an issue and students struggle to understand a teacher with a heavy accent. Technological issues often impede lessons from progressing at the required pace while students wait for Q Learn to load. A face-to-face teacher would provide a much richer educational experience and improved learning outcomes. Equity is not being met for rural and remote schools in the teaching of LOTE as urban schools have access to face-to-face learning.
