Fewer Australian Students Studying Asian Languages

The overall uptake of foreign languages has declined.

A man writes Chinese caligraphy as part of the Chinese New Year events at the Bloomingdale’s flagship store on Lexington Avenue in New York City on Feb. 19. Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times

Fewer Australian students are studying Asian languages, with various reasons behind, the House Standing Committee on Education has been told.

In the inquiry into building Asia capability in Australia through the education system and beyond on Oct. 29, Labor MP Tim Watts, the chair of the committee, noted some statistics about the decline in Asian languages studied in Australian schools.