Languages in the 1990s: The Context and the Changes

Abstract

The 1990s was a time of much change both in the university sector and in the Federal government. Such change affected languages taught in the tertiary sector and as such warrants close investigation. For much of this decade, a conservative government was in power with new policies and funding cuts to universities. This chapter looks at the University of Melbourne as a case study. It charts how various languages were introduced either through endowments or Government funding throughout the twentieth century. In 1992 the University introduced a new structure for the teaching of languages after an extensive review. However, that structure was subsequently taken apart. In the wider context, the Group of Eight universities (Go8) signalled its commitment to languages. However reports by the Australian Academy of Humanities showed that languages in tertiary institutions across Australia were in crisis.