Canberra Academy of Languages – Home

Specialist Education Provider
for Senior Secondary Languages in the ACT

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CAL Now | About CAL | Provision | Enrolment | Why learn languages | More information | Convener's reports | Contact |

CAL Now sequence

About CAL sequence

Our purpose

The Canberra Academy of Languages was established in 2016 to expand opportunities for language learning in the Canberra region. Our vision is that students in the Canberra region, for whom it is a priority to consolidate and improve their proficiency in a language other than English, can do so by the time they complete secondary schooling.

CAL is a Specialist Education Provider, registered with the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies (BSSS), preparing students as local and global citizens. For more details, see the CAL Charter. The charter has been updated at the start of 2022 to include an additional sentence in point 2 under Values, stating our commitment to language learner rights.

CAL Banner segment What's the ATAR flier

We deliver language courses leading to unit credits for the ACT Senior Secondary Certificate. Scores for courses completed by students with CAL will contribute to their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) if the scores are among their best four course scores, along with their other course scores from courses they undertake at their home schools or colleges.

Our students

CAL ANGLS Video participants

Our programs commenced in 2017. We provide courses for Year 11-12 students and early access students (high school students commencing selected senior secondary subjects early) to continue learning in their chosen languages, where these courses are not available through their schools or other providers. Select the image on the right to download a video clip created with CAL students for the 2020 ANGLS Conference.

As of 2022, we have students enrolled for courses in French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Tamil. What they have in common is a belief in the value of becoming a capable communicator in at least one language other than English. Select the image on the right to download a video clip, originally created for the 2020 ANGLS Conference, where students discuss their perspectives on language learning.

Our teachers

CAL Staff Our teachers have TQI registration and are well qualified in the languages they teach. They support our students in using the target language, in continuous improvement in proficiency and intercultural capability and understanding, and in achieving the learning goals set out in the ACT senior secondary modern languages curriculum.

Our values

CAL Charter We value excellence, equity and a civil society. For more details, please see the CAL Charter, which is also part of our Articles of Association (at Schedule 2). The CAL Charter outlines our purpose, rationale and values. It also states the basis on which we take decisions on classes to run each year and identifies our commitment to work with interested stakeholders on curriculum development.

Our plans

CAL Flier

The Canberra Academy of Languages is registered with the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies (BSSS) as a Specialist Education Provider.

For an overview of our programs and more information about our plans, see the CAL Programs page, as well as our current flier and the Q & A about CAL programs for 2023. Already in 2023, we deliver courses in six out of the possible eleven languages that are accredited for Year 11-12 students to learn in the ACT. We are planning to deliver courses in all languages accredited in the ACT senior secondary curriculum, except where there is already another registered provider for centrally-delivered programs.

As we plan for a new provider to take over program delivery in 2024, we look forward to continuing our work with students, families and schools in providing expanded opportunities for language learning that complement existing programs in languages offered in the ACT. For more details, see our programs page.

Not-for-profit

The Canberra Academy of Languages is a not-for-profit organisation. Like any not-for-profit organisation, we need to ensure that we have the revenue to carry out the activities that relate to our purpose. The purpose of the Canberra Academy of Languages is outlined in our charter, which is in Schedule 2 of our Articles of Association.

Some not-for-profits are associations that derive their revenue mainly from membership fees – an example being the Modern Language Teachers' Association of the ACT (MLTA ACT). In our case, our major revenue source is enrolment fees. These enable us to cover the cost of program delivery, including teacher salaries, venue hire, public liability insurance, teaching resources, and online services such as web hosting.

Frank Keighley
Convener, Canberra Academy of Languages

Enrolment sequence

Senior secondary students who enrol with CAL gain unit credits that are recognised alongside their day-school programs. Enrolment is via school-sponsored places or family-sponsored places. Places in our programs are open for commencement in 2024 in French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Tamil. For more information, see the section above about CAL plans.

Enrolment enquiries

To enquire about enrolment for 2024, please email your expression of interest to info@cal.act.edu.au, and let us know: Following your expression of interest, we will contact you about next steps for enrolment. We are also happy to meet with you to discuss your directions and help you to establish whether our programs will suit your needs. Please email or call us if you would like more information.

Why learn languages sequence

Learning languages provides cognitive, social and functional benefits. Mastering communication skills in another language delivers benefits that include:

Cognitive benefits

Social benefits

Functional benefits

More information sequence

For more about learning languages, see:

Other pages on CAL website

Convener's Reports

The Convener's Report is presented annually as part of the CAL End of Year Ceremony. Links to reports for previous years are provided below. 2021 CAL Convener's Report

Links on Languages.Org.Au

Languages.Org.Au is
a resource for learners of languages, managed by the Canberra Academy of Languages, with a home page that provides links to organisational contacts and links to schools of languages in Australia; and language-specific pages for several languages. For example:

CAL on social media

CAL Facebook page

Other selected online resources

Contact sequence

Canberra Academy of Languages

CAL logo

A: GPO Box 1627, Canberra ACT 2601
E: info@cal.act.edu.au
T: CAL Convener +61-2-6152 9140
T: CAL Director of School +61-2-6152 9145
W: https://cal.act.edu.au

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© Canberra Academy of Languages
Canberra region photo
Expanding opportunities for language learning
in the Canberra region