Canberra Academy of Languages – Home

Specialist Education Provider
for Senior Secondary Languages in the ACT

CAL Now

CAL information evening on Thursday 21 September 2023 for 2024 intake – see Events page.
The current CAL flier and overview of programs are available from the section below about CAL's plans.

About CAL

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.

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

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

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

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

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 2022, 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 deliver programs for 2022 and plan for 2023, 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

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 2023 in French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Tamil. For more information, see the section above about CAL plans.

Costs are $500 per term, invoiced at the start of each semester. This equates to about $15 per hour of program delivery.
Please email info@cal.act.edu.au to register your interest in programs for 2022 and to receive information from us about enrolling.
For program details, see our Programs page and our resources repository.
See the section above for information about program provision.

Enrolment enquiries

To enquire about enrolment for 2023, please email your expression of interest to info@cal.act.edu.au, and let us know:

your name and preferred email and contact number
prospective student's name
student's current year level (eg Year 8, Year 9, Year 10, Year 11, Year 12)
the language the student would like to study
if relevant, the Year 11-12 language units the student has completed already or will complete before commencing with us (not relevant for applicants currently in Year 10)
brief description of studies already undertaken in the language
in which calendar year the student would commence with us.

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.

One of the criteria for enrolment is that a program is not available or accessible at the student's day school (in terms of language or level) related to the student's background and personal learning goals. If you have canvassed this with your school and a CAL pathway is agreed as part of your study package, you may proceed in submitting your CAL enrolment application form without going through a preliminary EOI process with us.

Why learn languages

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

Cognitive benefits

Improved thinking skills, with benefits in other learning areas and in broader life experiences
A better understanding of how languages work, including English
An understanding that other languages differ from English and an improved capacity to learn additional languages
Direct access to literature, music, film and other expressions of culture in the arts and humanities through the target language
Access to a new frame of reference and perspective for understanding and interpreting the world.

Social benefits

Ability to interact more effectively with speakers of the target language and to participate more effectively in the settings where the target language is used, in travelling, studying and working
A greater capacity for intercultural understanding
Greater understanding and acceptance of diversity
Insight into the learner's own identity, values, heritage, and culture
A richer community culture and enhanced social cohesion.

Functional benefits

Broader employment opportunities, in both local and global contexts
Greater collective capacity for the community in international relations, trade and strategic negotiations.

More information

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.

Convener's Report 2022

Convener's Report 2021

Convener's Report 2020

Convener's Report 2019

Convener's Report 2018

Convener's Report 2017

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

Other selected online resources

Contact