Canberra Academy of Languages – Home

Specialist Education Provider for Senior Secondary Languages in the ACT

CAL Now

Our CAL End of Year Ceremony will take place on 18 December 2018. Follow the link for details.
Now taking expressions of interest for 2019.
The updated CAL Charter was endorsed at our SGM on 14 May 2018.

About CAL

Our purpose

The Canberra Academy of Languages is a not-for-profit organisation, established in 2016 to expand opportunities for language learning in the Canberra region as a specialist facility preparing senior secondary students as local and global citizens. For more details, see the CAL Charter.

Our students

Our programs commenced in 2017. We provide courses for Year 11-12 students to continue learning in their chosen languages, where these courses are not available through their schools or other providers.

Our values

We value excellence, equity and a civil society. More details are in the CAL Charter.

Not-for-profit

The Canberra Academy of Languages is a not-for-profit organisation. However, 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. Many not-for-profits are associations that derive their revenue mainly from membership fees – a good example being MLTA. 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 and teaching resources.

Our plans

The Canberra Academy of Languages is registered with the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies (BSSS) as a Specialist Education Provider, with effect until 31 December 2022.

See our current flier for an overview of our purpose, programs and plans.

We look forward to working with students, families and schools in providing expanded opportunities for language learning that complement existing programs in languages offered in the ACT.

Frank Keighley
Convener, Canberra Academy of Languages

Provision

The academy provides language learning programs in selected languages for which courses have been endorsed by the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies. We are also exploring opportunities to develop courses in areas not currently offered in ACT senior secondary programs, for which there is an evident need in the Canberra region.

In 2018, we are delivering Continuing and Advanced French. Our venue for the program in 2018 is the Alliance Française at 66 McCaughey Street, Turner.

Alliance Française - venue for CAL French program in 2018

We will offer a range of languages for 2019, including French, German and Indonesian.

CAL Languages 2018 Image - Eiffel Tower, Brandenburg Gate and Selamat Datang Monument

Enrolment

Enrolment is via school-sponsored places (suggested when students reduce their workload by one line to undertake a language externally) or family-sponsored places (suggested when students undertake a course as an external line additional to their full-time day program).

Costs are $500 per term (which may be offset by any applicable subsidies), paid at the start of each term. This equates to about $12 per hour of program delivery.

Following our announcement in September 2017 of courses offered in French, German and Indonesian, subject to enrolment numbers, we are delivering courses in Continuing/Advanced French for 2018. Our registration evening for enrolled students and their families was held on 7 February 2018. There will be orientations for additional students by arrangement with us in Week 3. For program details, see our Programs page and our resources repository.

Expressions of interest are invited for our 2019 programs. This process will help to inform our choice of languages to offer for next year.

Enrolment enquiries

To enquire about enrolment for 2019, please email info@cal.act.edu.au and let us know:

your name
your contact number
your current year level (eg Year 10, Year 11, Year 12)
the language you would like to study
if relevant, the Year 11-12 language units you have completed already or will complete in 2018 (not relevant for applicants currently in Year 10)

We will then send you the enrolment form and the language eligibility form and we are 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.

For information about session times and venues, see our Programs page.

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

Functional benefits

Broader employment opportunities, in both local and global contexts

More information

For more about learning languages, see

Our online information

Programs
News
Events
Links to more information
Languages.Org.Au – a resource for learners of languages, managed by the Canberra Academy of Languages

Other selected online resources

Contact