Language Learning

English tests are required for many visas but some applicants have serious concerns about the costs and contradictions of the system.

Japanese is one of the most studied languages for high schoolers — but few do it like Jacinta McIntyre. The 14-year-old is blind and learning the language through braille.

A powerful language teaching method from the US is being trialled in Central Australia, offering new hope for languages on the brink of extinction.

A program improving literacy rates among Indigenous adults helps more than 500 people change their lives, but advocates say much more is needed to address the problem nationally. 

A group of women in the outback is meeting up over a cuppa to learn how to sew and speak English.   

After students asked why they didn't learn their local Gangalidda language, an outback school made a change that is now seen as a model for other schools.

The West Australian town of Mount Barker comes together to share local stories, languages and cultures in four children's books illustrated by primary school students.

Punjabi is the fastest-growing migrant community in Australia and the fourth most commonly spoken language in Victoria, but is only taught in two government schools.

The Yuchi tribe from Oklahoma and the Pertame people of Central Australia have joined forces to help ensure their traditional languages are passed on to the next generation.  

NSW is introducing AUSLAN into the state syllabus in 2026, but one school in northern NSW – and one family in particular – is embracing sign language.

Language learning apps are popular, fun and easy to use, but is it possible to master a new language by using them? Two linguists weigh in on the benefits and drawbacks — and what else could help.

The social and cognitive benefits of knowing two or more languages, especially from childhood, are well-established. Here's how experts say it can be done.

An elite school will soon ditch a long-running language program, in a move experts say could be "ideological" and will leave Australia ill-equipped to engage with our closest Asian neighbour.

I lost my ability to speak Sinhalese, my family's native tongue. Despite not speaking the same language, the relationship I shared with my grandmother was still special. 

After living in Australia for eight years and working as a journalist, Wing was given a low score on a language test for her visa application. This is how she beat it.

Anu Goel's first language is Punjabi, her husband's is Hindi and their son now speaks both, as well as English. Experts say growing up with multiple languages brings plenty of benefits later in life.

Learning a language is one thing — but when Larissa moved to Australia from Brazil a few years ago to start a PhD, she found learning the accent was something else entirely.

You might know the word for 'hello' in your family's language if you've grown up speaking it at home, but do you know the word for 'policy'? Angelique Lu on what it's like to go back to study Vietnamese as an adult.

Although I wasn't born in an English environment, I am in an English-speaking environment 24/7. I still have some difficulties with specific words or slang — but my kids don't, and they're just three and four.

If you're looking to fill time in iso by becoming a linguist, we have some advice.