Foreign concept: Why learning a second language is vital to our global future

Rebecca Vukovic

By Rebecca Vukovic
Published February 5, 2016

Human beings are born with the universal potential to acquire any languages to which they are exposed or interact with.

Many physiological studies have shown that the brains of bilingual people operate differently to single language speakers, and in fact ...

This story appeared in the February 2016 edition of Australian Teacher Magazine.

Assistant Principal Special Education - General - Kanwal Public School

Kanwal Public School Kanwal

School Management / Apr 29, 2026

Teacher Learning and Support - Chifley College Senior Campus

NSW Department of Education Sydney NSW

Teaching - Secondary / Apr 29, 2026

Teacher Science - Gunnedah High School ($20K Recruitment Bonus + $5-8K Relocation Support Payment)

Gunnedah High School Gunnedah

Teaching - Secondary / Apr 29, 2026

School news / This isn’t a game: platforms not doing enough to prevent grooming and radicalisation

Gaming platforms Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite and Steam have been asked by Australian authorities to explain how they are protecting children from sexual predators and radicalisation.

School news / ‘This ain’t it chief’: Vic teachers blast Govt over incoming 28 per cent pay offer

Two Victorian Government sources have reportedly revealed the state’s teachers will be offered a 28 per cent pay rise over four years, but some educators have slammed the proposal, declaring it ‘garbage’ and ‘a joke’.

Opinion / Reclaiming the human purpose of your school

Schools aren’t struggling from lack of effort, but lack of alignment. As programs and pressures stack up, many have drifted into busy-ness without real impact. This article argues the issue is design, not people, and calls leaders to refocus on th...

School news / Iran conflict effects: call to target girls’ funding in gender equality push

It may be on the other side of the globe, but the Federal Government is being warned the Middle East crisis has ramped the need for direct aid funding for adolescent girls at risk of cascading crises across the Asia Pacific.

School news / Presenters are unlawfully posting student photos to boost their business: expert

A dangerously lax approach to student photo permissions by some schools is seeing external presenters unlawfully posting photos of children to help promote their business online, and the risks are huge, Australia’s leading cybersafety expert has w...

School news / Tasmania’s teachers strike hard earned pay deal after ‘generational’ strike

Tasmania’s public teachers have voted to accept a "fair and affordable" new pay deal after a bitter industrial dispute with the Rockliff Government.

School news / Young e-bike riders have never been properly taught how to ride them: new platform

A 15-year-old boy died after being thrown from an e-bike in Melbourne’s north-east last week, the latest casualty in what has become a major national issue.

Opinion / Dismantling bizarre logic: Explicit teaching is NOT classroom coercion

For someone who doesn’t particularly care for conflict, I have a real soft spot for dismantling arguments that entrench inequity, including, but not limited to, those that misrepresent evidence-informed practice.

School news / ‘We haven’t been inclusive enough (on gender equality) it’s about a better future for all’: ex-PM

A concerted, organised and strategic pushback by the “manosphere” against gender equality can’t be swept under the rug, Australia’s only female prime minister says.

Opinion / Australia has access to 20,000 migrant teachers, but is not using them. Why not?

Comments