“I’m really grateful I did it because it has opened up so many doors for me at university,” she said.
The 19-year-old is studying a bachelor of international studies, majoring in Spanish and international relations, at the University of Queensland.
“I really want to work in embassies and the foreign communication field, so I think Spanish will really help,” she said.
“It’s one of the most spoken languages in the world.”
In most Queensland state schools, students are taught languages from Years 5 to 8. While schools are encouraged to teach a language from Prep to Year 12, it is not compulsory from Year 9.
Languages are offered at 225 government primary and high schools in Brisbane, with Japanese the most commonly offered – at 86 schools – followed by Chinese (44) and French (27).
At the government’s two selective-entry academies in Brisbane, learning a language is a compulsory part of the International Baccalaureate.
Alex Holdcroft, now a first-year student at UQ, said the requirement meant she initially baulked at studying at the Queensland Academies Creative Industries. It meant she was unable to study all three science subjects she had planned under the ATAR system.
But after replacing physics with Spanish, Holdcroft said learning a language proved valuable, providing cultural insights and a break from her STEM subjects.
She is now studying maths and engineering, and has caught up on the physics she missed at school.
Alex Holdcroft is studying maths and engineering at The University of Queensland.
“Despite my initial hesitation, I found [Spanish] a relatively easy subject and really enjoyed learning the different structures, noticing patterns and seeing myself improve,” she said.
The Brisbane school with the most students learning French in Year 12 this year was Mansfield State High School, while Kenmore State High had the biggest German program.
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The school with the most students tackling a language overall was Brisbane State High, with 128 learning Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese or Spanish.
The independent school with the most Year 12s choosing a language was Brisbane Girls Grammar School, with French, German, Japanese and Chinese.
Griffith University multilingualism lecturer Dr Danielle H. Heinrichs said students decided against a language if they had a timetable clash with a university prerequisite, or they might worry about how scaling could affect their ATAR.
But Heinrichs said there were many reasons to study a language, including cognitive benefits, career advancement, intercultural awareness, and empathy.
“I think we do need to start tapping into some of these other ideas that are harder to automate, they’re harder for technology to do,” she said.
A state education department spokesman said principals, in consultation with the school community, chose the languages to be taught from the Australian curriculum.
QCAA chief executive Jacqueline Wilton said enrolment fluctuations were more apparent in subjects with smaller enrolments.
Some subjects surged, such as literature, with students more than doubling to 5513 this year.
