ISSV Archives

Saturday School of Modern Languages

Saturday School of Modern Languages in Victoria was the institution which made the teaching of Slovenian language possible. The school was established in 1934 by a teacher who believed young Australians should have a greater choice of languages to study than French and German. Students were able to study on Saturday, which was traditionally a school-free day. The school first offered Japanese, German and Dutch, closed for the duration of WW2, then resumed and flourished again. It received a great impetus during decades of the first great waves of migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds. When Slovenian was introduced in 1977, the school had grown to 23 languages. The school offered a model, followed by other Australian states. At one time Canada showed interest.

Slovenian thrived and developed as a language offered at all levels within the system and despite being one of the smallest groups, Aleksandra Ceferin established it in a leading role in the area of language curriculum development.

The Saturday School was renamed as the Victorian School of Languages in 1986. Today it comprises of 34 centres throughout Victoria, 14,000 students, and 700 staff. Instruction is provided for 43 languages from Year 1 to Year 12 for primary and secondary students. Distance education is available.

Written by Aleksandra Ceferin on 05/15/07 | permalink |

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About Aleksandra Ceferin

Aleksandra Ceferin (M.A., B.A., Dip.Ed.) has introduced Slovenian language as a school subject in Australian school system and founded the Slovenian Teachers' Association of Victoria in 1976. She has extensive experience in language education: as teacher, lecturer, curriculum coordinator, course writer, language consultant and manager, VCE State Reviewer and Chief Examiner. Since 1998 she has been the President of ISSV and the manager and chief editor of its projects. Aleksandra visits Slovenian annually, establishing and maintaining contacts with Slovenia, and initiating exchanges and cooperation between organizations. In 2004 she was the recipient of the National Education Award of RS Slovenia.