The relative scarcity of language teaching at Australian universities today is linked to decisions made in the 1950s when language entrance requirements for universities were waived. Secondary schools’ language provision was subsequently sent into decline. This created a need for introductory language courses in universities, which became the most common form of language provision. The introduction of rationalist economic policies in Australian universities further debilitated languages departments. When stringent budget cuts were made in higher education in the late 1990s, language provision was severely affected. Underlying all these social and political changes is the issue of ethnic relations in Australia. This article reviews the major developments in language teaching in Australian universities since the 19th century. As the teaching of languages is inexorably linked with the development of the secondary school system, the history of migration to Australia and developments in language policy, the article also briefly discusses these issues.

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This article addresses the issue of advice given to immigrant parents to speak English only with their children in Australia, as reflected in the Spanish-speaking community. The article shows that something that appears to be down to chance, i.e. whether this advice is given or not, has a social explanation. This social explanation is based on understanding several social variables such as the ethnic identity of the adviser and the year in which the advice was given, as well as social variables that define the individual who received the advice, notably, his/her physical appearance in the sense of how `Caucasian' the migrant looks. Such analysis sheds light on the changing perception of migrants in Australia. It was found that, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, when there was an Australian government-sponsored policy of multiculturalism, there was an increase in the number of people being advised to speak English only. It is hypothesized that such increase is linked to the conflict and contest that any recognition of linguistic and social rights for minorities precipitates

In a previous life, he was a mathematician in Argentina. His latest novel, La inevitable resurrección de los cerebros de Boltzmann, was published by Ediciones Ayarmanot in Buenos Aires, and can be dowloaded at: https://www.edicionesayarmanot.com/p/la-inevitable-resurreccion-de-los.html Mario Daniel would like to acknowledge the help of Sarah St Vincent Welch and Emily Campbell, who helped him de-Spanish the English of this piece.