Language in print

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Newspaper resources

The National Library of Australia holds more than 10 million items in its collection. The Library’s collecting focus is documenting the lives and experiences of Australia and its people. As a multicultural society with many people from different backgrounds and languages the Library’s collection includes a rich array of resources and items in languages other than English. This includes newspapers and informational publications.

This module is designed to to give students an opportunity to build and grow their language capabilities through reading and interpreting non-academic texts in the form of the Library's digitised newspaper collection. Using real newspapers, whether historical or contemporary, also gives students the opportunity to delve further into the cultural and social aspects surrounding the language being studied which is important for a holistic understanding of the language.

This module includes seven languages taught in Australian schools and links to digitised newspapers in those languages. However, other languages are available in the Library's collection. Using the Library’s catalogue, you can find other online resources in the language being studied. Use the link below to access the Catalogue and use the ‘Language’ filter (halfway down the right-hand side of the Catalogue list) to filter by the language being studied.

Search the National Library of Australia Catalogue

The resources provided throughout this module represent contemporary and historical publications from a range of authors, distributors and publishers. The resources provided throughout this module are the works of their respective creators and of the times and cultural context in which they were published. The views reflected in these publications do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Library of Australia. Teachers and educators should inspect the suitability of the newspaper/articles they wish to present in the classroom to ensure it is appropriate and culturally safe for use.

Topics in this module

The front page of The Australian Panorama Arabic Newspaper. The masthead is written in red Arabic script.

(2008). The Australian panorama Arabic newspaper. [Panorama Arabic Newspaper], [Parramatta, New South Wales] https://www.panoramanews.net nla.gov.au/nla.obj-747828340

Arabic

Topic

Migration from Arabic nations to Australia has a complex and multifaceted history.

Digital Classroom
A page from The English Chinese Advertiser newspaper written in Chinese.

(1858, August 7). The English and Chinese Advertiser (Vic.: 1856–1858), p. 1., nla.gov.au/nla.news-page15910530

Chinese

Topic

Stringent colonial restriction laws affected early Chinese migration to Australia.

Digital Classroom
A page from a French newspaper titles Courrier Australien.

LA CLIQUE DARLAN (1943, January 1). Le Courrier Australien (Sydney, NSW : 1892 - 2011), nla.gov.au/nla.news-article161749598

French

Topic

French settlement in Australia commenced soon after the arrival of the First Fleet.

Digital Classroom
A page from the Adelaider Deutsche Zeitung, 1851.

(1851). Adelaider Deutsche Zeitung (SA: 1851–1862), nla.gov.au/nla.news-title277

German

Topic

German migrants came to Australia as founding pioneers following colonisation, with 10,000 migrating during the gold rushes of the 1850s.

Digital Classroom
A page from La Stampa Italiana (or The Italian Press) newspaper.

LE DIRETTIVE DEL GOVERNO ITALIANO NELLA POLITICA MONDIALE IL DISCORSO DEL DUCE A NAPOLI. (1931, December 3). Stampa Italiana = The Italian Press (Perth, WA: 1931–1932), nla.gov.au/nla.news-article249697143

Italian

Topic

Migration from Italy to Australia can be dated back to the 1800s and, since that time, many groups have followed.

Digital Classroom
The front page of the Japanese Perth Times. The masthead is written in Japanese. There is a stylised rat on the front page with the text 'A Happy New Year!! 1996'

(2018). Japanese Perth times, nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1386

Japanese

Topic

Japanese migrants first came to Australia in the late 1800s.

Digital Classroom
The front page of To Ethnico Vema, a Greek-Australian newspaper

(2021). To ethnico vema : Greek national vema, nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1592

Modern Greek

Topic

While significant numbers of Greek migrants arrived during the gold rush, the greatest numbers arrived in the years between World War II and the 1970s.

Digital Classroom
A document showing which household items should be placed in which garbage bin. The list is sorted alphabetically and each item has a yellow, green, or red coloured square, indicating which bin it should go in. Red for trash, yellow for recycling and green for greenwaste. The list is written in Turkish

Mildura (Vic. : Rural City). Council. & Mildura (Vic. : Rural City). Council, issuing body. (2020). HANGİ KOVALAR? : Kovalarınızı kullanmak için Kılavuz, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2963507733

Turkish

Topic

Migration to Australia from Turkey prior to the twentieth century was minimal.

Digital Classroom

Introductory activities

  • Have the students design a front page of newspaper. Have students design the newspaper’s masthead with a name in the language. Have them design the layout of the page and come up with a headline story that grabs the attention of the reader.
  • Throughout Australia, many suburbs and towns have a community of people who speak in a language other than English. Often these communities are supported by local businesses selling products familiar in the countries of origin of that language. These businesses often provide newspapers for the community.
    • Collect a range of newspapers in languages other than English in the local community. What languages were available? Which were harder to find?
  • Stage a class debate around news being increasingly accessible only with a paid subscription. How important is keeping news and information free and accessible? What are the pros and cons of this pay-per-view/article/issue model?

Concluding activities

  • Compare newspaper articles written by an English-language Australian newspaper and a newspaper written in the studied language for differences. Depending on the level of the students.
    • Have the students compare an article in an Australian newspaper in the language being studied and an Australia newspaper in English that are covering the same news item. Have students create a list of differences they think appear in the text and discuss why differences may exist between the content of the news articles?

OR

  • Have students read two articles, one from an Australian newspaper in English and the other from a studied-language Australian newspaper that has been translated by the instructor. Have the students use their cultural understanding to identify which article came from which newspaper and why they think that. Discuss why the differences may occur.
  • Discuss what the differences (or similarity) in information means for the studied language community in Australia and how it impacts the spread of information.
  • As a class, create a newsletter about the school using the language being studied. Designate parts of the newsletter to students or groups of students. Have them include different parts of a newspaper; that is, headlines, sport information, weather, local events, school news. Use photos where appropriate and add captions. Give the students reporter deadlines and, where appropriate, have students work together to plan the layout of their newspaper.
  • The National Library of Australia holds more than 10 million items. The Library’s collecting focus is Australia and its people. Australia is a multicultural society with many people from many backgrounds and languages. As such, the Library’s collection holds a rich array of resources and items in languages other than English.
    • Using the Library’s catalogue, find other online resources in the language being studied. Use the link below to access the Catalogue and use the ‘Language’ filter (halfway down the right-hand side of the Catalogue list) to filter by the language being studied.

Search the National Library of Australia Catalogue

Curriculum links

This module is aligned with the Australian Curriculum: Languages learning area for years 7–10 (Year 7 entry) sequence.

The Australian Curriculum: Languages is designed to enable all students to engage in learning a language in addition to English. The design of the Australian Curriculum: Languages recognises the features that languages share as well as the distinctiveness of specific languages.

The Australian Curriculum: Languages aims to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to ensure students:

  • communicate in the target language
  • understand language, culture, and learning and their relationship, and thereby develop an intercultural capability in communication
  • understand themselves as communicators.

These three aims are interrelated and provide the basis for the two organising strands: Communicating and Understanding. The three aims are common to all languages.

Page published: 20 Oct 2023

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