Parents from the Malvern Greek Story Time program recently met with Dr Monique Ryan, Independent Member of the House of Representatives for Kooyong, to advocate for accessible and local Greek–English bilingual education pathways for their children.
The parents participate in a free weekly Greek and Key Word Sign immersion program held every Friday morning during school terms at Malvern Library. Sessions regularly attract more than 50 parents, carers and pre-schoolers who gather to sing, dance and speak Greek together, often filling the entire library with activity.
Despite the program’s success, parents expressed significant concerns about the lack of ongoing bilingual learning opportunities.
“We want pathways – and local, accessible pathways at that,” one father said. “Right now, the only Greek bilingual program in the state school system is in Lalor. It’s 30 to 50 per cent Greek instruction, but it’s nowhere near us. It’s not a feasible option for our family.”
When Dr Ryan asked about after-school language programs – which the federal government currently supports – parents responded that these options are insufficient.
“Those programs are only three hours a week and compete with every other aspect of life. We want a truly bilingual program where 30 to 50 per cent of learning is in Greek. Lalor Primary offers around 20 hours a week in Greek – that’s real bilingual education, not three hours,” one parent said.
Parents asked whether the federal government could extend incentives to public schools to establish bilingual streams, noting that while Commonwealth funding had been provided for after-hours language schools, no equivalent support exists for bilingual programs in the state system.
In discussing potential locations, Dr Ryan acknowledged that she was meeting with parents inside a major “learning hub” — the Hawthorn–Camberwell area — which hosts four French bilingual programs across both public and private schools.
“We want this model replicated across Victoria,” parents said. “We want equity and accessibility.”
Evie, the facilitator of the Malvern Greek & Key Word Sign Story Time program, responded immediately and confidently when asked where a Greek bilingual program should be established.
“Oakleigh or Huntingdale would be ideal,” she said. Drawing on her experience mapping language needs through the federal ELLA program and the Victorian Bilingual Kindergarten initiative, she highlighted the strong local Greek-speaking demographic and the readiness of families to continue their language journey.
Evie also noted that similar hubs could be established for other communities: Springvale for Vietnamese and Berwick for Indian languages, among others. “We have the children, and we have the parents wanting to continue the language journey,” she said. “Now the government must provide the pathways.”
Parents expressed hope that the Victorian Multicultural Commission and the Department of Education will work together to commit to introducing a minimum number of bilingual programs across the state school system in the coming years.
