I recently reflected on my experiences contributing to the Acknowledging Country in our Mother Languages project, sharing takeaways from the launch event and the very personal process of recording an Acknowledgment in Arabic language. Experiences like these tend to ignite further reflections, and for me, it has raised intriguing questions related to my work as a learning design professional in higher education.
Opening the door to different languages in learning and teaching isn’t just for ‘international’ subjects or specialist language scholars; considering multi-lingual contexts can also enhance student learning experiences and broaden our concept of belonging. Here I explore one example from the UTS Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, and invite you to consider how welcoming more languages into our curricula might enrich learning for all of us.
Who misses out when the default is monolingual?
UNESCO estimates that at least half the global population is bilingual, navigating daily life in two or more languages or dialects. Here in Australia, 22% of our population speak a language other than English at home (2021 Census), and approximately 30% of university students come from overseas (Department of Education, 2025). Depending on the discipline you teach, that’s potentially 1 in 3 of your students who are not only learning the concepts of your discipline for the first time, but doing so in multiple languages, with the additional cognitive load that inevitably brings.
Working in learning and teaching, I have occasionally heard university educators question students’ decisions to enrol at an Australian university with limited English language proficiency. This is a broader conversation where both the data and the reality of why many students pursue international education is much more complex. A significant proportion of international students return home after graduating, for example, applying their knowledge in countries where English is not the dominant language. Whilst improved English skills may be a benefit for students graduating into a global employment market, the primary goal was never to become fluent in English, but to gain expertise in their chosen field. Viewed through that lens, the argument for a strict approach to English-only instruction starts to lose its strength.
There are many arguments for multi-lingual learning, but in learning design, we’re especially interested in what supports the learning process and outcomes. For learners whose first language is not English, accessing instructional content in their native language can significantly aid comprehension, particularly in formal learning environments such as a Learning Management System (LMS). Translation is rarely a simple word-for-word exercise; concepts, structures, and even ways of organising knowledge can differ across languages and cultures, leaving students guessing at crucial learning points. When learners can engage with instructions and guidance in their first language while still interacting with course content in English, they are better positioned to focus on the subject matter itself, rather than expending cognitive effort on decoding the language of instruction.
Built-in tools to prioritise comprehension and learning
To explore more, I recently met with Anika Harju, PhD student in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology (FEIT). Anika is working on a new translation tool she developed to support students who prefer studying in a language they are comfortable with, where built-in functionality allows students to translate discipline-specific curriculum content to better understand requirements. The tool also acts as a scaffold, guiding learners as they interact with it, prompting them to check translation accuracy while simultaneously helping to develop English language skills.
Anika explained that deploying this tool within the LMS enables students to engage with learning materials in their first language more effectively, reducing many inequalities such as cognitive load. Beyond that, the approach offers important pedagogical benefits by lowering student stress and addressing ethical concerns. For instance, she noted that many students operate in “survival mode”, often unaware of or unable to question how their data is collected and used (Harju, ongoing PhD research, UTS). When instructions are provided in students’ first language, they can better comprehend expectations and construct knowledge more meaningfully, rather than relying on second-language proficiency to ensure full awareness and understanding.
Systems that protect and preserve multiple knowledges
Anika’s project has the potential to enhance students’ learning experience and with my learning design hat on, this all makes sense when designing learning for inclusivity and diversity. However, she flagged that institutional structures and culture also create barriers to testing her solution in real-life settings, a reminder that good ideas alone are not enough without systemic support.
Anika’s personal experience brought me back to Dr Elaine Laforteza’s point on the importance of making meaningful connections with a place through one’s first language. Both First Nations Peoples and students with English as a second language share something fundamental; their deepest understanding of place, meaning, and identity is rooted in their first language.
How important is this for building bridges of communication between students and First Nations Peoples, particularly in helping students understand the meaning of Acknowledgement of Country and why it matters? Importantly, might this also impact student critical thinking and their achievement of a key UTS graduate attribute: “Have knowledge of Indigenous Australian contexts to inform their capability to work effectively for and with Indigenous Australians across their professional discipline.”?
Sitting with everything I experienced, from recording in Arabic, to the event, to conversations like the one with Anika, I kept returning to the same feeling: that something important is being left on the table. Acknowledgement of Country in Mother Languages planted a seed. For higher education institutions that seed is a reminder, echoing Lindon’s and Anne’s words, that language lost is knowledge lost. Students’ first languages are not a problem to manage, they are a resource to preserve.
Explore more
On the project’s official website, you can explore more information including a project explainer, an Acknowledgements library recorded in more than 40 languages and a podcast series. I encourage you to explore this important project and Anika’s work, and consider ways you might also create authentic integration of Acknowledgements of Country in different languages, and welcome students’ first languages into higher education curriculum.