Joseph Lo Bianco AM FAHA (born 7 July 1953) is Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, and serves as Past President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (the first educator elected to this role).[1] From 2011–2017 he designed, led and implemented a 6-year, 3-country language and peace building initiative for UNICEF in Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. He has previously worked on peace building activities in Sri Lanka in the late 1990s, and in several other settings. He is a language planning specialist, recognised for his work on combining practical problem solving language policy with academic study of language problems. He has published extensively on bilingual education, English as a second/additional language, peace building and communication, multiculturalism and intercultural education, Asian studies, Italian language teaching and the revitalisation of indigenous and immigrant community languages.
Professor
Joseph Lo Bianco
| |
|---|---|
| Born | (1953-07-07) 7 July 1953 (age 71) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Organization(s) | Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne |
| Known for | Language Policy, Language Planning, Linguistics, Literacy, Multilingualism |
| Notable work | The National Policy on Languages (1987) |
Professor Lo Bianco wrote Australia's National Policy on Languages[2] in 1987, the first multilingual national language policy in an English speaking country and was Chief executive of the National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia until 2002.
He has advised on language, culture and literacy education, and on the integration of indigenous and immigrant children into mainstream schools, reconciliation and peace through education, in many countries, including Canada, Ireland, Italy, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam, among others.
From 2011–2017 he served as research advisor for LUCIDE, a European Commission project on Languages in Urban Communities – Integration and Diversity for Europe, conducting large scale 4-year research on multilingualism at the municipal level in 12 European cities.
In January 2014 he commenced in an academic advisory role with the National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education at Beijing Foreign Studies University which has included providing advice to the State Language Commission of China and supporting academic research initiatives.
Professor Lo Bianco supervises PhD research projects and teaches courses in language planning, and supports international research projects in several countries on language and culture studies, language planning and multiculturalism/intercultural education. His language policy advising activity includes: language services for the Sydney Olympic Games, a report[3] which was subsequently used to support planning of language services at the Athens and London Games; assistance to the government of Ireland to produce a 20-year strategy to support the vitality of Irish;[4] support on basic education, literacy and language policy in South Africa, Hawaii, Italy, Alberta (Canada), Western Samoa and other Pacific Island countries; preparation of a National Language Education plan for the Government of Sri Lanka, 1999, under World Bank financing; and commissioned support for language policy in Scotland[5] and Northern Ireland, among other international collaboration activities.
The National Policy on Languages (NPL)[6] was issued by the Australian Government Publishing Service (AGPS) in March 1987. It was the first comprehensive national language policy in Australia. On 26 April 1987 the Prime Minister announced the government's endorsement of the Policy.[7]
The National Policy on Languages was adopted as a national plan to cover all of Australia's language needs and interests (English and English literacy, English as a second and foreign language and languages other than English, including Indigenous language rights, immigrant and foreign languages) as well as language services (research, translating and interpreting, public media).[8]
One of its initiatives was for the co-ordination of research activity nationally, including the creation of the National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia[9] and its 32 constituent research centres across Australia. The aim of the NLLIA was to embed applied linguistics research into mainstream academic activity.
In its 1990 report to the International Conference on Education the Australian Department of Employment, Education and Training described the NPL as ".... one of the most influential documents in Australian education."[10]
Today the NPL is often cited as an example of comprehensive and co-ordinated language planning.
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