While more than 300 different languages are spoken in Australian homes, that diversity isn't reflected in classrooms.
Australia ranked last among OECD countries when it came to graduates leaving high school with a second language.
Joining the fight to curb the trend is SBS Radio's National Languages Competition.
Source: SBS
Director of SBS Radio Mandi Wicks said the competition, now in its third year, was designed to encourage more people to embrace learning another language.
"What it's really about is celebrating a love of learning languages, but also really trying to encourage language retention in Australia," Ms Wicks said.
The national competition is for the first time open to people of all ages as well as students learning English as a second language.
Ms Wicks said competition organisers were hoping to receive more entries from students studying Indigenous languages this year.
"We've had in the past more than 70 languages be entered into the competition, and that includes things like Auslan as a language," Ms Wicks said.
"This year we would love to increase the number on Indigenous entries into the competition as well."
Sydney student Sarah Al-Nuaymi sat her final Arabic language exam on Monday.
She said she intended to continue using the language beyond high-school.
"I’m planning to use Arabic in International Relations, in hopes of studying international law as well as business,” Sarah said.
Samer Nakour completed HSC Arabic. Source: SBS
Sarah's school, Georges River College in Sydney's west, offered six different languages to students; English, Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian and Modern Greek.
Those students wanting to learn a different language could also attend weekend classes.
Year 12 student Samer Nakour came to Australia as a refugee from Syria.
He said attending language classes on a Saturday opened up opportunities for him to meet other like-minded people.
"When I met people in the Saturday school, that made me feel a sense of belonging to this country," Samer said.
Around 250 students chose to study a second language at Georges River College.
Deputy Principal Kate McCrae said many students who study a second language do it out of love for the subject.
“A lot of them are doing it because they love languages, so some of them might be doing the language that they speak at home, but also studying a new language," she said.
"Eventually they'll be citizens where they have to live and work globally. And having an advantage of multiple languages will be a real bonus for them."
Source: SBS
Entries for the SBS National Languages Competition close on November 18.
Entrants are required to submit a photo, along with a sentence in the language they're studying explaining the possibilities open to those learning another language.
The winning entry for each of the five age categories will receive an iPad Pro.
