A snapshot of Greek usage today: It’s slipping at home and what we can do.
“Λίθο-λίθο χτίζεται το σπίτι.” “Stone by stone, the house is built.”
I’d had a feeling that fewer people were learning Greek; fewer people were speaking it less frequently. The report Cultivating the Greek Language Within the Australian Diaspora: The Current Landscape, Barriers and Frameworks by Dimity Vlahos (Australian National Internships Program, ANIP3003, dated 22 October 2025) sadly, confirmed what I was seeing in the classroom.
And here’s the story covered by one of our local papers The Greek Herald.
How can we support Greek so it remains a lived community language in Australia and not just a nostalgic remainder?
The urgency
The report argues that Greek in Australia is not simply on a straight-line “decline.” It’s experiencing a more complex language shift inside households over generations (pages 7–9).
While I don't have Greek heritage, I am in the same age group as the third generation ‘risk zone' the report describes. And I’ve spent years in Greek school, both as a student and as a volunteer. On the first day of my second year of Greek school volunteering in the 10th grade, I remember saying to my mom, “I think the Greek language might die out in Australia.” The classes had noticeably fewer students than when I was a student and that number was decreasing year on year.
Greek usage is shifting quickly, and the third generation is where it becomes most fragile. And that’s the entire reason I began Still Speaking Greek, so we can call out this trend, and not just assume it’s an inevitable problem of “kids these days”.
We can reverse this trend if we work together. We can provide better support to community schools and work with the education sector to have clearer study pathways.
The top four findings that tell us we need to act
We know that English is the lingua franca of everyday life. Over time, Greek language usage simply fades; it just shifts because of daily life. And the lack of structured education pathways mean that studying Greek becomes more difficult to continue as children get older.
1) English-only use at home is increasing across generations
The report illustrates what can happen in just 10 years: the proportion of English-only households increased between the 2011 and 2021 Census for Greek Australians (page 9).
Here’s a snapshot of the growth of English only use:
Second generation: 30% (2011) → 42% (2021)
Gen 2.5 (one parent born overseas): 64% → 71% (father born overseas) and 66% → 75% (mother born overseas)
Third generation+: 74% → 77%
2) “Third generation” vulnerability
It’s called the “3G Problem”: where language use becomes far more fragile by the third generation, unless it has intentional support (page 9).
A statistic that should make us want to act: Greek is used in the household by only approximately 21% of the third generation, which the author frames as evidence that strategic intervention is still needed (page 9).
3) Community language schools are uneven and deserve stronger support
Community language schools are the main means of learning Greek in Australia. Older-student programs are not consistently available (pages 11–12). That’s a huge pressure point: students can start Greek, but many can’t continue in a stable, exam-relevant pathway. I remember my Greek school had few options for high school students, or for anyone past the beginner level four.
4) The biggest barriers are structural (policy, consistency, recognition)
The report notes that Australia’s language-education landscape can unintentionally push community languages out (pages 13–16) by:
Having Inconsistent language teaching guidelines across states/territories (page 13)
Having subject choices can lead students away from continuing Greek(page 15)
Not providing better support for teachers and education pathways (page 15)
Keeping community language learning isolated from instead of integrated with mainstream education (page 16)
A solution: COD (Capacity, Opportunity, Desire)
The author recommends the COD model: Capacity, Opportunity, Desire as a practical solution (pages 17–18). I like this idea, because it attacks the problem in several ways.
Capacity: teachers, training, resources, stable programs
Opportunity: real places and moments to use Greek beyond the classroom
Desire: motivation and relevance—especially for young people navigating hybrid identities
What we can do about it
The report recomends that we need action from several angles:
Families: use Greek at home more often. Choose one daily “Greek default” routine. Pick a regular slot (breakfast, car rides, Sunday lunch).
Greek schools/community programs: make secondary study or secondary recognition easier. As an example, only 56.5% of Victorian locations have full secondary programs (page 11). Surely we can fix the gap.
Community organisations: build opportunity spaces that feel like normal youth life
Conversation meetups, volunteering in Greek, youth-led events, and other forums Greek is used for practice, but more importantly, for connection and fun.Education systems/government: treat community languages as part of mainstream education and provide recognition of this learning.
The language won’t thrive on sentiment alone - but we can implement deliberate strategies to keep more people, ‘still speaking Greek.’
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