What is it about?
This article discusses the validity of the bonus for languages other than English (known as the Language Bonus) established in Australia to boost participation in languages education. In subjecting this incentive plan to empirical investigation, we not only address a gap in the literature, but also continue the discussion on how to ensure that the efforts made by governments, schools, education agencies and teachers to support language study in schooling can have long-term success. Using data from a largescale investigation, we consider the significance of the Language Bonus in influencing students' decision to study a language at school and at university. While this paper has a local focus - an English-speaking country in which language study is not compulsory - it engages with questions from the broader agenda of providing incentives for learning languages, and so will be relevant for everyone involved in language policy in all countries.