About this resource:
The Language Revival Learner Pathway (LR) provides opportunities for students to study Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander languages being revived by their owners or custodians and which are in various stages of revitalisation, renewal and reclamation.
LR covers a much broader range of language types and ecologies than either L1 or L2, and the vast majority of Aboriginal languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages are included in the LR category.
Schools teaching the Language Revival Learner Pathway (LR) will most likely be located broadly within the geographical region of the language and culture, sometimes in towns and cities, at other times in rural and remote regions. Classes will likely include students who relate closely to the language and culture, students with varying degrees of affiliation with the language and culture, and students who have no connections to either the language or culture. A key expectation in the LR pathway is that of students having opportunities to interact with Elders and particular places on Country/Place.
The Language Revival Learner Pathway draws on the Australian Indigenous Languages Framework (AILF) and takes into account key variables such as: how much is known about and documented for the language; the extent to which it is used or remembered, ranging from no longer being spoken (owners often use the term ‘sleeping’) to being spoken fluently by members of the older generations; and the extent to which the language has been reintroduced into the community of owners and custodians.
These variables give rise to the following broad categories of language revival:
A number of factors and variables will need to be considered when planning for a language revival curriculum or program, and further information on these is presented in the context statement for this pathway and in the section Using the Framework.
At this level children are developing awareness of their social worlds and of their membership of various groups. They are widening their social networks, experiences, and communicative repertoires, and gaining greater awareness of the world around them. They benefit from varied activity-based learning that builds on their interests and capabilities and makes connections with other learning areas.
Language learning and use
Learners interact with peers, the teaching team, Elders and community members in a variety of learning experiences and activities, using as much language as possible and incorporating sign language as appropriate. Learners use formulaic phrases to participate in classroom routines, presentations and structured conversations. They respond to teacher-generated questions about texts, participate in games, and follow instructions and procedures.
They focus on aspects of their personal worlds and are introduced to content related to the Country/Place and language community.
The development of oral proficiency relies on rich language input. Learners engage in a lot of listening, developing active-listening and comprehension skills by using contextual, grammatical, phonic and non-verbal cues. They extend their oral fluency by focusing on sentence-level intonation and stress, including elements of sign language as appropriate.
Learners participate in shared and guided reading and learn to apply their knowledge of key words and textual features to predict the meaning of unfamiliar language. They use modelled language to create new texts. They require opportunities to extend their language use, for example, by connecting sentences and expanding vocabulary, to the extent made possible by the resources available in the revival language.
Learners are expanding their knowledge of vocabulary and sentence construction. They develop metalanguage for describing additional aspects of the target language and exploring how it works.
Contexts of interaction
Learning occurs largely through interaction with peers and the teaching team, with additional enrichment and authentication of the learning experience provided through access to Elders and other speakers living in the same community. Interacting with Country/Place to explore the environment and learn about Country/Place with Elders and other community members is essential to learning the language. Students may also have access to community centres, such as interpretative museums or art and language centres.
Texts and resources
Country/Place and the community are the most important resources for learning and are the origin of most of the texts children engage with.
Learners interact with a growing range of spoken, visual, written and digital texts that use as much language as possible. These include historical documents, photographs, maps, songs, raps, performance, stories, local environmental and social programs, painting and visual design. Additional teacher-generated materials include games and items from the community and local environment. Some texts will include the use of English or another community language in a complementary role, for example by filling in for items or expressions that have not yet been reconstituted in the language. Other texts will be bilingual, without mixing languages.
Level of support
The primary source of support for learners is the teaching team, who provide instruction, explanation, examples, modelled language use, repetition, reinforcement, and feedback on student work. Tasks and activities are carefully scaffolded and resourced, with sufficient time allowed for experimentation, drafting and redrafting. Learners are provided with opportunities for practice and with guidance in using dictionaries, word charts, vocabulary lists and historical documents.
The role of languages
Learners are encouraged to use the language whenever and to the extent possible in class interactions and daily routines with the teaching team, Elders and community members. Maximal use of the language will increase learners’ development of language proficiency and enhance the process of language revival.
English and other known languages are used for explanation and discussion, allowing learners to talk about differences and similarities they notice between the language and their first language(s) and culture(s), to ask questions about language and culture, to consider how they feel when they hear or use the language, and to talk about how they view different languages and the people who speak them. This introduction to the ‘meta’ dimension of intercultural learning develops the ability to consider different perspectives and ways of being as mediated by language.
For those revival languages that are at the ‘beginning’ end of the revival spectrum, English or another community language might be used in a complementary fashion, for example, to fill in for missing words or expressions. Alternatively, language owners and the community in general may decide to side-step these gaps altogether, thus avoiding the need to use other languages.
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http://rdf.australiancurriculum.edu.au/elements/2018/05/34d144be-6211-4a77-a29d-4d1439009f2b.rdf