Languages and education – Australia’s national
curriculum
Jakelin Troy
Director of Research, Indigenous Social and Cultural Wellbeing, AIATSIS
Doug Marmion
Research Fellow, AIATSIS Centre for Australian Languages
Michael Walsh
Senior Research Fellow, AIATSIS Centre for Australian Languages
Breaking barriers in Indigenous research and thinking: AIATSIS
National Indigenous Studies Conference, Canberra, 26-28 March
2014
Overview and acknowledgement
We begin with an acknowledgement of the traditional owners on whose country we meet.
Our presentation today is about the development of the Framework for Aboriginal
Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages being written for the Australian Curriculum
Assessment and Reporting Authority.
This initiative means that our Australian languages are being given an equal representation
along with all the other world languages taught in our schools as part of the new Australian
Curriculum – Languages.
Through this action schools and systems are helping to preserve, document and maintain
our languages. They are also giving all children the chance to gain a greater understanding
of the worlds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Perhaps most importantly the value for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is that
they are able to see our languages and our cultures valued in schools in a way that is rarely
evidenced. All the evidence is clear that our children experience a marked increase in self
esteem and engagement with education and learning in schools when our languages are
part of the curriculum.
Who are we
• Jaky
• Doug
• Michael
Ngamatjimitung
Preliminary comments on Australian languages
•
Since Australia was invaded by the British in 1788 most of our 250 language have
gradually ‘gone to sleep’.
•
Many social and government policy factors have contributed to the demise of our
languages.
•
Now only about 20 are still spoken ‘right through’.
•
Most of our languages are now being reawoken.
•
Schools and education systems can play a crucial part in helping us to revive and
maintain our languages.
Map of Australia’s First Languages
Ecologies of Australian languages
•
Our languages are diverse, broadly divided into two large categories – Pama Nygungan and Non-Pama
Nygungan each with quite different features. Language groups vary in size across Country (the territory in
which each language is used) and speaker numbers. Some were always languages with few speakers – as
few as small family groups of 40 people others had several thousand speakers and belonged to much
larger social groupings.
•
All languages had multiple dialects and usually languages were divided into sub languages that were used
in different domains such as women’s or men’s secret language, ‘mother-in-law’ language used between a
man and his mother-in-law through and intermediary, song language, love poetry, children’s language etc.
Traditionally Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were multi-lingual and used as many as 5 or 6
languages every day for communicating with their families and the wider society.
•
Of the small number of languages still spoken ‘right through’ these are also slowly losing the more
complex features of their grammatical constructions and many domains of vocabulary, particularly
complex knowledge about the country, its plants, animals and seasons.
•
The remaining 230 or so languages which are not spoken right through are referred to generally by our
peoples as ‘sleeping’, waiting to be woken up by their communities of owners. Some rest in the archives of
great collections like those held in my own organization AIATSIS, thousands of miles of audiovisual
recordings and huge volumes of texts. Others are beginning to ‘wake up’ as their communities undertake
research and work with their Elders to recover understanding of how the languages were spoken. Some
are very far advanced in this reawakening and are now being spoken again. These have increasingly
sophisticated materials available to their communities and other people who want to relearn their
languages and become involved in developing them as languages of everyday communication.
Writing a framework for teaching 250 languages
•
With so many languages and with such varied ecologies it is impossible to write, at
a national level, individual language curricula.
•
The key to the beginning of the process for thinking about how to handle so many
languages is contained in the document that guides the writing of all language
curricula for ACARA – the Shape of the Australian Curriculum – Languages
(http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Languages__Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum.pdf).
•
This document created the foundation for a new way of teaching languages in
Australia and centralised our Australian languages within the curriculum. For the
first time in our recent history we can look forward to our languages taking their
place alongside all other languages taught in Australian schools.
•
Decisions about which languages to teach and how they will be taught will be a
process of involving our communities with schools and systems and will be made
collaboratively with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This is
enshrined in the protocols established in the Shape Paper and and written very
specifically as a core part of the Framework.
A Learner Pathway approach
•
In thinking through how to create the basic architecture for our Framework we realised that
it was necessary to develop an approach that would accommodate the whole range of
ecologies of the languages and the range of different background knowledge learners will
bring to the classroom.
•
Clearly first language speakers of an Australian language would need a different approach to
teaching their language than would a student learning the same language as a second
language. One needs enrichment and language extension building on their knowledge as a
speaker. The other needs to learn to acquire the language, to be taught from the beginning.
•
The Chinese language curricula which was being developed as one of the first 2 (the other
was Italian) also struggled with a range of learners not necessarily crucial to the
considerations of other language curriculum writers. It has long been a problem for teachers
of Chinese in Australian schools that a growing cohort of learners are fully competent
speakers and are also highly literate. These are students who have emigrated to Australia
from China having acquired their first language and literacy in Chinese. Similarly, Australian
languages have a cohort of first language speakers and a range of others who might be partial
or non-speakers when entering the language classes.
•
With Chinese as the inspiration we settled on a range of ‘Learner Pathways’ with descriptions
of content, scope and sequence across the years of schooling from Framework (entry level)
to Year 10. In the future we will also be able to cater for the final 2 years of secondary
schooling that are the entry point for tertiary education.
First Language Learner Pathway (L1)
First Language Learner Pathway (L1) – designed to cater for
students who are growing up with one of the Australian
languages as their first language. These students speak one or
more of the last 20 or so languages which are still spoken across
all generations and for all communicative purposes. These
students will be almost exclusively Aboriginal or Torres Strait
Islander because the communities in which they live are almost
exclusively of their own people. Very few non-Indigenous people
live in these communities.
The students in this pathway will be taught about their language
and its use with a particular emphasis on developing literacy
skills as these are generally substantially lacking amongst this
cohort of students. Learning to read and write in their own
languages will help them to develop these skills and to use their
knowledge in acquiring English and English literacy. English is the
National Language of Australia and dominates our education
system. All students are expected to become fluent in English.
Revival Language Learner Pathway (LR)
Revival Language Learner Pathway (LR) – designed to provide
students with a working knowledge of one of the languages
which are being ‘reawoken’ by their communities. This pathway
has a particular emphasis on developing the skills of its learners
in the areas of language ‘building’ and the linguistic techniques
relevant to language revival. There is no less emphasis on
students learning to use the language for communication.
However, in doing so they will be developing knowledge of how
to reconstruct grammatical and lexical information that might be
lacking in the language corpus. This pathway is not exclusively for
Indigenous students but will have a particular appeal to students
from the language community who are keen to become involved
in reviving a ‘sleeping language’.
Second Language Learner Pathway (L2)
Second Language Learner Pathway (L2) – designed to provide
students with an opportunity to learn one of the languages
which are still spoken ‘right through’. Potentially these students
can visit communities where the language is spoken and learn it
in part through and immersion program. It is designed to provide
a way for all students in our schools, Indigenous or not, to have
an opportunity to learn an Australian language.
Cross-Curriculum Priorities
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and
cultures
Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
Sustainability
13
Cross-Curriculum Priorities
The Australian Curriculum is designed to meet the needs of
students by delivering a relevant, contemporary and engaging
curriculum that builds on the educational goals of the Melbourne
Declaration. The Melbourne Declaration identified three key areas
that need to be addressed for the benefit of both individuals and
Australia as a whole. In the Australian Curriculum these have
become priorities that provide students with the tools and
language to engage with and better understand their world at a
range of levels. The priorities provide dimensions which will enrich
the curriculum through development of considered and focused
content that fits naturally within learning areas. They enable the
delivery of learning area content at the same time as developing
knowledge, understanding and skills relating to Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, Asia and Australia’s
engagement with Asia or Sustainability. Incorporation of the
priorities will encourage conversations between learning areas and
between students, teachers and the wider community.
http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/cross_curriculum_priorities.html
14
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and
cultures
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures priority
provides the opportunity for all young Australian’s to gain a deeper
understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
histories and cultures, deep knowledge traditions and holistic world
views. This knowledge and understanding will enrich all learners’ ability
to participate positively in the ongoing development of Australia through
a deepening knowledge and connection with the world’s oldest
continuous living cultures.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures priority
has been developed around the three key concepts of Country/Place,
Peoples and Cultures. Each concept contains a number of organising
ideas that provide a scaffold for developing related knowledge,
understanding and skills. These are embedded in each learning area
according to the relevance of its content to the organising ideas. An
organising idea may draw on content from more than one learning area.
Taken as a set, the organising ideas provide a coherent framework for the
priority.
15
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and
cultures: key concepts
The first key concept highlights the special connection to
Country/Place by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and
celebrates the unique belief systems that connect people physically
and spiritually to Country/Place.
The second key concept examines the diversity of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ culture through language, ways of
life and experiences as expressed through historical, social and
political lenses. It provides opportunities for students to gain a
deeper understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Peoples’ ways of being, knowing, thinking and doing.
The third key concept addresses the diversity of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander societies. It examines kinship structures and
the significant contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people on a local, national and global scale.
16
Science, Maths and Indigenous Perspectives
The Australian, 13 March 2014
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/warren-mundineindigenous-culture-in-maths-nonsense/story-fn9hm1pm1226853056250#
Warren Mundine: indigenous culture in maths
nonsense
The head of the Prime Minister's indigenous council,
Warren Mundine, has criticised the embedding of
indigenous culture in all subjects, arguing that
science, maths and physics should be taught without
any cultural perspectives.
Science, Maths and Indigenous Perspectives
The Guardian 18 March 2014
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/18/warren-mundine-indigenous-science-curriculum
Dawn Casey: Warren Mundine, of course science needs an Indigenous
perspective
To say that Indigenous culture should be kept out of maths and science
teaching will only ensure that fewer children study it.
Last week, Warren Mundine, head of the prime minister’s Indigenous
council, was quoted in the Australian as saying that it is ridiculous to
include an Indigenous culture perspective in the teaching of science
and maths. Mundine said: “I agree with Christopher Pyne, I think in
some areas we have got ridiculous. What is Indigenous physics?
Physics is physics. If we are to compete in the job market we must
learn technology and engineering, we need to be taught subjects
properly.
“I agree that we need to reassess the curriculum because we need
real units that teach the subjects without this ridiculous insertion of
culture, the idea that you have to have an indigenous or Asian
perspective, to be frank, is silly. The sciences and maths should be
taught properly.”
Mundine’s comments add nothing to the very important debates on
what should be included in the national curriculum and how
children, regardless of their cultural background, should be taught.
They ignore that culture permeates everything we do — including
maths and physics—and reinforces stereotypical views that
Indigenous culture is only about language, kinships systems and
hunting and gathering – important as they are.
It is well known that all developed countries including Australia are
facing a crisis asdiminishing numbers of students study mathematics,
physics and other science subjects. We also know of the difficulties
confronting government and Indigenous communities regarding
school attendance. One of the key strategies is surely to look at how
we engage students in learning.
For centuries, people from all cultural backgrounds have been
developing ideas and solving problems. Euclid who lived in
Alexandria more than 2000 years ago laid the foundations for
mathematics. Australia’s Aboriginal people represent the longest-
living culture on earth. It is incredible that our
culture should be treated as a stand-alone subject
or as part of the humanities.
In reading the article I was reminded of previous
views that attributed the striking Wandjina figures
of Kimberley art to Egyptians, Hindus or creatures
from outer space. Once they were accepted as
Aboriginal, they were labelled as native art or folk
art — or just Aboriginal art, not world art.
The current debate surrounding the national
curriculum misses a number of fundamental issues:
how do we engage and encourage our young
people in areas such the sciences and
how do we give them an understanding and appreciation
of the depth of our Indigenous peoples’ ingenuity? These
are not mutually exclusive.
Just a couple of examples of how Indigenous people used
science include the development of the boomerang and
other sophisticated weapons; traversing this great
continent without compasses; managing country through
controlled burning and ethno-botanical knowledge linked
to specific places and environments.
To go back to a time when Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander culture was put into an ethnographic box, as
some sort of anthropological curiosity, and excluded
from the breadth of mainstream knowledge, including
maths and science, is to disadvantage all Australians.
[my emphases]
Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
The third key concept addresses the nature of past and
ongoing links between Australia and Asia, and develops the
knowledge, understanding and skills, which make it possible
to engage actively and effectively with peoples of the Asia
region.
ACARA has consulted both with educators who have deep
knowledge of the Asia region and organisations like the Asia
Education Foundation in developing this specific cross
curriculum priority. It has also involved practising teachers
from learning areas and with expertise in Asian Studies to
provide advice about how the priority could be incorporated
into each learning area.
22
Sustainability
ACARA has consulted both with educators who have
deep knowledge of Sustainability and organisations
such as National Education for Sustainability Network,
the Australian Association of Environmental Educators
and the Australian Youth Climate Coalition in
developing this specific cross curriculum priority. It
has also involved practising teachers with expertise in
Sustainability from each of the learning areas to
provide advice on how the priority could be
incorporated into each learning area.
http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/cross_curriculum_priorities.html
General capabilities
General capabilities are a key dimension of the Australian Curriculum.
They encompass knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that,
together with curriculum content in each learning area and the crosscurriculum priorities, will assist students to live and work successfully in
the twenty-first century. They play a significant role in realising the goals
set out in the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young
Australians (MCEETYA) 2008 that all young people in Australia should be
supported to become successful learners, confident and creative
individuals, and active and informed citizens.
The Australian Curriculum includes seven general capabilities. These
are:
Literacy
Numeracy
Information and communication technology capability
Critical and creative thinking
Personal and social capability
Ethical understanding
Intercultural understanding.
Inclusivity
http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/General_
Capabilities_-_Consultation_Report__December__2011.pdf, p. 16
Intercultural Understanding
http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/General_Capabilities_
-_Consultation_Report_-_December__2011.pdf, p. 42
Values and Beliefs
http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/General_Capabilities
_-_Consultation_Report_-_December__2011.pdf, p. 29
Conclusion
•
While there are many similarities between the pathways, each is distinct in a number of important
respects, including: the knowledge that the students bring, the ecology of the language and the status of
the speech community and the relationship of the students to the speech community.
•
Each pathway will provide schools, teachers and students with the opportunity to play an active role in
reviving and maintaining our languages into the future.
•
In order to give teachers greater guidance on how to prepare curriculum we plan to provide examples of
how the Framework can be used to develop individual curriculum in each of the Pathways and for each of
the two main language groups – Pama Nyungan and Non-Pama Nyungan.
•
In the middle of 2013 the Draft Framework was put online by ACARA for consultation and also taken to 20
face to face meetings with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, schools and teachers across
Australia. Michael Walsh and I attended many of these meetings to assist in the consultations. The
outcome was resounding support for the Framework. It was described by many Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people as ‘monumentally important’ for all our communities, heralding a complete change
in the attitude towards our languages. We anticipate that following some revisions the Framework will be
available on ACARA’s website for use in schools next year.
•
In finishing I hope we have awakened your interest in this ground breaking research in Australia which is
leading to our first national Australian Curriculum which will provide a way forward for all schools to teach
our own Australian languages.