Australian Aboriginal Languages - Virtual Library

A short film where senior Iwaidja speaker Ngalwangardi aju Minjilang (1946-2012) talks in Iwaidja about the pressure on her language. She describes consequences of the 2009 policy of the Northern Territory Department of Education and Training to marginalize the use of indigenous languages in schools.

https://vimeo.com/24300517

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.15/04/2012

Warlpiri [wbp] see all Warlpiri

Going Back to Lajamanu

Source: ABC

Four Corners documentary about effects of government's scrapping of bilingual education in the NT.

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20090914/language/

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.24/04/2011

Many languages or language not specified

Attack on bilingual education in the Northern Territory

Source: D Nathan et al

Misc collected responses in 1999 to the NT Government's policy to phase out bilingual education in the Territory.

http://www.dnathan.com/VL/alert.htm

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.22/07/2000

Bilingual Education Cuts (NT)

Source: various

Selection of resources created after the NT Government announced that Bilingual Education Programmes would be axed in 1999.

http://www.dnathan.com/VL/alert.htm

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.18/07/2000

Bilingual education in the Northern Territory and the continuing debate over its effectiveness and value

Source: Brian Devlin / ABC

Claims that students in NT schools with bilingual programs performed worse than other students in skills tests were used by the NT Government to dismantle bilingual programs in schools. This paper considers - and rejects - those claims.

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20090914/language/docs/Devlin_paper.pdf

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.06/08/2015

Friends of Bilingual Learning

Source: Friends of Bilingual Learning

Friends of Bilingual Learning supports the development of the Northern Territory as a multilingual society acknowledging communication through Indigenous languages and English. FOBL formed in 2008 in response to the everyday struggle that Indigenous people experience such as disproportionate representation within the judicial, welfare and health systems, and constant negative media about poor educational attendance and outcomes. The site includes news items and links to materials about multilingualism and Indigenous languages in education.

http://www.fobl.net.au/index.php/en-GB/

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.06/08/2015

Gaps in Australia's Indigenous Language Policy: Dismantling bilingual education in the Northern Territory

Source: Jane Simpson, Jo Caffery, and Patrick McConvell

AIATSIS Discussion Paper (2009) of the Northern Territory government's policy changes withdrawing the teaching of Indigenous languages in schools. Also available from ResearchGate.

http://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/products/discussion_paper/simpson-caffery-mcconvell-dp24-indigenous-language-policy.pdf

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.15/04/2012

Indigenous languages in education: what the research actually shows

Source: Charles E. Grimes/Summer Institute of Linguistics (AuSIL)

The paper argues that the NT government and its education system continue to ignore solid research on best practice education in Indigenous communities. also includes an extensive bibliography on language and education in multilingual societies, many linked to online sources. [PDF]

http://ausil.org.au/sites/ausil/files/2009%20Grimes-Indig%20Lgs%20in%20Ed-AuSIL-web.pdf

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.10/04/2015

Indigenous languages won’t survive if kids are learning only English

Source: Jane Simpson / The Conversation

Jane considers parallels between forced assimilation and the imposition of English in the context of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People. She argues for ‘best practice’ in schools, where the home language is used as the medium of instruction in the classroom at the start, and later children transition in a systematic way to add English. Ultimately, there must be much more Indigenous language - and well-trained language-speaker teachers - throughout schools with Indigenous students.

https://theconversation.com/indigenous-languages-wont-survive-if-kids-are-learning-only-english-30311

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.06/08/2015

Indigenous languages, literacy and the myth of the "unwritten language"

Source: Greg Dickson/Crikey

This article takes an alternative view on the so-called "literacy gap" amongst Indigenous people, and argues for greater recognition and rights to literacy in people"s own Indigeous languages, not (only) English.

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/fullysic/2015/09/10/indigenous-languages-literacy-and-the-myth-of-the-unwritten-language/

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.10/04/2015

Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages

Source: Charles Darwin University / Batchelor Institute / NT Government / ANU

LAAL (Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages) is a digital archive of endangered literature in Australian languages from the Northern Territory. Much of the literature is language teaching/literacy material created in schools, which is otherwise endangered by the instability of governmental support for mother tongue and bilingual programs. You can search the site by map, placename, language name, author, or category (such as Narrative or Language instruction). The literature materials are beautifully displayed and are viewable and downloadable as PDF or plain text. The site currently holds about 2250 books in 32 languages. Updates are posted on http://laal.cdu.edu.au/

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.06/08/2015

Social Justice and Native Title Report 2013

Source: Australian Human Rights Commission / Social Justice Commissioner

The report surveys progress in the last 20 years and how lessons learnt can forward Indigenous human rights and improvements in outcomes. The report notes that real meaning can be given to the rhetoric of human rights through a framework based on the principles of self-determination, participation in decision-making, underpinned by free, prior and informed consent and good faith; respect for and protection of culture; and equality and non-discrimination. Languages and bilingual education are important elements. See also Social Justice Report 2012.

https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/social_justice_native_title_report_2013.pdf

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.06/08/2015

Speaking one's mother tongue is vital

Source: Noel Pearson/The Australian

Newspaper article in which Noel Pearson links reconciliation with Aboriginal languages education: " the greatest gift for a child in Australia ... is to have another language, a mother tongue, a language of the heart that is not English".

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/speaking-ones-mother-tongue-is-vital/story-e6frgd0x-1226059932608

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.13/11/2011

The Status and Future of Bilingual Education for Remote Indigenous Students in the Northern Territory

Source: Brian Devlin

The future of the discontinued NT bilingual education programs is an issue of national and international concern. This article analyses the status and future of bilingual education programs in remote NT schools. It explains why bilingual education is so contested, resulting in the current unresolved compromise in schools and a political stalemate.

http://www.nla.gov.au/ojs/index.php/aral/article/view/2277/2738

This is the date when the item first appeared in this virtual library. It may have been changed or updated since then.06/08/2015

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RESULTS: 14 ITEMS FOR CATEGORY Bilingual education