Australia's first language is Indigenous, Indigenous language, not English.Yalmay Yunupingu - Bilingual Teacher.
My name is Kaiyu Bayles and I am a younger generation Koori woman who is concerned for our land and people. Please find enclosed petitions to support the continuation of bi lingual education and to implement policy to save the language loss in our country. It is estimated that only 17 languages being used are safe out of the 250 different languages originally spoken. Please read the 2nd petition.
Information, in the hands of the right person who actually puts it to use, is worth 100 times
- times - more.
Gough Whitlam introduced bilingual education into Northern Territory schools in December 1972.
KIM BEAZLEY SNR - Former Federal Education Minister (1999): It was universal experience around the world that if you established literacy in the mother tongue, the language of the heart, it was easier to switch to a second language, in this case English.
Yalmay Yunupingu has been on the front line of the bilingual cause, as a teacher at Yirrkala for more than 30 years. She's won awards for bilingual teaching excellence and says she's going to keep teaching in Yolgnu matha despite the minister's decision.
DANIELL PARRY: The idea behind the program is that young children start their school education using the language they speak at home. As their learning improves in their own language, more english is gradually introduced into the classroom. International studies have shown it works, but the Territory government says it's failed here.
“Well, I already know that the children won’t understand what I’m saying, they will laugh at me, and they may even misbehave because they’ll be bored and won’t know what the lessons are about. So perhaps I will cheat and use some Yolŋgu matha – what will happen then?” Yalmay Yunupingu
There is always a right solution, there has to be a more suitable option for teaching our children than this current western model. This model fails Indigenous people and non Indigenous people. Bi lingual learning on the other hand, is a model to be embraced, celebrated and distributed throughout Australia for all to benefit from.
Goori's my age (twenties) living in the city, allot of us cannot read, write or speak at a standard that we are comfortable or feel safe outside of our community, even me for example, yet. And I also believe that growth in this language (English) has to come naturally and through positive experience. Staying in high school almost caused the end of me and I was the only one in our group of cousins/friends to go to grade 12 at the time, in Brisbane. I was lost, none of my people around, racism, pressure and I couldn't even speak in my language or tell you my grandmother's tribe... But I was a great (confused) student, with good marks - felt like I had all this information shoved into me when none of the vital questions of who I was had been answered.
If we have good high schools and good tertiary settings (run by our people - for our people), I believe this is where the blossoming of the person happens. When we can grow up strong with what is most important first and ease on into what we feel closest to us, we may just stay with that. Before we allow changes to take most of the learning in language away to address shortfalls in Numeracy and literacy, we have to consider all that is listed on this petition at least. I for one recommend that a strong move be made to implement compulsory culture and local language be taught in Every school in Australia. We (Aboriginal People) have many models that work, the Western practices fail all at the best of times as can be seen all over history.
What jobs are there for us if we do not want to be apart of the system, but instead, use culture and education for the benefit of our community first? We need career paths more appropriate (full filling) for us, instead of trying to fit us (Aboriginal People) all into a western model of society. Education our way! Live our Way!
Showing posts with label Bi lingual learning NT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bi lingual learning NT. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Eleven Facts about NT Bilingual Schools
FACT 1: Bilingual schools teach English and an Australian Indigenous language
Literacy in the ‘mother-tongue’ is taught while a child is learning to hear and understand English. Over the 12 years of schooling about 70% of teaching will be in English.
FACT 2: A small percentage of Indigenous students attend bilingual school
16% of remote Indigenous students (7.8% of all students) attend nine bilingual schools. The remaining 84% of remote Indigenous students do not attend bilingual schools.
FACT 3: Bilingual schools out perform non-bilingual schools
Previous NT studies in the 1980s and 90s have shown that bilingual schools out perform non-bilingual schools in key English literacy and numeracy areas. See Fact 3.1 references on page 2.
Both national and international studies strongly indicate that teaching literacy in the mother tongue is the better way to support the development of English literacy. See Fact 3.2 references on page 2.
FACT 4: No evidence against bilingual schooling
There has never been a formal independent published report showing that bilingual programs have been anything but successful.
FACT 5: Bilingual program achievements were noted
The achievements of bilingual schooling were noted in the Department’s Indigenous Languages and Culture Report.
See Fact 5 reference on page 2.
FACT 6: Bilingual schools produce more Year 12 or NTCE graduates
Of the 31 Year 12 graduates in 2007, 70% came from bilingual schools. This means that a student is almost 9 times more likely to graduate from Year 12 if they come from a bilingual school. See: NTDET 2006 Poster: You Can Do It.
FACT 7: More teacher graduates from bilingual schools
There are more teacher graduates from bilingual schools than non bilingual schools. Up to 1998, 75% of all graduates (Ass Dip and Dip Teaching) from BIITE came from bilingual schools, or up to 1998 a graduate teacher was about 20 times more likely to come from a bilingual school. See comment on page 2.
FACT 8: Indigenous ESL students have double the student/teacher ratio as migrant ESL students. Migrant children from non-English speaking backgrounds attend intensive English classes with a teacher/student ratio of 1 to 10. Indigenous students with low or no English proficiency attend classes with a teacher/student ratio of 1 to 22.
FACT 9: Labour’s broken election promise on Universal Human Rights
Labour has forgotten its 2007 election promise to honour Australia’s commitments to the Universal Human Rights
Declaration, to which Australian became a signatory in 1948. See Fact 9 reference on page 2.
FACT 10: Labour’s broken promise to endorse the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights
Labour’s pre-election (2007) platform endorsing the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights Article 14 (below) has been
ignored. See Fact 10 reference on page 2.
Fact 11: Labour ignores Australia’s obligations under UN Convention of the Rights of Child 1989
Australia’s obligations under this convention talk about discrimination on the basis of language, ethnicity andidentity. See Fact 11 reference on page 2.
Page 2 15/12/2008 Email comments to: john.greatorex@cdu.edu.au
Eleven Facts about NT Bilingual Schools - References
FACT 3.1 references:
3.1.1 Devlin, B. (1995). The evaluation of bilingual programs in the Northern Territory, 1973–1993. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 113, 25-41.
3.1.2 Christie, M., Gale, K., McClay, D., and Harris, S., (1981) Academic achievement in the Milingimbi bilingual education program TESOL Quarterly, 297-314
FACT 3.2 references:
3.2.1 Greene, J. (1998). A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of bilingual education.[WWW document.] Retrieved
December 4, 2008 from http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/greene.htm
3.2.2 Meyer, M. & Fienberg, S. (Eds.) (1992). Case of bilingual education strategies. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
3.2.3 Ramirez, J.D. (1992). Executive summary of longitudinal study of structured English immersion strategy, early exit and late exit transitional bilingual education programs for language minority children. Bilingual
Research Journal, 16 (1&2), 1-61.
3.2.4 Willig, A. (1985). A meta-analysis of selected studies on the effectiveness of bilingual education. Review of Educational Research, 55, 269-317.
FACT 5 reference:
NT DEET (2005) The Indigenous languages and culture in NT schools report (2004- 2005). Pages 35-37, Retrieved
December 4, 2008 from:
http://www.det.nt.gov.au/education/indigenous_education/previous_publications/indigenous_languages_culture_rep
ort/
FACT 7 comment:
Up to 1998 there were more bilingual schools, but as 3 out of every 4 teacher graduates came from a small number of bilingual schools (which in 2008 represents 16% of Indigenous students), then calculations show that up to 1998, a graduate teacher was approximately 20 times more likely to come from a bilingual school.
FACT 9 reference:
Universal Human Rights Declaration:
Article 26.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
FACT 10 reference:
UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights
Article 14:
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providingeducation in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.
Article 15
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the dignity and diversity of their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations which shall be appropriately reflected in education and public information.
2. States shall take effective measures, in consultation and cooperation with the indigenous peoples concerned, to combat prejudice and eliminate discrimination and to promote tolerance, understanding and good relations among indigenous peoples and all other segments of society.
Fact 11 reference:
Convention on the Rights of the Child
Article 29.1
“... education of the child shall be directed to (c) the development of respect for the child’s parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate and for civilizations different from his or her own ...”
Literacy in the ‘mother-tongue’ is taught while a child is learning to hear and understand English. Over the 12 years of schooling about 70% of teaching will be in English.
FACT 2: A small percentage of Indigenous students attend bilingual school
16% of remote Indigenous students (7.8% of all students) attend nine bilingual schools. The remaining 84% of remote Indigenous students do not attend bilingual schools.
FACT 3: Bilingual schools out perform non-bilingual schools
Previous NT studies in the 1980s and 90s have shown that bilingual schools out perform non-bilingual schools in key English literacy and numeracy areas. See Fact 3.1 references on page 2.
Both national and international studies strongly indicate that teaching literacy in the mother tongue is the better way to support the development of English literacy. See Fact 3.2 references on page 2.
FACT 4: No evidence against bilingual schooling
There has never been a formal independent published report showing that bilingual programs have been anything but successful.
FACT 5: Bilingual program achievements were noted
The achievements of bilingual schooling were noted in the Department’s Indigenous Languages and Culture Report.
See Fact 5 reference on page 2.
FACT 6: Bilingual schools produce more Year 12 or NTCE graduates
Of the 31 Year 12 graduates in 2007, 70% came from bilingual schools. This means that a student is almost 9 times more likely to graduate from Year 12 if they come from a bilingual school. See: NTDET 2006 Poster: You Can Do It.
FACT 7: More teacher graduates from bilingual schools
There are more teacher graduates from bilingual schools than non bilingual schools. Up to 1998, 75% of all graduates (Ass Dip and Dip Teaching) from BIITE came from bilingual schools, or up to 1998 a graduate teacher was about 20 times more likely to come from a bilingual school. See comment on page 2.
FACT 8: Indigenous ESL students have double the student/teacher ratio as migrant ESL students. Migrant children from non-English speaking backgrounds attend intensive English classes with a teacher/student ratio of 1 to 10. Indigenous students with low or no English proficiency attend classes with a teacher/student ratio of 1 to 22.
FACT 9: Labour’s broken election promise on Universal Human Rights
Labour has forgotten its 2007 election promise to honour Australia’s commitments to the Universal Human Rights
Declaration, to which Australian became a signatory in 1948. See Fact 9 reference on page 2.
FACT 10: Labour’s broken promise to endorse the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights
Labour’s pre-election (2007) platform endorsing the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights Article 14 (below) has been
ignored. See Fact 10 reference on page 2.
Fact 11: Labour ignores Australia’s obligations under UN Convention of the Rights of Child 1989
Australia’s obligations under this convention talk about discrimination on the basis of language, ethnicity andidentity. See Fact 11 reference on page 2.
Page 2 15/12/2008 Email comments to: john.greatorex@cdu.edu.au
Eleven Facts about NT Bilingual Schools - References
FACT 3.1 references:
3.1.1 Devlin, B. (1995). The evaluation of bilingual programs in the Northern Territory, 1973–1993. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 113, 25-41.
3.1.2 Christie, M., Gale, K., McClay, D., and Harris, S., (1981) Academic achievement in the Milingimbi bilingual education program TESOL Quarterly, 297-314
FACT 3.2 references:
3.2.1 Greene, J. (1998). A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of bilingual education.[WWW document.] Retrieved
December 4, 2008 from http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/greene.htm
3.2.2 Meyer, M. & Fienberg, S. (Eds.) (1992). Case of bilingual education strategies. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
3.2.3 Ramirez, J.D. (1992). Executive summary of longitudinal study of structured English immersion strategy, early exit and late exit transitional bilingual education programs for language minority children. Bilingual
Research Journal, 16 (1&2), 1-61.
3.2.4 Willig, A. (1985). A meta-analysis of selected studies on the effectiveness of bilingual education. Review of Educational Research, 55, 269-317.
FACT 5 reference:
NT DEET (2005) The Indigenous languages and culture in NT schools report (2004- 2005). Pages 35-37, Retrieved
December 4, 2008 from:
http://www.det.nt.gov.au/education/indigenous_education/previous_publications/indigenous_languages_culture_rep
ort/
FACT 7 comment:
Up to 1998 there were more bilingual schools, but as 3 out of every 4 teacher graduates came from a small number of bilingual schools (which in 2008 represents 16% of Indigenous students), then calculations show that up to 1998, a graduate teacher was approximately 20 times more likely to come from a bilingual school.
FACT 9 reference:
Universal Human Rights Declaration:
Article 26.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
FACT 10 reference:
UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights
Article 14:
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providingeducation in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.
Article 15
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the dignity and diversity of their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations which shall be appropriately reflected in education and public information.
2. States shall take effective measures, in consultation and cooperation with the indigenous peoples concerned, to combat prejudice and eliminate discrimination and to promote tolerance, understanding and good relations among indigenous peoples and all other segments of society.
Fact 11 reference:
Convention on the Rights of the Child
Article 29.1
“... education of the child shall be directed to (c) the development of respect for the child’s parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate and for civilizations different from his or her own ...”
Yalmay’s story: Bilingual teaching
I am a qualified bilingual teacher, a Guṉitjpirr miyalk. I speak several Yolŋu matha languages and English fluently. I have thirty-two years teaching experience. I have taught mostly in primary school, early childhood and middle primary. This is how I teach in a day in an early childhood class. Imagine a group of 27 6 year old Yolŋu students, bright as buttons, very energetic and ready to learn!
We start with a morning ritual, where we count days of the week, months of the year, school times, and we do a Breath, Blow and Cough program. This last one helps children with Otitis Media, a middle ear problem. Then we do the Yolŋu matha alphabet, where our students are learning their sounds and syllables, in the language they speak. Our culture is very much an oral one, so our students don’t come to school with lots of understandings about books and literacy. My job is to help them understand what literacy is about, what it’s for and why they should learn to read and write!
So we then do our handwriting, and reading a big book in Yolŋu matha. We talk bout the story, why the author wrote this story, and how we can learn from stories, how information is inside books in the ŋäpaki world. After this they children write their own story, independent writing. Then some independent readers, all written in Dhuwaya the language the students speak at Yirrkala.
After tea, we do our oral English program. We use the Walking Talking Texts which is an English as a Second Language (ESL) Program. The students practice reading and talking the English language of the book, and we integrate other learning areas into the English program depending on the topic in the book. This helps the children develop English language skills. It’s always great when you hear little Yolŋu students using their new English language skills they learnt in their Walking Talking Text in the playground or the community.
Then it’s time for the hardest learning area, for 6 year olds. Mathematics! I teach number, space and measurement. I use Yolŋu matha in maths lessons to explain difficult concepts like addition, subtraction, and place value to the children. We do lots of counting, bundling straws and paddle pop sticks, using a place value matrix and so on. Our language is a good language to use with the children because they think in Yolŋu matha and they respond to us very quickly because they can understand what I’m saying. This way they can understand how the Base 10 maths system works, in their own language, then as they get older they use more and more English in their learning.
I also teach two Yolŋu subjects, gurrutu and djalkiri, from our own Garma Maths program, which was used to form part of the Indigenous languages and culture component of the Northern Territory Curriculum Framework. These are important subjects for Yolŋu children as they teach them the proper ways of behaving in the classroom, raypirri (rules and discipline) and how clans should work together. And there is all the Yolŋu knowledge the children need to learn about their land and their connections to the land and environment.
From January 2009 what will my teaching look like?
I have been told that I am not allowed to use the children’s language anymore. We have been told we are not to use our students’ first language, only English. Well, I already know that the children won’t understand what I’m saying, they will laugh at me, and they may even misbehave because they’ll be bored and won’t know what the lessons are about. So perhaps I will cheat and use some Yolŋu matha – what will happen then? Will I have my mouth washed out with soap like in the mission times? Or will I have to stand on one leg outside the classroom? Or perhaps I will lose my job?
Well, I will of course use good ESL teaching strategies as I do in my English lessons already. But I know that the children will miss out on a lot of meaning and that makes me very upset. I am wondering why I studied all those years through Batchelor College (now BIITE), and why all the teaching experience I have in bilingual programs is being put down. What a strange role model I will be, a bilingual Yolŋu teacher, using only one of my languages!
This is not what our vision statement for Yambirrpa Schools is about. Our Vision Statement has a clear bothways approach, where two languages, Yolŋu matha and English, and two cultural views are in a careful balance. If either one overpowers the other, the educational system will fail, and cause our children to grow up unbalanced and unable to function well in the world. We are already struggling with a very high rate of Youth Suicide and Substance abuse; and it needs to be said that many of our young people who have died tragically have been literate and numerate. It makes me angry to hear the Minister for Education saying that none of our graduates are literate – all my 6 daughters can read and write well in two languages, the two youngest girls graduated with their NTCE in 2005. How could they do that if they can’t read or write? The decision to make English the only important language in our schools will only make the situation for our young people worse as they struggle to be proud Yolŋu in a world that is making them feel that their culture is bad, unimportant and irrelevant in the contemporary world.
We start with a morning ritual, where we count days of the week, months of the year, school times, and we do a Breath, Blow and Cough program. This last one helps children with Otitis Media, a middle ear problem. Then we do the Yolŋu matha alphabet, where our students are learning their sounds and syllables, in the language they speak. Our culture is very much an oral one, so our students don’t come to school with lots of understandings about books and literacy. My job is to help them understand what literacy is about, what it’s for and why they should learn to read and write!
So we then do our handwriting, and reading a big book in Yolŋu matha. We talk bout the story, why the author wrote this story, and how we can learn from stories, how information is inside books in the ŋäpaki world. After this they children write their own story, independent writing. Then some independent readers, all written in Dhuwaya the language the students speak at Yirrkala.
After tea, we do our oral English program. We use the Walking Talking Texts which is an English as a Second Language (ESL) Program. The students practice reading and talking the English language of the book, and we integrate other learning areas into the English program depending on the topic in the book. This helps the children develop English language skills. It’s always great when you hear little Yolŋu students using their new English language skills they learnt in their Walking Talking Text in the playground or the community.
Then it’s time for the hardest learning area, for 6 year olds. Mathematics! I teach number, space and measurement. I use Yolŋu matha in maths lessons to explain difficult concepts like addition, subtraction, and place value to the children. We do lots of counting, bundling straws and paddle pop sticks, using a place value matrix and so on. Our language is a good language to use with the children because they think in Yolŋu matha and they respond to us very quickly because they can understand what I’m saying. This way they can understand how the Base 10 maths system works, in their own language, then as they get older they use more and more English in their learning.
I also teach two Yolŋu subjects, gurrutu and djalkiri, from our own Garma Maths program, which was used to form part of the Indigenous languages and culture component of the Northern Territory Curriculum Framework. These are important subjects for Yolŋu children as they teach them the proper ways of behaving in the classroom, raypirri (rules and discipline) and how clans should work together. And there is all the Yolŋu knowledge the children need to learn about their land and their connections to the land and environment.
From January 2009 what will my teaching look like?
I have been told that I am not allowed to use the children’s language anymore. We have been told we are not to use our students’ first language, only English. Well, I already know that the children won’t understand what I’m saying, they will laugh at me, and they may even misbehave because they’ll be bored and won’t know what the lessons are about. So perhaps I will cheat and use some Yolŋu matha – what will happen then? Will I have my mouth washed out with soap like in the mission times? Or will I have to stand on one leg outside the classroom? Or perhaps I will lose my job?
Well, I will of course use good ESL teaching strategies as I do in my English lessons already. But I know that the children will miss out on a lot of meaning and that makes me very upset. I am wondering why I studied all those years through Batchelor College (now BIITE), and why all the teaching experience I have in bilingual programs is being put down. What a strange role model I will be, a bilingual Yolŋu teacher, using only one of my languages!
This is not what our vision statement for Yambirrpa Schools is about. Our Vision Statement has a clear bothways approach, where two languages, Yolŋu matha and English, and two cultural views are in a careful balance. If either one overpowers the other, the educational system will fail, and cause our children to grow up unbalanced and unable to function well in the world. We are already struggling with a very high rate of Youth Suicide and Substance abuse; and it needs to be said that many of our young people who have died tragically have been literate and numerate. It makes me angry to hear the Minister for Education saying that none of our graduates are literate – all my 6 daughters can read and write well in two languages, the two youngest girls graduated with their NTCE in 2005. How could they do that if they can’t read or write? The decision to make English the only important language in our schools will only make the situation for our young people worse as they struggle to be proud Yolŋu in a world that is making them feel that their culture is bad, unimportant and irrelevant in the contemporary world.
Media clippings
Age: Aboriginal language at risk in NT: watchdog http://www.theage.com.au/national/aboriginal-language-at-risk-in-nt-w... 6 Dec 08: "AUSTRALIA'S human rights watchdog has accused the Northern Territory ALP government of threatening the existence of the world's "longest surviving continuous culture" by severely restricting the teaching of Aboriginal languages. Tom Calma, the nation's race discrimination commissioner, said yesterday that the decision to mandate four hours of English in a five-hour school day would destroy bilingual teaching programs and prevent written culture being passed on to future generations." Russell Skelton and Jewel Topsfield
FATSIL: Bilingual Education the Scape Goat http://www.fatsil.org.au/Newsflash/Bilingual-Education-the-Scape-Goat... 5 Dec 08: "FATSIL [Federation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages] National Manager Paul Herbert is sceptical of the recent education policy announced from the NT Government where only English will be taught for the first 4 hours commencing in 2009. Mr. Herbert believes that Bilingual Education is merely the scape goat for a whole list of contributing factors. These factors include but are not limited to hearing loss. A lack of investment in schools and the community. Poor attendance and factors related to the intervention."
RADIO INTERVIEWS:
ABC Radio National: Awaye!: Which way? the future of bilingual education http://www.abcscience.net.au/rn/awaye/stories/2008/2435431.htm 6 Dec 08: "Language death has been likened to the death of a culture, a way of life and the collective identity of its speakers. This week we ask: what is the future of bilingual education in the Northern Territory, where Aboriginal languages are the strongest? There are moves underway to force the Territory's nine bilingual schools to teach the first four hours of each day in English, a foreign language to many students from remote communities. In contrast, Aboriginal communities throughout the rest of the country are attempting to recover their lost languages." [Guests include: Tobias Ngunbe, Marion Scrymgour, Ailsa Purdon, Joseph Lo Bianco, Paul Herbert]
Australian: Aboriginal kids 'risk losing identity' http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24764268-5013172,0... 8 Dec 08: "INDIGENOUS children are not receiving an education that enhances and promotes their Aboriginality, according to one of the nation's first indigenous school principals. In a keynote speech at the opening of an international indigenous education conference in Melbourne, Colin Bourke said Aboriginal children needed to be educated "as Aborigines as well as Australians"... Otherwise, Professor Bourke said, Aboriginal Australia would become just a memory, with Aboriginal people totally absorbed into the mainstream."
ABC: Indigenous language teachers need better training, report says http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/05/2439351.htm 5 Dec 08: "The Federal Government's report into the future of Indigenous language programs in schools says teachers need better training to ensure the success of courses into the future."
FATSIL: Bilingual Education the Scape Goat http://www.fatsil.org.au/Newsflash/Bilingual-Education-the-Scape-Goat... 5 Dec 08: "FATSIL [Federation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages] National Manager Paul Herbert is sceptical of the recent education policy announced from the NT Government where only English will be taught for the first 4 hours commencing in 2009. Mr. Herbert believes that Bilingual Education is merely the scape goat for a whole list of contributing factors. These factors include but are not limited to hearing loss. A lack of investment in schools and the community. Poor attendance and factors related to the intervention."
RADIO INTERVIEWS:
ABC Radio National: Awaye!: Which way? the future of bilingual education http://www.abcscience.net.au/rn/awaye/stories/2008/2435431.htm 6 Dec 08: "Language death has been likened to the death of a culture, a way of life and the collective identity of its speakers. This week we ask: what is the future of bilingual education in the Northern Territory, where Aboriginal languages are the strongest? There are moves underway to force the Territory's nine bilingual schools to teach the first four hours of each day in English, a foreign language to many students from remote communities. In contrast, Aboriginal communities throughout the rest of the country are attempting to recover their lost languages." [Guests include: Tobias Ngunbe, Marion Scrymgour, Ailsa Purdon, Joseph Lo Bianco, Paul Herbert]
Australian: Aboriginal kids 'risk losing identity' http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24764268-5013172,0... 8 Dec 08: "INDIGENOUS children are not receiving an education that enhances and promotes their Aboriginality, according to one of the nation's first indigenous school principals. In a keynote speech at the opening of an international indigenous education conference in Melbourne, Colin Bourke said Aboriginal children needed to be educated "as Aborigines as well as Australians"... Otherwise, Professor Bourke said, Aboriginal Australia would become just a memory, with Aboriginal people totally absorbed into the mainstream."
ABC: Indigenous language teachers need better training, report says http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/05/2439351.htm 5 Dec 08: "The Federal Government's report into the future of Indigenous language programs in schools says teachers need better training to ensure the success of courses into the future."
Bi lingual learning NT - Please sign and distribute
Published date: 3/12/08
Petition For Bi-lingual Learning
TO THE HONORABLE THE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
This petition of citizens from Australia and overseas, both Indigenous
and non-Indigenous, draws the attention of the House to the announcement on October 14th 2008 by the NT Government that from 2009 the ten remaining bilingual programs in the Northern Territory would be effectively closed down.
We believe that:
• The NT Government's decision is educationally unsound, and that it will
hinder, rather than help, the children's chances of learning good English. It goes against the strong evidence that using a child's first language fosters greater cognitive development and proficiency in learning through all curriculum areas.
• The decision is demoralising for Indigenous communities who have put
effort into promoting and developing teaching methodologies that suit
bilingual and bicultural Indigenous children. Our NT bilingual and bicultural programs have provided real jobs, real work and real incentives for Indigenous educators to train and work in these schools.
• The decision will prejudice the survival of Indigenous languages. The use of the child’s first language also fosters pride in the students’ self esteem and Indigenous identity as recognised in the “Little Children are Sacred” Report.
• The decision goes against the recognition by the United Nations of
the right of Indigenous people to provide education in their own languages.
We therefore ask the House to:
Ratify the UN Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and in particular to direct the NT Government to comply with Article 14 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Article 14.1:
Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.
Signed:
Name:
Date:
Principal Petitioners:
Names: Kathryn McMahon and Yalmay Yunupingu
Address: 58 Tiwi Gardens Road, Tiwi, Darwin. NT 0810
Email: galiyan@yahoo.co.uk
Petition For Bi-lingual Learning
TO THE HONORABLE THE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
This petition of citizens from Australia and overseas, both Indigenous
and non-Indigenous, draws the attention of the House to the announcement on October 14th 2008 by the NT Government that from 2009 the ten remaining bilingual programs in the Northern Territory would be effectively closed down.
We believe that:
• The NT Government's decision is educationally unsound, and that it will
hinder, rather than help, the children's chances of learning good English. It goes against the strong evidence that using a child's first language fosters greater cognitive development and proficiency in learning through all curriculum areas.
• The decision is demoralising for Indigenous communities who have put
effort into promoting and developing teaching methodologies that suit
bilingual and bicultural Indigenous children. Our NT bilingual and bicultural programs have provided real jobs, real work and real incentives for Indigenous educators to train and work in these schools.
• The decision will prejudice the survival of Indigenous languages. The use of the child’s first language also fosters pride in the students’ self esteem and Indigenous identity as recognised in the “Little Children are Sacred” Report.
• The decision goes against the recognition by the United Nations of
the right of Indigenous people to provide education in their own languages.
We therefore ask the House to:
Ratify the UN Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and in particular to direct the NT Government to comply with Article 14 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Article 14.1:
Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.
Signed:
Name:
Date:
Principal Petitioners:
Names: Kathryn McMahon and Yalmay Yunupingu
Address: 58 Tiwi Gardens Road, Tiwi, Darwin. NT 0810
Email: galiyan@yahoo.co.uk
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