Keeping local languages alive

Jenni Tillet Rhodes, Michael Jarret and Jillean Bower are enrolled in the new Masters course.

Sitting in a classroom surrounded by Aboriginal language teachers, their passion for the subject is plain to see. 

With the majority of NSW’s Aboriginal languages no longer in everyday use, and with only a few fluent speakers left, the students are working towards the first ever Master of Indigenous Languages Education degree, offered by the Koori Centre.

The degree aims to provide the solution to the government’s problematic introduction of Aboriginal languages into the NSW school syllabus In the 47 schools where they are offered to students between kindergarten and Year 10, there has been a severe shortage of qualified Aboriginal teachers with the necessary linguistic and teaching skills to deliver it.

But now that could soon change following the introduction of this new degree,   which   promises to equip teachers with the necessary skills to deliver teaching programs in a range of different settings, including mainstream schools and local communities.

The first intake of students – 13 Aboriginal teachers from three states, representing more than 17 different dialects – have successfully attended the first block session and are united in their desire to ensure the survival of Australia’s indigenous languages.

However, the students hold varying opinions about who should be taught them. Cultural studies teacher Jillean Bower believes that everyone, both Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals, should have the right to learn an indigenous language. “If we teach non-Aboriginal people how to speak our languages than maybe we will earn their respect; a shared respect. Understanding language is a gateway to understanding people’s cultures and belief systems.”

Aboriginal history teacher Jenni Tillet Rhodes, from the Bundjalung people, also believes it is important to bring indigenous languages into mainstream schools.

“I want to act as a language facilitator and help community language speakers bring their knowledge of languages into schools to help strengthen the revitalisation process. Many of our elders can still speak Bundjalung, but they are apprehensive about going into non-Aboriginal institutions to teach their languages in view of past experiences.”

But Michael Jarret from Nambucca Heads, an early childhood teacher and language researcher from the Gumbaynggirr people, does not agree with his classmates. “Aboriginal people need to reclaim their language and become confident in speaking it before they can teach it to others,” he said.

“There are some things that are sacred and teaching indigenous languages to non-Aboriginals would be dishonourable to our people. We need to first understand the hidden spirituality in our language and then we can decide if we want to share it,” he said.

The only semi-fluent speaker amongst the teachers, Michael is also concerned about the influence that English has had on Aboriginal children. “Our kids are so influenced by the English language that their own indigenous dialects often seem strange to them. Pronunciations are constantly being lost and I think we should start by bringing it back to its purest form.”

The Masters degree in Indigenous Languages Education is the first graduate degree for Aboriginal people wanting to teach their own language in Australia and is currently awaiting approval from the NSW Department of Education and Training. “Support for the development of the new degree within the University was very strong, and indicative of the priority given to Indigenous Australian studies,” said course convenor John Hobson.

Contact: Jake O'Shaughnessy

Phone: 02 9351 4312