UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
Community Language Revitalization
by
SALLY GODDARD
A THESIS
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS
GRADUATE DIVISON OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
CALGARY, ALBERTA
MARCH, 2008
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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada Abstract
Community Language Revitalization draws upon personal experience as well as interviews with community members about their First Nation language experiences with a language immersion program currently being created in their community. This study utilizes a case study approach and examines these experiences from a three generational point of view. One key finding was that community members were more interested in being able to speak the language than they were in learning to read and write in Cree.
3 Acknowledgements
I would like to recognize the contributions made by the members of the
Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan First Nation with whom I have had the privilege to work. I have learned a great deal about the way life should be lived and death should be celebrated. I would also like to thank Tim, Victoria, and Kate for their advice and support while I have been writing this.
A final thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Rahat Naqvi who has helped shape this thesis to be what it is.
4 Dedication
This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my oldest daughter, Captain Nichola
Goddard, who died on May 17, 2006 in Afghanistan.
5 Table of Contents
Approval Page 2 Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 4 Dedication 5 Table of contents 6 List of Tables 8 Chapter 1: Introduction 9 Context 11 The community 11 Services 12 Economic development 12 Educational opportunities 12 Competing orthographies 13 Background to the project 14 The problem 16 Definitions 19 Issues related to the study 20 Limitations 20 Delimitations 21 Assumptions 21 Chapter summary 21 Chapter 2: Theoretical framework 22 Related literature 28 Language in the community 29 Language in the school 33 International research 35 Second language acquisition 38 Chapter summary 40 Chapter 3: Methodology 42 Introduction 42 Selection of participants 42 Data collection 43 Questions asked 43 Analysis 44 Data analysis 45 Theme 1: Intergenerational transmission of language 45 Theme 2: Why knowing Cree is important 48 Theme 3: The responsibility for language learning 49 Theme 4: The orthography issue 50 Chapter summary 51
6 Chapter 4: Discussion 52 The role of English 53 Language needs to grow and develop 56 Reluctance to learn and participate 60 The curriculum guide 62 Why learn to read and write in Cree 64 Chapter summary 70 Chapter 5: Lessons learned 71 1. Planning 71 2. Intergenerational transmission of language 72 3. Reading and Writing 76 4. The role of educational institutions 77 5. The establishment of a Language Authority in the community 78 6. Teacher training 80 Fishman's model: The missing link 80 Further research 82 Conclusion 83 Subsidiary questions 84 References 87 APPENDIX A: YEAR OUTLINE 93 APPENDIX B: CREE SYLLABIC FONT 97 APPENDIX C: ASSESSING LANGUAGE 99 APPENDIX D: CERTIFICATION OF INSTITUTIONAL ETHICS REVIEW 104 APPENDIX E: LETTER OF INFORMATION FOR PARTICIPANTS 107 APPENDIX F: CONSENT FORM 109
7 List of Tables
Table 1 Writing system of the Plains Cree 14 Table 2 Language characteristics of people at Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan ... 16 Table 3 Three models of language revitalization 22 Table 4 The three M' s of indigenous language education 32 Table 5 A summary of Hale's (200 la) findings 33 Table 6 A summary of Crawford's beliefs 37 Table 7 Language ability of participants 44 Table 8 Master and Apprentice 74
8 CHAPTER 1
Introduction
"Why is our language important? If we lose our language then there is nothing that separates us from the rest [of Canada] except the colour of our skin."
Mary, parent
For almost four years, I have worked with a group of Cree educators on a project meant to revitalize their language in the community. Over time, I became concerned that the project was not meeting the needs and wants of the community members. Through multigenerational interviews as well as in depth knowledge of the project, I have been
able to document and examine the community response to this language revitalization
project.
I first started teaching on a reserve in northern Saskatchewan in 1984. The
language of the community was Dene. The language of the playground was Dene. The
students spoke Dene in the classroom when speaking to each other. Teachers used
English as a Second Language teaching strategies in the classroom and continually
exhorted the students to speak in English. Television was limited to blurry CBC North
and whatever Beta videos were available at the Northern store. During our second year,
the chief bought a huge satellite dish for the community. We soon discovered that
because of the way the dish was set up, we all watched what the chief wanted to watch. I
thought that the advent of regular television would help the students' English but it
initially appeared that it made no difference as people watched television without sound.
Over twenty years have passed since then and much has changed.
The survival of indigenous languages in Canada has been the subject of much
debate (e.g., Burnaby 2002; Friesen & Friesen, 2005; Ignace, 1998). It has been estimated 9 that there are 50 or more individual languages belonging to 11 Aboriginal language families. Currently, only a minority of the Aboriginal population in Canada is able to speak or understand an Aboriginal language. The 2001 census reports that of the 976,300 people who called themselves Aboriginal, 235,000 (24%) said they could conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language. In the 1996 census, 29% said they could
converse (Norris, 2006). If the numbers of people who can converse in their Aboriginal
language continue to decline at this rate, by 2020 less than four percent of Aboriginal
people will speak their Aboriginal language. There is a real possibility of language loss
for many First Nations people.
So what will happen if the language is no longer used on the reserve? Language
and identity are closely linked. Cree is currently used for celebrations, festivals, and
funerals. If the language disappears, then as Ann says, "We'd lose the cultural part of our
lives, like the ceremonies, because they can only be understood in Cree" (interview, June
19, 2007). A First Nation colleague asked me once how I stopped my children marrying
their cousins. I replied that it was not an issue because their cousins lived in other
provinces and countries. She then asked how I knew all the cousins. I said that we all
kept in touch and we knew when another child was born. She told me that in her culture,
that information was held by the language of the community. The language defined who
was related to whom, and who could marry. One of her fears was that if the language
died, that information would disappear. An elder said, "Yes, Cree's got so much
meaning. One word's got so much meaning. It describes everything, the whole of what
you're going to say." However, Friesen and Friesen (2005) believe that if language is
10 lost, the culture is not lost. It just changes. People on the reserve want the language to survive and the community traditions and culture to remain what they have always been.
Cree is one of the strongest First Nations' languages, particularly the Plains Cree or Y dialect spoken across much of western Canada. However, many Cree communities are concerned about language loss. A number of community based initiatives have been established in schools to teach the aboriginal language of the community to the children across Canada. These range from full immersion programs to instructional programs that last for 30 minutes a day. The research study reported here examines one such initiative.
Context
In this section I describe different aspects of the community context. Through this description I contextualize the language revitalization project which is the subject of this study.
The community
The Cree community of Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan is 50 kilometres from the closest large town. The reserve, was established by the amalgamation of two smaller
Treaty 6 bands on 16th January 1914 and became Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan. It straddles the Alberta/Saskatchewan border with the highway, referred to as the meridian, running through the middle of the community. There is an on-reserve population of approximately 4000 people. Over 1000 other band members live in the local area but off the reserve. There is a paved highway that connects the closest town to the reserve. There are dirt roads throughout the reserve maintained by the community. Treaty Land
Entitlement settlements have caused the reserve to grow from an initial 55 000 acres to
159 000 acres currently.
11 Services
The reserve has most amenities. There is a Health Centre with scheduled visits from doctors and dentists as well as onsite nurses, health care workers, and a full time pharmacist. In response to the needs of the community, there is a healing lodge for
alcohol and drug rehabilitation, and a group home for troubled youth. There is a large
sporting complex that houses two minor hockey league teams and provides space for broomball and rollerblading. On one side of the complex is a youth centre and on the
other is a skateboard park. The community radio station provides programming in both
English and Cree.
Economic development
The Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan Band or Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan First Nation
owns a number of businesses on and off the reserve giving employment to reserve
members. There are also two oil companies that employ between 18 and 20 reserve
members. There is a oil and gas company owned by Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan First
Nation which supplies natural gas to the community. There is also a cattle operation that
employs three members of the reserve. A shuttle bus, operated by the Band, takes people
to and from the closest town for employment.
Educational opportunities
There are four schools in the community. The elementary school offers Nursery-
Grade 3 with all subjects taught in English. Similarly, English programming is provided
in both the middle school (Grades 4-7) and the high school (Grades 8-12). The new
immersion school, opened in September 2007, provides Cree programming for Nursery -
Grade 3 students. Prior to the construction of a new building, the immersion school was
12 first located in the elementary school (2005-2006) and later the middle school (2006-
2007) when space became an issue. There are plans to expand the immersion school to
Grade 9.
The language of the community is predominately English, although Cree is used during ceremonial occasions, on the local radio station, and between those who speak it even if both parties also speak English. The students arriving at the school to begin their first year in the elementary and immersion programs have little if any knowledge of the
Cree language. Their language of communication is English. English is heard throughout the schools, during playtime and on the buses. Students in the three English language programs receive Vi hour of Cree instruction three to five times a week depending on the availability of Cree instructors. In the elementary school, the Cree instructor is not a trained teacher. In the middle school, he is a trained elementary school teacher, and in the high school the Cree instructor is also a trained teacher. In the Cree immersion program, students receive no instruction in the English language.
Competing orthographies
There are two commonly accepted versions of written Cree. One of these,
Standard Roman Orthography (SRO), resembles English in the structure of the letters used to write words. SRO developed from the Roman alphabet writing system First
Nations' students were taught in schools. A number of different Roman orthography writing styles were used, but ultimately, it became standardized, hence Standard Roman
Orthography (www.sicc.sk.ca). The second commonly accepted system of writing is syllables. The development of syllables as a writing system has been credited to James
Evans, a northern missionary, in the mid 1800s. He devised it based on Pitman's
13 shorthand as a way for people to read the Bible in their own languages (www.wats.ca).
Some First Nations people believe that syllables was the original writing system of their people and claim that Evans borrowed it. There may be some truth to this idea as there is one Cree legend that tells about a writing system given to both an eastern and a western elder at the same time as a gift from the Creator (www.wats.ca). However, there have not yet been discovered any surviving examples of a syllables script that predate Evans' work.
Table 1. Writing systems of the Plains Cree (http://metis.kisikew.org/language/cree/syllabics-westcree.shtml) An example of Plains Cree written in western Syllables bLrAPnb-nd/t>"A - bLrAP^b-fld'i><'A >nb^ V-o"AW-yx Lb aJV cnO"CV°
«• >nPcrPn CcrS VAU-y In Standard Roman Orthography: Ka-maci-pikiskwatikot ohi oskaya e-nehiyaweyit. Maka namoya nisitohtawew awa oskinikis tanisi e-itweyit ata wista e-nehiyawet. English translation: The young people then began to speak in the language of his ancestry - Nehiyawewin (Plains Cree language). Unfortunately the young man could not make out what they were saying even though he was of the same nation; Nehiyaw (Plains Cree people). Background to the project Under a federal government program, the education community applied for and received a five year funding package to develop an immersion program for Aboriginal languages. The project, called The Gift of Language and Culture, began in September 2003 and the funding end date is March 31, 2008. People from the schools in the 14 community who had been involved in a previous Cree language resource development program were hired to be part of the new initiative. The educators involved in the development of the immersion program decided that the orthography or writing system for the community would be syllables. The educators believed that Standard Roman Orthography (SRO) was too close to English. Further, the educators at Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan felt that Cree syllables was the original written language of First Nations people and it would be easier for the students to separate English and Cree if syllables were taught (see Figure 1). Of the original five educators involved in the project only one could read and write syllables, but he had never taken a formal course and was not knowledgeable about the syntax of the language. One teacher had taught an immersion program using SRO and spent the next year teaching herself syllables. The other educators had oral fluency in Cree but did not have literacy skills. I became involved in the project after the hiring and linguistic decisions were made. For the period of January 2004 - August 2007,1 was responsible for coordinating the writing of the curriculum guide and the development of appropriate resources. The school year has been divided seasonally and topics that are part of Saskatchewan Education's program of studies have been developed from a First Nation perspective. Initially, each educator was in charge of a season and was charged with the task of writing the curriculum and the accompanying resources. Appendix 1 shows the range of topics and resource material developed. The material for each topic included the core teaching material and was bound in booklet form for the teacher to distribute on a biweekly basis. This does away with the teachers needing to photocopy material. 15 Teachers are responsible for developing and teaching 'discrete skills' in both language arts and math. These skills include specific language and arithmetic skills that are not covered in a generalized topic. The developed topics reflect all subject areas and reinforce specific vocabulary from an activity-based curriculum. Each topic has an accompanying resource book that provides teachers with reading and writing activities. The material in each of the books is expected to take approximately two weeks to complete. Then the booklet is sent home to the family for the child to read. The immersion curriculum and resources have been written in English. The resources are available on writeable CDs and can be changed into any First Nations' language. The resources and curriculum guide have been developed in conjunction with seconded teachers and community artists. The problem As I have become more involved with the program, the more concerned I have become about the community's role in the revitalization of the Cree language. According to the statistics available, in 2001 over half the people in the community spoke Cree and 43% said they speak Cree at home. However, in 1996, 66% spoke Cree. See Table 2. Table 2. Language characteristics of people at Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan adapted from http://pse2-esd2.ainc-inac.gc.ca/FNProfiles/ Language characteristics 1996 2001 Number of residents claiming 1400 1255 Aboriginal language knowledge Population with Aboriginal 66 55 language first learned (%) Population with knowledge of 67 52 Aboriginal language (%) 16 It became increasingly difficult for me to understand why the students do not speak Cree when they arrive at school. I felt that no one had talked to community members about their ideas and feelings about Cree, even within the department creating the immersion program. In the area where I worked, there are between six and ten people who on a daily basis create Cree language resources and deal with immersion language requests that come from across Canada. The language in the workroom was Cree, interspersed with enough English so I could understand the topic of conversation but not the nuances. All of the people in the room had children and grandchildren ranging in age from a few months to their late 20s. None of these children can speak Cree fluently. They understand a few words and often sentences but, like me, miss the nuances. They have not learned Cree as a mother tongue. Goodfellow (2003) explains that when children are taught their ancestral language at school, they are already speaking another language, usually English. It is difficult for them to learn their ancestral language, in this case Cree, because the structures are different from English. They learn vocabulary quite easily but when they begin to speak it is in a 'pidginized' form that can combine English grammatical and phonological structures with Cree vocabulary. For most fluent speakers, the pidgin Cree is not considered a real language (pp. 41-42). In the workroom when the children visit, there is some understanding of the conversation but few attempts to speak Cree. People give instructions to their children in English. This information suggested a number of research questions, which are addressed in this study. It is apparent that the percentage of the population claiming knowledge of an Aboriginal language has declined steeply from over two - thirds in 1996 to just over 17 half five years later. Similarly, there has been a sharp reduction (from 66% to 55%) of people whose first language is Cree My thoughts about the lack of community input led me to the overarching research question guiding this study: What role, if any, should the community play in language revitalization? Subsidiary research questions were: • Why is there little or no intergenerational transmission of Cree? • Why is there a need for an immersion program? • To what extent is an immersion program the answer? • How can the language program meet the linguistic needs of the community? Fishman (2001) suggests that there are eight stages to language revitalization, organized in an ascending sequence from 1 (documenting the language) to 8 (total integration). Stages 1 to 4 are community-based language initiatives that involve elders, parents, teachers, linguists and others working together to build community linguistic support. He feels this needs to be done prior to Stage 5, which is the implementation of immersion programs in the schools. Stages 6 to 8 are the transference of language into elements of the community (such as the governing structure, the radio station) that can function completely in the revitalized language. In most situations, including Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan, indigenous language programs are targeted at Stage 5, with the intent to then develop the transference in Stages 6 to 8. This may be a mistake. Fishman (2001) argues that the language will be lost if only the school is involved, and Stages 1 to 4 are not implemented. Based on this study, I have come to the conclusion that the community involvement inherent in Stages 18 1-4 are necessary for the successful survival of the Cree language in Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan. By putting these issues into the context of the theory of second language revitalization, particularly that of Joshua Fishman's work on reversing language shift, I hope to discover a more effective way of teaching the language so as to create achievable aims for the project from a community perspective. To address these research questions I engaged in a single site case study, the methodology of which is more fully described in Chapter 3. Definitions Some of the terms used in this thesis are contested. I have therefore given the definitions used in this research study: Aboriginal peoples: The descendants of the original inhabitants of North America. The Canadian Constitution recognizes three groups of Aboriginal people — Indians, Metis people, and Inuit. These are three separate peoples with unique heritages, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs. Aboriginal self-government: Governments designed, established and administered by Aboriginal peoples. Metis: People of mixed First Nation and European ancestry who identify themselves as Metis people, as distinct from First Nations people, Inuit or non-Aboriginal people. The Metis have a unique culture that draws on their diverse ancestral 19 origins, such as Scottish, French, Ojibway and Cree. Pidgin: A simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups who do not share a common language Status Indian: An Indian person who is registered under the Indian Act. The act sets out the requirements for determining who is a Status Indian. Band: A grouping of First Nations people usually by language and culture. (http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/info/info 115_e.html) Issues related to the study Limitations One interview relied on a translator. There is a danger that the interpreter did not adequately reflect the words of the participant. The rest of the interviews were in English. Because some of the interviewees were speaking in their second language, there is a possible loss of nuance. A further limitation was the restricted availability of literature pertaining to indigenous language revitalization programs within a Plains Cree community. Since the study was conducted in a single northern Saskatchewan community, generalization of results to other settings is not possible. Delimitations Interviews were only held in one community. It was a convenience sample of 20 people who were willing to participate and were available during field data collection periods. Data collection was limited to only a few members of a single community in northern Saskatchewan. Participants in the study were those parents, students, and elders who chose to participate. Teachers and other educators did not participate in the study. Assumptions It was assumed that the participants were truthful in their responses and that there has been an accurate interpretation of the data by the researcher. It was further assumed that a case study approach would be an appropriate methodology for the problem being examined. Chapter Summary In this introductory chapter I have outlined my interest in the topic of indigenous language revitalization and placed this within the context of one northern Saskatchewan community, I have presented my research questions and provided definitions of terms used throughout this thesis, finally, I have discussed the limitations, delimitations, and assumptions of the study. In Chapter 2,1 provide a review of the related literature, which includes the presentation of the theoretical framework for this study. Chapter 3 describes the methods used in the research. In Chapter 4,1 discuss the issues that have emerged. In Chapter 5,1 provide the conclusions drawn from this study, and make recommendations for researchers, policy-makers, and practioners. 21 CHAPTER 2 Theoretical framework "Parents haven't been speaking Cree to their kids since the 1960s - when the tvs came on, that's when they started to pick up English and Cree was put aside I think. The children watch tv and that's where they learn English. They've lost their language." Jane, community elder In this chapter I first present the theoretical framework used in this study. I then provide a review of related literature in the area of indigenous language revitalization. This section draws heavily on Canadian literature but also introduces research from New Zealand, the United States, and elsewhere. The chapter concludes with a summary linking the theoretical framework and the literature to the research questions central to this study. Fishman's (1997) theory on reversing language shift provides the main theoretical framework for this study. He presents a way to revitalize a language that is in danger of becoming extinct. His model is designed primarily on the revitalization of the Hebrew language and some of the stages are not applicable to revitalizing First Nations languages. Ignace (1998), an associate professor of anthropology at Simon Fraser University, has taken Fishman's eight stages and applied the ideas to a First Nations' context in British Columbia and developed a handbook for First Nations communities to use when attempting to revitalize their languages. The UNESCO Red Book on Endangered Languages (www.tooyoo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/Redbook/index.html) continually documents endangered languages. The Green Book of Language Revitalization in Practice is Hinton and Hale's (2001a) answer to the Red Book. They have used Fishman's eight stages as a basis and applied them to revitalizing indigenous languages. 22 Figure 3 compares Fishman's original theoretical model with Ignace (1998) and Hinton's (2001a) possible adaptations. For ease of comparison, this table reverses the Stages 8 to 1 sequence used by Fishman. Table 3. Three models of language revitalization Stage Fishman (1997) Ignace(1998) Hinton (2001a) A Reversing Language Shift Ensuring intergenerational transmission (RSL)* to attain diglossia** (assuming prior ideological clarification) 1 Reconstructing Xish and adult Reconstruct the language Language assessment and acquisition of XSL (Xish as a planning: Find out what the second language). linguistic situation is in the community. How many speakers are there? What are their ages? What other resources are available on the language? What are the attitudes of speakers and non-speakers towards language revitalization? What are realistic goals for language revitalization in the community? 2 Cultural interaction in Xish Mobilize fluent speakers. If the language has no primarily involving the speakers: Use available community-based older materials to reconstruct the generation. language and develop language pedagogy. 3 The intergenerational and Restore intergenerational If the language has elderly demographically concentrated transmission (through speakers: Document the home/family/neighbourhood: the family, neighbourhood, and language of the elderly basis of mother tongue community reinforcement). speakers. This may have also transmission. take place at the same time as other steps. 4 Schools for literacy acquisition, Teach the language in Develop a second-language for the old and for the young, and school. learning program for adults. not in lieu of compulsory These professional-age and education. parent-age adult second- language learners will be important leaders in later steps. B RLS to transcend Extending the usage diglossia, subsequent to its attainment 23 5 a) Schools in lieu of compulsory Implement immersion and Redevelop or enhance education and substantially under strong bilingual education. cultural practices that support Xish curricular and staffing and encourage use of the control. endangered language at b) Public schools for Xish home and in public by first- children, offering some and second-language instruction via Xish, but speakers. substantially under Yish curricular and staffing control. 6 The local/regional (i.e., non- Use the language in work Develop intensive second- neighbourhood) work sphere, environments. language programs for both among Xmen and among children, preferably with a Ymen component in the schools. When possible, use the endangered language as the language of instruction. 7 Local/regional mass media and Offer government services Use the language at home as governmental services. in the language. the primary language of communication, so that it becomes the first language of young children. 8 Education, work sphere, mass Use the language in higher Expand the use of the media, and governmental education, media, and the indigenous language into operations at higher and government. broader local domains, nationwide levels including community government, local commerce. 9 Where possible, expand the language domains outside of the local community and into the broader population to promote the language as one of wider communication, regional or national government. * reversing language shift (RSL) refers to Fishman's (1997 p.l) ideas of offering assistance to speech communities whose native languages are threatened because their intergenerational community is proceeding negatively with fewer and fewer users every generation ** diglossia is a situation where, in a given society, there are two (often closely-related) languages, one of high prestige, which is generally used by the government and in formal texts, and one of low prestige, which is usually the spoken vernacular tongue (http://en.wikipedia.org) Using a modified version of the eight stages suggested by Fishman, in Stage 1, Ignace (1998) and Hinton (2001a) call for the reconstruction of the threatened language. This includes collecting all language information possible. The collection could be audio and video recording of fluent speakers as well as the collection of expressions and vocabulary in dictionary format. In First Nations communities, languages like Plains Cree 24 are documented by linguists but it is the community dialects and vocabulary that need to be recorded and discussed by community members so that consensus is reached. Ignace (1998) explains that it is extremely important that First Nations communities develop the skills necessary to create a grammar that can be used to teach the structure of the language to older children and adults (Section4.1). This becomes especially important when there are people with some speaking ability but who are unable to read and write. It may be possible for those with enough determination and interest to teach themselves the nuances of reading and writing without formalized classes but only if material is available. Hinton (2001a) suggests that the language situation be formally assessed and that the community be involved in the planning of any language revitalization programs. Stage 2 involves mobilizing older people who still speak the language well. Ignace (1998) explains that in many First Nations communities there are younger people who understand the language because they were exposed to it as children but cannot speak it. She feels that these are the people who need to be approached quickly, because it will take them less time to speak the language than for those who start with no knowledge. This also means teaching those people who can already speak the language, how to read and write it. Hinton (2001a) suggests that a language pedagogy be developed at this point. Stage 3 is the promotion of the use of language in families, neighbourhoods, and communities. This is the where the intergenerational transmission of language begins. Ignace (1998) explains that people who understand the language must be convinced of the usefulness of learning to speak the language and of the role they can play in the transmission of language to a younger generation. Individuals, parents, grandparents, and 25 children need to increasingly use the language in everyday life for it to become a truly living language. Fishman (1997) states that "if this stage is not satisfied, all else can amount to little more than biding time" (p. 399). In Stage 4, the endangered language is introduced into the education system. The language can be taught in evening and weekend classes as well as daily lessons in school, much in the way French is taught as a subject in many Canadian schools. Fishman (1997) explains that Stages 1 - 4 are the program minimum of RLS. They are not expensive to implement but rely on the community speakers to do most of the work. He suggests that these stages are particularly appropriate for politically and numerically weak language-in-culture settings (p. 400). Anonby (1997) states that the most common error taken by groups trying to revive a language is to jump from Stage 1 to Stages 4 and 5 of Fishman's model, which have to do with education, before addressing the needs of the foundational stages that have to do with families and the community. He feels that language planners like to target schools because they are easy to plan for and control. Schools also take the blame when students do not speak the language (p. 45). Stages 5 - 8 are the gradual incorporation of the revitalized language into the community. Stage 5 is when the language of instruction in the community is the revitalized language in an immersion format. The format usually changes to a bilingual model as higher levels of education are reached. Stage 6 is the use of the language in the workplace. Stages 7 and 8 complete the integration at all levels, in both oral and written forms. 26 Hinton (2001a) believes that Fishman's model needs to be modified. Those involved in reviving indigenous languages may use the steps in a different order depending on the situation in which they find themselves. She mentions that realistically some groups may not reach more than stage 3 or 4. Resources may not be available nor the financing to promote the language any further. In another work, Fishman (1996) specifically addresses the problems of First Nations that are trying to revitalize their languages. He discusses the fact that speakers of certain dialects are dying and that the loss of a dialect is just as serious as the loss of a language. As for a full language, information about the dialect can be audiotaped and videotaped and transcribed. An approximate grammar of the dialect can be made and the language can be learned and as such will never die completely. Fishman (1996) points out that people who speak First Nations languages are usually older and speak to people their own age about the interests they have in common. They do not know how to establish intergenerational links because they can only talk about what they have always talked about Fishman says that these elders need to be persuaded to work with the generations of their children and their children's children. The older generation has to build an oral history and cultural archives that will be available for their great-grandchildren. He also discusses the differences between learning vernacular language and learning institutionally. Vernacular language is learned in infancy and allows for the intergenerational transmission of language. Learning a language in an institution does not allow for this. If re-vernacularization is to occur, Fishman (1996) suggests that society must change for parents to see the advantage of speaking the language to their newborns. 27 If the school teaches language, then there must be continual use of the language outside of school, as well as after people finish school. Otherwise, the language will be lost and not transmitted intergenerationally. He completes the article by reminding people that "living languages are not primarily in institutions, but above them, beyond them, and all around them" (p. 9). In this study I draw primarily upon Fishman's (1991, 1997) typology, referencing the adaptations of both Ignace (1998) and Hinton (2001a) where appropriate. Related literature Blair and Laboucan (2006) argue that language planning is fundamental to the retention and revitalization of any indigenous language. They discuss two types of planning: status planning and corpus planning. Status planning includes the current role of the language, its status in the community, and the role that community members would like to see their language play. Corpus planning includes standardizing the language, clarifying the existing syntax, writing a dictionary, codification (anything that needs to be done to record and code the language), and elaboration: if the language is to be used as the language of instruction in a school, then it will need to be elaborated for academic terminology. Words for new technologies will need to be invented to be able to teach using the language (pp. 208-209). Rubin's (1999) experiences in British Columbia lead him to believe that the main responsibility for traditional language learning must centre in the home. He argues that it is not appropriate that the school takes this responsibility away from the families and the communities who ultimately own the language. The three generations of elders, parents, and children must come together if the language is to be saved. If an immersion program 28 is used to accompany this, then teachers must be fully fluent and supplied with resources in the language that is being used. Language in the community Friesen and Friesen (2005) discuss the historical reasons for the loss of indigenous languages and then make suggestions for language teaching and learning. They argue that colonialism has led to the destruction of indigenous languages, which they describe as being central to the maintenance of indigenous culture and spirituality (p. 135). They use Swanson's (2003, cited in Friesen and Friesen, 2005, p. 137) ideas and suggest that language teachers need to focus on cultural awareness, cultural teaching practices, and a sense of community so that language teachers can motivate learners to be successful. Friesen and Friesen also explain that linguists have known for a long time that unless a language is used daily in a meaningful environment like the home, its survival is threatened (p. 145). This reinforces Fishman's RLS Stage 3 where language needs to be promoted in the home, the neighbourhood and the community, Burnaby (1997) stresses the need that community control has to include doing not only what the community wants but also what the mainstream authorities expect. She goes on to explain that using an indigenous language does not cost money but that it often takes money or energy to encourage people to use it. She also feels that the most important factor in the development of successful indigenous language stabilization activities in Canada in the past 30 years has been leadership from within the community. There is a community member that has a vision of what could be done and is able to inspire others to share that dream. 29 In a later article, Burnaby (2002) documents a history of the development of the Cree School Board (www.cscree.qc.ca/) language program which currently involves nine schools on the eastern side of James Bay. This started in 1972 as part of the Native North American Studies Institute, under Quebec's Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, to promote the training of Aboriginal teachers to teach in the medium of their languages in the schools. It has since developed into a successful model for immersion schools where the mother tongue remains the Aboriginal language. Burnaby (2002) credits the success of the program to several factors. The first was the fact that the mainstream institutions had some of the same goals as the Cree: Cree language and cultural development; training for teaching different subjects in Cree; training for language teachers and community language workers; and support for literacy and orthographic work. Secondly, the political situation at both the provincial and national level allowed the development of a Cree regional educational authority, so a number of communities were able to work together. And thirdly, Cree leadership made the best of the possibilities for local control. They took advantage of the economies of scale by having their own school board for nine communities. They made Cree the language of instruction. They launched a Cree pilot project to build the confidence of the communities in the instructional method they wanted to use in the schools (p. 83). Stiles (1997) adds to Burnaby's (2002) study of the Cree Way project. She states that successful indigenous language programs share four common components: curriculum development; community support; parent involvement; and government support. She explains that even though the Cree syllabic system is thought to have been developed in the 1840s by James Evans, when the Cree Way project began in 1973 there 30 were no Cree language materials nor did the Cree population read and write in Cree. A team of Cree speakers began developing curriculum materials and resources in syllables for classroom use. An immersion program began in 1988, and a bilingual model is now used when the students reach Grade 4.The cultural side is developed when the students go to a bush camp four or five times a year. McGill University runs certification programs for language teachers and there is continual staff development. To accompany Ignace's (1998) work, Kavanagh (1999) has developed a handbook for communities to use as a language development tool. She reminds communities that it is not enough to simply value a language as a symbolic emblem. Such an approach does not automatically mean that people will use the language more. The handbook allows interested community members to have input into language revitalization decisions In his introduction to Revitalizing [ndigenious Languages, Reyhner (1999) recommends that language activists need to first discover the current status of their language and then set realistic goals. Once the goals are established, the concentration should be on the methods, materials, and motivation that will be used to achieve their goals. This focus is described in Table 4. Table 4. The three M's of indigenous language education Methods deal with what teaching techniques will be used at what age levels and stages of language loss. Materials deal with the things that will be available for teachers and learners to use, including audiotapes, videotapes, storybooks, dictionaries, grammars, textbooks, and computer software. Motivation deals with increasing the prestige (including giving recognition and awards to individuals and groups who make special efforts) and usefulness of the indigenous language in the community and using teaching methods that learners enjoy so they will 31 come back for more indigenous language instruction. (Reyhner, 1999, p. xviii) Reyhner (1999) also recalls that historically, school-based second language teaching has not led to students conversing in the new language. He states that it is extremely important to use language teaching methods in schools that will prepare and encourage students to use the language that they are learning outside of school (p. ix). Norris (1998) agrees with this point of view and argues that to survive a language must be passed on from one generation to the next. The most effective way this happens when children learn it at home as a mother tongue. She goes on to elaborate that if the Aboriginal language is learned as a second language, it is often only used in limited classroom situations such as immersion (p. 10). Reyhner (2006) states that Native American languages cannot be revitalized by non-Native Americans. Any successful language revitalization efforts depend on family and community support. He feels that parents need to be convinced that language programs will not affect their children's education and job possibilities. Other researchers suggest that non - Native Americans can have a role in language survival. Anonby (1997), who worked as a preacher on a small reserve in British Columbia, became interested in finding ways to revitalize the language of the community before it died completely. He recounts a Dogrib language project to help people read their language, based on a grammar of Dogrib, some primers, and a dictionary, all developed by a linguist at the Summer Institute of Linguistics. He reports that the fact that the language could be written down and had a known grammatical structure, just like English, brought a sense of pride to the people. 32 In Towards a New Beginning: A Foundational Report for a Strategy to Revitalize First Nation, Inuit, and Metis languages and cultures (2005), the executive summary states: "To revitalize an endangered language, language educators advocate full community involvement, especially that of parents and elders, so that children arrive at school with some knowledge of their language and the opportunity to use it outside of the classroom" (p. 4). It is therefore apparent that the majority of researchers and language activists agree that community support is a necessary prerequisite for successful school programs. Language in the school Most contemporary language revitalization programs are considered to be the responsibility of the school. Hale (2001a) discusses five degrees of immersion and the necessary skills the teacher needs at each level. A summary of his findings is found in Table 5. 5. A summary of Hale's (2001a) findings Level of immersion Description Teaching skills required First degree Child learns language None: natural language within the context of his learning environment own family Second degree Preschool and kindergarten Depends on the nature of children are cared for and the educational framework taught by people who only speak to them in a particular Natural language learning language (Cree). It is not environment the child's first language. Third degree Two people, one a speaker Speak and understand of Cree, the other a learner language of Cree, spend their days together only speaking Cree. Fourth degree Content course where L is Speak, understand, read, the language of instruction and write Cree 33 in a series of lessons where L is something other than Teaching methods in the the Cree language being structural features of Cree taught. Explicit explanations of grammatical forms and constructions Fifth degree Monolingual language class Speak, understand, read, Cree is used exclusively and write Cree on the part of the teacher Teaching methods in the structural features Explicit explanations of grammatical forms and constructions (Hale, 2001a, pp. 227-228) Hale (2001a) explains that fundamental training for teachers at the fourth and fifth degrees of immersion must include a program of linguistics. This would lead to the teachers having a good understanding of the basic elements of phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. He reminds teachers that even if they learned the language as a child, everyone teaching the language of the immersion program must understand the grammatical aspects of the language. Hinton (2001b) discusses the pros and cons of using a writing system as a way of recording a language. On the pro side people feel that languages with a writing system are superior to those without one. Native peoples feel empowered through writing and it opens the door for using the written word for newspapers, magazines, and ordinary day- to-day uses like grocery lists and calendar dates. On the con side, written language freezes and decontextualizes language. People believe that writing systems need to be developed before language teaching can occur so teaching can take place through the 34 written word. Hinton explains that people do not learn language by reading and writing but by hearing and speaking. The community must decide whether it wants to have and use a writing system. She describes the Cree syllabic writing system as having a long history, with different groups loyal to it as a writing system, but when people deviate from the Roman alphabet, the language does less well. Baraby (2002) feels that unwritten languages are at a higher risk of disappearing in the mid - to long - term than those that have developed a standard spelling system. Any standard spelling system must be reached by all the speakers involved. This is particulary important when the language is taught in the school: when there is no standardization, the students grow confused and many eventually come to believe that that language classes are not serious. International research The issue of indigenous language revitalization is not limited to the Canadian context. There has been a surge in language revitalization programs in both Hawaii and New Zealand. While these situations are somewhat different than the revitalization of indigenous languages in North America in that in each context there is only one indigenous group, many of the questions raised are relevant to this study. In their study of Hawaiian, Henze and Davis (1999) state that the decision to maintain or revitalize a threatened language must be made by speakers of that language, not by outsiders (p. 3). They discuss questions such as who should learn to speak Hawaiian (the language being referred to) and whom and what language revitalization is for. They suggest that language has to be seen as part of the living essence of a community. It is not something to be preserved apart from people (p. 14). They also mention issues of modernizing languages. 35 Languages do evolve and words need to be developed. This raises the questions, how and by whom? In languages where there are multiple dialects, how and on what authority does one word become the authentic one? This also happens with culture as it becomes simplified and taught as rituals, songs, dances, and foods. If more complex issues are taught, then who decides what language and culture are taught (p. 15)? Reedy (2000) documents the revitalization process of the Maori language in New Zealand over the last 20 years. She discusses the classic world-wide pattern of language decline and loss, which starts with people having total bilingualism in their mother tongue, then moves to individual bilingualism, and then to monolingualism in the new language. This happens within three generations. Reedy argues that the identification of the need for revitalization of the Maori language came from the people themselves. She recounts how the Maori structured the process by which the language would be revived, beginning with Kohange Reo, the use of language nests for preschool children. This was followed by the Kura Kaupapa, the immersion elementary school, the immersion secondary school, and currently, the desire for tertiary institutions in Maori. Reedy concludes by emphasizing the need for both an infrastructure that supports the language - radio, television, newspapers, journals in Maori - and the return to the situation where Maori is the natural language of socialization by parents of their children. Crawford (1996) discusses seven hypotheses on language loss as they pertain to the indigenous people of the United States. These are summarized in Table 6. 36 Table 6. A summary of Crawford's beliefs 1. Language shift is very difficult to impose from without. Direct attempts to suppress a language cannot by themselves be responsible for its loss because people resist. 2. Language shift is determined primarily be internal changes within language communities themselves. Ultimately, speakers themselves are responsible, through their attitudes and choices, for what happens to their native language. 3. If language choices reflect social and cultural values, language shift reflects a change in these values. Individualism, pragmatism, and materialism put self-interest ahead of common good. 4. If language shift reflects a change in values, so too must efforts to reverse language shift. 5. Language shift cannot be reversed by outsiders, however well-meaning. 6. Successful strategies for reversing language shift demand an understanding of the stage the community is currently in. Different communities have different needs. There are timely solutions, which may be critical depending on the level of language loss. 7. At this stage in the USA, the key task is to develop indigenous leadership. This is also applicable to Canada as ways are found to build a movement that can exert an influence on behalf of endangered languages. (Crawford, 1996, pp. 1-14) There are links between Burnaby's (1997) work and Crawford's hypothesis #7. Both stress the need for appropriate indigenous leadership. Burnaby names indigenous people who have lead the way, including Verna Kirkness and Luci Salt. Kirkness (2000) has written about the need for every Aboriginal man, woman, and child to know that their language gives identity and helps express Aboriginal world view and that it is though language that culture is transmitted. Salt has been involved in the Cree Way project for many years as part of the editorial team (http://www.eastcree.org/en/dictionary/). Hale (2001b) examines the effect that locally developed radio, television, and print material have had on efforts to revitalize languages in one area of Australia. He explains that the thesis that radio and television can be detrimental to local languages, and that the power of the medium can have serious consequences for the continuation of 37 the linguistic and intellectual heritage of the local community. The example cited is the Torres Strait Islander Media Association, which broadcasts in Creole rather than using the indigenous languages in the area. Creole has its origins in Pacific Pidgin English and it has become the dominant language in the area. Most islanders no longer learn their indigenous language as their first language. The media association feels that Creole reaches and appeals to more people and there is not the funding to provide programming for each language group (pp. 277-278). Second language acquisition Galletly and Knight (2004) discuss the challenges of people learning English. Students learning to read English must decode and figure it out. The language is so complex and there are so many spelling and sound patterns that self-teaching is difficult. However, in languages where the orthography is transparent, self-learning is possible because of the one-to-one correspondence of sounds to phonemes. Once students have learned to correlate letters and sounds, there are no hidden secrets (unlike ough which has many different sounds in English: ough as in bough, through, enough) and the language can be read accurately, albeit slowly, at first. Transparent languages are easier to learn to read. Italian is one of the most transparent languages in the world. The authors cite Cossu (1999) who reported a 93% reading accuracy of Italian students with Down's syndrome (IQ range from 40 - 56). Cossu remarked that the general intelligence and working memory were irrelevant factors in acquiring Italian reading accuracy. In comparison with English, Cree syllables is a highly transparent orthography (see Appendix B). James Evans, the missionary who is credited with developing the syllabic writing system, discovered 36 principal sounds and a few affixes. Evans used nine basic shapes which 38 when rotated on their axis could be used to represent each syllable (www.tiro.com/syllabics/James_Evans). The English language is more complex. It uses 26 letters to make 44 common sounds, using over 1,000 different spelling patterns. Reading accuracy in English is more difficult than other languages. Although most of the literature in this area refers to English as a second language, there are some crossovers to other languages being learned. English as a second language experts divide second language learning into stages. Cummins (1991) argues that early mother tongue development supports not only the learning of the mother tongue but of the second language as well. Cummins (n.d) divides second language learning into two components, making a fundamental distinction between conversational and academic aspects of language proficiency. He calls the conversational aspect Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and the academic Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). Many children develop a native-like fluency (BICS) within two years of immersion in the target language. However, it takes between five to seven years for a child to be working on a level equal to native speakers in all language areas. Cummins explains that just because a student has a high degree of fluency and accuracy in everyday spoken English, teachers should not assume that they have the corresponding academic ability. Cantoni (1997) believes that parents are often led to believe that learning more than one language could retard a child's development and cause confusion. There is a perception that English is more valuable than an indigenous language, and so English is the language spoken and learned as the mother tongue. In the past, many schools tried to 39 stop students speaking their home language at school because they believed that it created language difficulties and interfered with learning English. King & Fogel (2006) report that many parents continue to believe that learning a second language results in language delays as well as confusion for their children. The authors state that new research shows that monolingual and bilingual children meet language development milestones at the same time. Cummins (1981) research gives findings from around the world that support maintaining and developing the child's first language by using it as a medium of instruction for the major part of the school day has no negative effects of the development of the child's second language. In many cases, it has positive effects on both the development of the second language as well as other academic skills. Cummins (2003) reminds educators they must decide to either prepare students to accept the status quo and their position in it or to prepare students to participate as active, critical, and equal partners in their society. Current attitudes have changed and parents need to be informed that students who learn two languages often develop higher mental flexibility, greater skill at forming concepts, and a more diversified set of mental abilities. Chapter Summary In this chapter I have presented the theoretical framework for the study. Relevant literature from Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and elsewhere has been reviewed. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the relevance of second language acquisition to the field of indigenous language revitalization. In considering this literature from the context of The Gift of Language and Culture program implemented by the Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan First Nation, it is 40 apparent that stages 1-4 were not afforded the same degree of focus as stage 5. The degree of community support for, and involvement in, the language revitalization program has not previously been discussed. Through this research study I examine community perceptions through three research questions: 1. To what degree is the intergenerational transmission of the Cree language taking place in a community which supports the revitalization of its indigenous language? 2. To what extent does the establishment of an immersion program facilitate the learning of the indigenous language by children for whom English is the lingua franca? 3. In what ways does the community perceive its role, vis-a-vis the school, in the teaching and intergenerational transmission of Cree? The methodology by which these questions were addressed is described in Chapter 3. 41 CHAPTERS METHODOLOGY "The Cree people are strong people, but if we lose our main thing, our language, then we 're gone." Amy, student Introduction The research method I chose to use in this investigation is the case study approach. It is defined by Creswell (1998) as "an exploration of a 'bounded system' or a case (or multiple cases) over time through detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information rich in content"(p. 61). This research study has been bounded by time as well as a single location. I collected data between May and August 2007 from people living on a reserve known in this study as Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan. There is little information on community response to language revitalization efforts in Canada. Different authors (Burnaby, 1998, Crawford, 1998; Reyhner, 2006) discuss theoretical issues and give some practical examples but there has been little research into how community members feel about their language. What makes this more complex is that often the mother tongue no longer exists in the home and the language children first hear and talk is English. Selection of participants Participants were selected randomly and often because of availability. I interviewed three distinct groups of people living on the reserve: students in Grade 11 or 12 attending school on the reserve, parents of school aged children, and elders. Elders are defined by the community as people who have reached a certain age and status within the community. This convenience sampling was necessary, as not all the community members with whom I wished to speak were present during my field trips to collect data. 42 Data collection During this period I made four visits to the community. I interviewed participants over a three month period. The students were invited to participate by their classroom teacher. Following completion of individual and parental consent forms, I interviewed the students in the library at the high school. The parents were interviewed in the board room at the main education building in the community. The parents all had or had had children in the school system, but there was no requirement that their child(ren) be part of the student group. The elders were interviewed in a variety of locations, depending on their mobility and choice. The elders were identified by one of the women in the language program, based on their availability and willingness to participate. I interviewed four students, six parents, and four elders. Each interview lasted between twenty and forty minutes. One of the elders could not speak English so I relied on the services of a translator. Questions asked I used a semi-structured interview protocol described by Merriam (1998) as being "guided by a list of questions or issues to be explored [while] neither the exact wording nor the order of the questions is determined ahead of time" (p. 74). This allowed me to cover the major research questions and also probe for other pertinent information. I used the following guiding questions: 1. What is your knowledge of Cree? Where is Cree used on the reserve now? 2. Did you speak Cree to your children? Will you speak Cree to your children? Why? 3. Who is responsible for teaching Cree? 4. What role should the school/parents/community play in teaching Cree? 43 Some of these questions allowed me to get specific information and others were broader in nature. The interview allowed participants the opportunity to look at the bigger language picture and make suggestions about future directions. Analysis I audio taped and then transcribed the interviews. I closely analyzed the text and located themes as well as suggestions for further study. Table 7 records the self- evaluation of their language abilities. Table 7. Language ability of participants Language Elders (4) Parents (2) Parents Students (4) ability working on language project (4) Speak Cree 4 2 4 2 Understand 4 2 4 2 Cree Read Cree 0 0 4 0 (SRO) Read Cree 0 0 3 0 (syllables) Write Cree 0 0 4 0 (SRO) Write Cree 0 0 3 0 (syllables) Three people working on the language project had been identified as being fluent in Cree syllables. One had taken summer courses to learn and two were self-taught. However, the computer program for the language project allowed the material to be entered in SRO format and the program created the appropriate syllabic font, so the developers did not need to be fluent in Cree syllables in order to create resource material. All of the participants who had oral fluency in Cree learned it at home. Those who could read and write in Cree had learned it in the workplace or through a specialized 44 syllables program at Maskwachees College in Hobbema, Alberta. All of the students interviewed had taken Cree as a subject from Grade 1 to Grade 9. This had been taught in this community by teachers and community members who were hired based on their ability to speak the language, not based on their reading and writing skills. Data Analysis The transcriptions were read and coded by the author. Several themes emerged from the interviews. Theme 1. Intergenerational transmission of language The intergenerational transmission of language refers to children learning the language, in this case Cree, from their parents and other family members. If a language is to survive, as discussed in Chapter 2, then the goal behind any language revitalization program has to be the intergenerational transmission of language. The elders, aged from 60 to 95, gave several reasons why the intergenerational transmission of language is not happening. Only one of the elders spoke to her children in Cree. She never went to school and never learned English. Another of the elders said that his children focused on television when they were small and when they started to talk, they spoke in English right away. So, he just continued to speak to them in English. One said that the residential schools have made parents think that speaking to their children in Cree is wrong so they only speak to them in English. Then, when that generation has children, they can only speak English. However, they realize that it is easy to offend the younger generation by laughing at them when they try to speak Cree. One of the elders, Michael, said that he heard a story. A mother was cooking dinner and said to her young daughter in Cree, "Go and tell 45 your dad and your brother-in-law to come and eat." The little girl opened the door and in Cree said come and sit yourself instead of come and eat. Everyone laughed at her. Michael said that the girl will probably not try to speak Cree again. All of the parents I interviewed could speak and understand Cree. One of the parents, Daisy, told me: My auntie was pretty strict with us and we were in residential school so when we came home back from residential school we had to talk Cree. She'd tell me, 'You're not a white girl, talk Cree.' So we spoke Cree at home all the time and my grandmother was fluent. So I have to be thankful for that. They were strict. Unfortunately, Daisy did not speak Cree to her daughter as she was growing up. "Her dad didn't speak Cree. He knew no Cree at all and I was working and he stayed at home with her and babysat and that's all she knew was English." To communicate with both her daughter's father and her daughter, Daisy had to speak English. Another parent, Elsie, in her late 20s, told me that she grew up with her grandparents speaking Cree. When she went to school she got laughed at because she spoke Cree. That experience motivated her to quickly learn English. She said, "I stopped speaking Cree publicly. I was embarrassed to speak it at school. I needed to fit in." When she had her son eight years ago, she only spoke English to him. She explained: I didn't make an effort to speak to my son in Cree. Who would speak to him? The teacher was not a Cree speaker. The kids didn't speak Cree. It wasn't fair to him. I didn't want him to be laughed at. Elsie and her husband speak Cree to each other at home. Sometimes their son gets frustrated because he doesn't understand what they are saying. 46 Mary spoke Cree to her children when they were young. "But along the way, I think the conversation became easier in English so I talked back to them in English and that's how it is even now." Mary's sister, Ann, says she has spoken Cree to her oldest three children since they were born. She spoke English to the youngest children because they were not able to grasp the language. She says the younger boys speak it but are not fluent. "They cannot hold a conversation in Cree with their grandmother." Ann says that her second oldest child (29) speaks Cree to his children but the oldest one does not. His wife does not speak or understand Cree so he speaks mainly English at home. Leslie has two adult children whom she never spoke to in Cree. She herself learned Cree at home and she has always spoken it in the home. She recounts: As we got older, we were told sort of in school that we needed to have the English language in order to get ahead and I believed that. I believed it at that time and so that's how. I thought I would do that, teach my kids the language, not the Cree but the English language. Leslie also talked about her father's feelings about speaking Cree. Sometimes I think people are ashamed of their language and I know that because the older people have [been to] residential schools [and] they were told it's a shame [to speak Cree] and my dad, if he's talking to a white man, he's 80 years old, he won't speak Cree. Like if you're sitting here and he and I are talking, he'll talk to me in English. He won't speak Cree, just out of respect for you. He's ashamed of it, I think. He is but not my mom. My mom's different in that way. The two students who could speak Cree fluently learned the language from their family members as young children. It is the language of communication in their families. The other students feel cheated that their parents, who speak Cree to each other, never 47 spoke Cree to them. One student said learning Cree has been difficult. When she was younger she had to write a sentence in Cree and then read it. She took the assignment home and read it to her parents. "They just laughed at me and said I sounded just like a Chinaman and I got real upset. I just wanted to cry. I just stopped reading. Like you could read it and understand what you were saying, but sometimes it comes out wrong." Theme 2. Why knowing Cree is important All the people I interviewed equated a knowledge of the Cree language with their cultural heritage. I asked one of the students who says she only knows a little Cree why it was so important that she knew the language. Amy said, "It's very important. We use it a lot in our ceremonies and I feel that we're losing it and we'll lose our ceremonies. It's a very big thing for me." One elder explained why knowing Cree is important. "It was given to us by the Creator, the language we speak. White people were given their language to speak." Another explains that it keeps peoples' identities. The parents think along similar lines. They feel that if the language is not there, then the cultural part of their lives will disappear. Several parents mentioned that without Cree, they're just like everybody else. Cree language defines who they are. Mary described her feelings about language. This is who I am. It defines who I am. I know as an individual I am very proud of who I am. I am proud of my family, our heritage. I am very proud to hand it down to my children and grandchildren. It seems like I'm trying to go back now and give that gift to my children. I don't think it's too late. It's never going to be too late but I just have to keep practicing. One of the elders mentioned that the Cree vocabulary is very powerful. One word can describe something that would take many words in English. The language also 48 defines kinship terms as well as words used in certain ceremonies. The elders see the younger people at the ceremonies but know they do not understand the language that is used. They may be able to say the words but they do not know what they mean. The students also have strong feelings about Cree language. One mentioned that language brings people together. Another mentioned that she would like to be able to talk in Cree to her children when she has them. The students who don't speak Cree find it difficult to talk to their older relatives who don't speak much English. One student worries about the language. She said, "If the Cree language dies, our culture will die. Like you need it for like ceremonies and honours and all that. It's like the main thing. The Cree people are strong people but if we lose our main thing, our language, then we're gone." Another of the students explained that she goes to the ceremonies but she doesn't understand the words. She tries to pray but doesn't know how. "I wish I could understand what the elders are saying when they pray. Like I would like to understand but it's hard." Theme 3. The responsibility for language teaching Everyone interviewed felt that language teaching should come from the home. No one said the school was responsible for revitalizing the language. The 95 year old woman told me: It is the responsibility of the parents to teach their children Cree. Today, the younger parents don't speak Cree and therefore their children don't speak Cree. My grandchildren don't speak Cree and in turn my great grandchildren don't speak Cree. Some of the parents felt guilty that they didn't speak Cree to their children as they were growing up. One said, "Right now, I wish I did speak to them in Cree because then they 49 would have had two languages." Another said, "I'd say the parents [are responsible for the teaching of Cree]. I'd say it's up to me to show my children, my grandchildren their language." The parent with adult children mentioned that she knew her own parents were ashamed of their language. "They were taught to be ashamed of who they were. So now it's up to us to try and get that cleared up." The students agreed that the parents should speak to them in Cree. One said, "I think my parents should have spoken Cree to me more." Another student added, "Anyone who speaks it [Cree] has the responsibility to speak it and teach it." Another student felt strongly that any teacher in the schools that knows Cree has an obligation to speak it whenever they can. "We don't have a choice but to learn so we have to learn and understand what they are saying and then learn to talk back to them." Several parents who now work for the Gift of Language Program feel guilty about not speaking Cree to their children when they were young. Theme 4. The orthography issue Perhaps because no one except those working in the Gift of Language program could read and write Cree syllables, no one saw that the reading and writing of the language as being an issue for them. Most people interviewed felt that the most important aspect of being fluent in Cree was being able to speak and understand it. One parent said, "Writing makes it more difficult. To me, it's just like you're making it more difficult for the person to learn. [Language] should always be constant conversation... It has to be about everything." The students were more interested in understanding the ceremonies feeling no need to read and write. 50 Chapter Summary In this chapter I have described the research methods as well as the analysis that was completed based on transcribed interviews. The four major themes which emerged have been identified. These themes are discussed in the next chapter. 51 CHAPTER 4 Discussion "Anyone who speaks it (Cree) has the responsibility to speak it and teach it" Bertha, student Of the four main themes that emerged from the interviews, the responsibility for language teaching was the one that was most surprising to me. The students felt cheated both by the fact that they were not spoken to in Cree by their parents as young children and also because they had taken instruction Cree for seven or eight years but currently know little about the language and find it increasingly difficult to talk to Cree speakers. Goodfellow (2003) suggests that communities have developed native language programs as a way of trying to revitalize languages that are no longer learned as a mother tongue. She discovered that in most cases these programs fail to produce fluent speakers because the language being taught is often quite different from the students' mother tongue in both grammar and phonology. Sometimes students are affected by interference. They tend to transfer patterns from their first language to the second language. In Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan, by the time the students begin to learn Cree, English grammatical and phonological structures are the basis of the students' linguistic repertoire. Goodfellow also mentions the 'genetic fallacy' people have about First Nations children. She says that people believe First Nations children should be able to learn their language without any trouble. When that doesn't happen, programs fail and often schools and teachers are blamed (p. 52). Richard Littlebear agrees with this. He explains that First Nations children are not genetically wired for learning and acquiring 52 their ancestral language. It has to be taught in the same way that other students learn French or Spanish because for most of them, English is their first language (p. 5). Hinton (2001a) believes that an hour a day of instruction, if taught with the appropriate methodology, can bring students towards fluency. She suggests that when the indigenous language is taught as a subject, it helps communities to erase the shame people have felt about their language. She believes that it creates a readiness and an eagerness in young people to learn their language and develop more intense programs for language revitalization (p. 7). It is important to remember that Cummins' (n.d.) work introduced the approximate time it would take for students to learn both the social language (BICS) and the academic language (CALPS). The amount of time required (two years of immersion and five to seven years of study, respectively) suggest that the one hour of instruction per day recommended by Hinton (2001a) would in fact be insufficient for language revitalization to occur. The role of English The parents that I interviewed feel that English is the better language, the language of the future for their children. They do not see a role for the Cree language beyond ceremonies and social activities. Even though Cree was the parents' first language, their children had not learned it as a mother tongue. I went to a language inservice several years ago and listened to a woman in her late 20s talk about her language experience. She explained that she had been raised by her grandparents, both Cree speakers who had insisted on speaking English to her rather than Cree. Their understanding was that if she learned English before she went to school, she 53 would be further ahead. So, off she went, comfortable knowing that she would understand everything the teacher said. The teacher began. Now boys and girls, you all look absolutely beautiful today in your new clothes. Do you see the bright green rug over there in the corner? It is a lovely round shape. I would like all the girls to collect their new pencil and their brand new notebook and sit nicely at the front of the rug. And I would like all the boys to do the same but sit at the back of the rug. Does everyone understand? This woman said that she had grown up learning an English vocabulary of mainly verbs: come, go, sit, eat. There were not a lot of adjectives and adverbs. The grandparents felt that they were speaking English to their granddaughter to help her. In fact, she didn't develop the vocabulary she needed to cope with the first day in kindergarten, and her language patterns came from Cree. As Friesen and Friesen (2005) explain, the indigenous languages exemplify awareness of happenings, eventuating change, flow, and interrelationships because of the dominance of verbs (p. 141). If the kindergarten teacher had said, "Go. Sit." and pointed to the rug, the girl would have understood but because we feel the need to use more complex words and sentence patterns in English, those with a limited vocabulary cannot follow. The girl was ultimately placed in a special education class for a number of years until she could manage in a regular classroom. I wondered if this example was something that was happening at the elementary school in Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan. In ongoing discussions I have had with the staff at the English Nursery - Grade 3 school over the last four years, their main aim appeared to 54 be to increase students' vocabularies and their comprehension of English texts. The school recognizes that when students arrive at the school, they have low vocabulary levels. The school has used various strategies such as Companion Reading and Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM). Companion Reading integrates reading, writing, reading comprehension, phonic instruction, whole language-life applications, spelling and the reading of controlled and uncontrolled vocabulary, into one sequentially taught unit. The program is between $700 and $1000 per grade depending on how much disposable material is needed (www.kidsed.org). PWIM was introduced in September 2006. It was developed by Calhoun (1998) and uses pictures containing familiar objects, actions and, scenes to draw out words from the students' listening and speaking vocabularies. These words are listed and used in writing and reading events (www.sbe.sk.saskatoon.sk.ca). Both programs require a number of inservice sessions conducted by trained program specialists. They also come with lots of resources and teacher friendly materials. If a child is struggling learning to read and write in English, there are the resources to help them. However, if a child is struggling to speak, listen, read, and write in Cree, there are limited resources available. All of the resources would have to be translated into Cree syllables to be used by the teacher. English is also the language of the computer and satellite television. There is little incentive to learn to read and write Cree syllables. It is not in use in the community anywhere except the immersion school. Like many written languages in which a new alphabet has to be memorized, if there is no constant and consistent reinforcement, it quickly becomes a case of "if you don't use it, you lose it." 55 In discussions with the principal of the English school, I suggested that perhaps because many parents spoke English as their second language, it might affect the child's vocabulary development. If the parents were fluent Cree speakers and only spoke English to their children, then it could affect the child's linguistic development. The principal agreed that it could be related but it was more likely the fact that parents were not speaking to their children was a more immediate problem. She felt that video games and computer use were at the root of the language development issues (personal communication, October 9, 2007). There are other issues that support the learning of English over the learning of Cree in this community. Although the Cree immersion school has trained teachers, the nursery class is conducted by a community member. There is little inservice training on teaching Cree as a second language. It is presumed that teachers can switch from the English program to the Cree program easily because they speak Cree. Their teaching styles reflect their ability to teach in English, not Cree. There are ongoing problems with substitute teachers who are not trained teachers. Often, they are not fluent Cree speakers and are unable to read and write Cree syllables. The language of the classroom reverts to English. One teacher was absent for over 30 days in 2006-2007. Language needs to grow and develop In order for Cree to be the language of communication both in the community and in the school, it must grow and develop to reflect the world of the 21st century. However, it is difficult to convince people that language growth and new word development needs to be part of the development of any language revitalization program. As early as March 2005,1 sent the following memo: 56 Concerns with the immersion program March 7, 2005 Language issues This needs to be addressed immediately. There are instances at the Grade 1 level where words and concepts are being dropped because there is not a Cree word for it. There are also cases where an English word is being left in because there is no translation available. This is trouble because we are at such a low level of development. What will happen to math and science as the grade levels increase? Students will not be completing a Grade 1 course if this is not addressed. The development of language is ongoing and it is not just happening to Cree. Any aboriginal language group using these resources will be faced with the same thing. I summarize that how we deal with this issue will set the example for all other First Nations' groups. I do not want the teaching to be restricted to the known words. There is no point in doing this as students will not be able to converse with each other about things on television, at the movies, the latest computer game. If the language is not seen to be useful, then there's no point in having an immersion program. A year later, the discussion continued. 57 March 8, 2006 I went to meet with two of the local writers to review a topic on plants for Grade 1. There was not any traditional cultural information and part of the mandate of the project was to include cultural elements of different topics. I asked George (the director and later principal of the immersion school) for help with traditional/cultural aspects of plants. He suggested that the writers and myself use the Internet for legends that would fit. I asked why there was no real science material. One of the writers who had taught elementary school for 15 years, said she didn't understand photosynthesis and pollination so she left it out. George explained that there were no Cree words for many of the science topics so they should be left out. Things like magnets and fossils should not be used because they had no relevance to the students. He wanted to stay only with Cree words currently used. If there was no Cree word for it, it wouldn't be used. He said that he wanted the program to go one way and I was pulling it away from cultural issues, tying it totally with Saskatchewan Education (Sask Ed) and the Western and Northern Protocol (WNP). He then continued that Sask Ed and WNP had no place in the development of the immersion program. I tried to explain the process and the progress. He put his hands over his ears and told me that he'd already heard enough. He folded his arms and said he wanted nothing more to do with the development of the immersion curriculum (personal notes, March 2006, author). 58 As the leader in the immersion school, teachers take direction from George. If George feels that what has been created is not relevant and does not encourage and support his teachers to use the material, then the project has little chance of success. Burnaby (1997) states "the dark side of leadership is negativity in the communities about what can be done and the sharing of talents and resources... negativity has played a problematic role in the stabilizing of indigenous languages in North America" (p. 6). I thought about what George had said and looked for suggestions. I discovered that one of the problems might be that George presents an adult view of how he perceives culture and feels that his view should be imposed on his students. Perhaps what he should do is look at culture through the students' eyes and at their level to help them understand who they are and how they fit into the world around them (Kaser & Short, 1998). Students in Grades 1 and 2 are interested in dinosaurs and magnets. If they are interested, they will learn. If they are not interested in the topic, then little learning will take place. The English program is not static. It changes to reflect what the students are interested in as well as new materials and resources that are available. On reading Hinton (2001), I discovered that once a language has been chosen as a language of instruction, that language must be developed to meet the educational needs. A language that has never been used to communicate science, math, social studies, and health, must develop vocabulary and discourse styles that fit the situation. She explains that it is not hard but it does change the language. People who wish to revitalize their language because of a desire to return to traditional cultures and values must be aware that language revitalization does not automatically bring people back to these traditional methods of thought. If the language is learned solely in school, then it is school culture and school values that are 59 learned along with it. Even when a conscious effort is made to teach traditional cultures and values, the schoolroom agenda imposes its own culture on the students (p. 9). There is also the issue of linguistic modernization. Henze and Davis (1999) state that languages do evolve and new words must be developed for new technologies and concepts. Rather than debating whether new words should be included, the discussion should be around how the words are developed and by whom (p. 14). The other issue needing more discussion is the definition of what an immersion program is and how that is applied by the education leaders in Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan. Immersion has been defined as: A method of foreign language instruction in which the regular school curriculum is taught through the medium of the language. The foreign language is the vehicle for content instruction; it is not the subject of instruction. (Met, 1993, p. 1) If the language being taught is not a living, growing language, then it is a ceremonial language and the students learning it are not in an immersion program. Reluctance to learn and participate People in the community find it difficult to summon the energy to make changes. A linguist from Carleton University involved in the Cree Way project told me once that women living on reserves lead complicated lives. They have to deal with their parents, their husband's parents, their children, and often have grandchildren before they are 40 years old. It is often easier to maintain what is already in place than try to change. One of the more successful language revitalization projects has taken place in New Zealand. The Maoris began the revitalization of their language by developing Kohange Reo, language nests, in order to provide areas where young children could be 60 completely immersed in their language. Here began the revitalization process of the Maori language. Reedy (2000) believes that the language nests were central to the revitalization of the Maori language. The Maori perceive the language nests as the best theoretical foundations of learning for the child because it is a holistic approach, interwoven with cultural ethos, using elders to transmit the language (p. 159). This approach begins with the community- with the early stages of Fishman's system. Thomas Berger (2006), the former British Columbia Supreme Court Justice and author of the Conciliator's Final Report: Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Implementation Planning Contract Negotiations for the Second Planning Period, strongly recommends that language nests be used as the foundation for Inuit children. Here I urge adoption of the initiative taken by the Maori of New Zealand in the use of "language nests." By the early 1980s the use of Maori was dying. The Maori people, however, insisted that it had to be revived. And they knew they had to do it themselves. So in schools and community halls the Maori would meet in the evening. Elders would teach their children and their grandchildren their own language; soon the next generation and the generation after that would start to use Maori. However, it is often difficult to convince people that sometimes new ideas might work better than old ones. One of the people involved in the immersion project bases her understanding of learning Cree on the way she learned English. She only spoke Cree when she started school and she said: I don't remember not being able to speak my language but I don't believe that when I went into the classroom, Kingergarten or Grade 1 year, the teachers were so patient that I had to only learn English oracy first. Like I don't believe that happened. And I don't believe that should be happening with our language. There should be a balance to it. Not even a balance. The written part should come first 61 because that's how we learned English. We were told this is what you write and we learned from there. I can't believe that the teachers back then were patient enough to set up things like we're going to do this in nests and you're going to learn English this way and that's not how it was done. We were told probably from what I hear probably that we couldn't speak our language so that's why I don't believe that it's oracy, especially in the school. Maybe in the families, yes but not in the school, (personal communication to author) This makes change of any kind difficult as so much of what happens is rooted in the past. It is often difficult to move forward and embrace new ideas. The curriculum guide The immersion curriculum guide is written in English using themes and topics suggested by Saskatchewan Education. It reflects the objectives developed by the Western and Northern Canadian protocol. The English school uses it. Most of the teachers at the immersion school do not use it. The year is divided into four seasons, called themes. Each theme has three or four topics. The topics and their objectives are taken from Saskatchewan Education curriculum guides and there are suggested activities for the teacher to implement. (See Appendix A for details.) Each topic has its own resource book for the students with accompanying readings and exercises that reflect the lifestyles and values of First Nations. The students develop new vocabulary as they learn about math, science, social studies, health, language arts, and fine arts in one topic. It is an activity-based approach that relies on a variety of different teaching strategies but there is a strong emphasis on activity-based learning. Resources have been developed to reinforce language and allow for creative writing. Each topic is planned to last approximately two weeks. 62 There are several areas of concern here. The teachers have been told at the beginning of each school year that they are piloting the immersion curriculum. It has been explained on numerous occasions that some of the activities might not work, that some of the topics might be better served with different material. The fine arts component relies heavily on community members supporting the teacher in the classroom to demonstrate cultural activities particular to the area. Teachers have been asked to write their comments directly on the curriculum guide so that changes could be made to make the guide more relevant and applicable. Those developing the material have asked to see the guides at the end of each season. Initially, a substitute teacher was also provided so that the teachers could come and talk directly to the developers, giving feedback and suggestions. There was never anything written on the curriculum guides and the teachers appeared unable to state what activities they had completed. Someone from the curriculum department went to the school to see what was happening. It quickly became evident that the teachers were using few, if any, of the activities suggested or the resources developed. Because the resources are written in Cree syllables, I think the teachers are unable to read them. Their functioning ability in Cree syllables is little and in some cases, non-existent. By the time the students are in Grade 1, the material is too difficult to read and the activities require a higher level of Cree syllables than the teachers possess. Because some of the teachers are not certified teachers, there has been some feedback that the guide is too difficult to read. The principal of the English school at Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan has read through the guides and has recommended that the teachers in the English program use it. Other schools in Manitoba and Saskatchewan have adopted the curriculum and no one has stated that it is too difficult to read. While the 63 objectives are taken directly from the Saskatchewan Education curriculum guides, the activities are developed by community resource people and myself. I worry that the project is not being validated in the community of its origin. Why learn to read and write in Cree? Not one of the interviewees thought reading and writing the language important enough even to mention. When I asked if they could read and write in Cree, people said no and expressed little desire to learn. There is no visible use of the Cree language except for a couple of bilingual signs for the health centre and the schools. There are no novels, no newspapers, no magazines, no resource material written in Cree syllables. Some library books have been translated into Cree syllables but they are board books and books for new readers. These would have a limited appeal for teenagers and adults. Friesen and Friesen (2005) remind educators that those learning indigenous languages must have practice time in real life situations if there is to be lasting value in learning the language (p. 141). Currently, this is not happening. It may be that so few people can read and write Cree syllables that there is not a literate environment that encourages signage and other literary endeavours. Most of the teachers are unable to read and write Cree syllables at a level necessary to use the resources that have been developed for each grade level. Teachers have been hired for the immersion school on the basis of their ability to speak the language. Their ability to read and write Cree syllables is presumed, not validated. The education community feels that they can learn on the job. The Grade 1 teacher uses a dictionary to create simple worksheets for her students. The problem is that she does not understand the grammar and phonological rules of the language, nor is she able to 64 compensate for dialect differences. As the year progresses, she may improve her literacy skills but it does call into question the quality of education her students are receiving. The problem is not just at that grade level. It is across the immersion school. A similar situation is reported with some of the Second Language Teaching Cohort of students at the University of Calgary. Students are selected for the program based on an interview in a language other than English. The interview is oral and literacy skills in the language other than English are presumed and not verified. However, the purpose of the university program is different. The students do not teach the language they speak but they try to develop a better understanding of literacy development in multilingual contexts, (personal interview with Gavin Peat, October 27, 2007) It is possible for the teachers to become literate. Stiles (1997) reports that at the inception of the Cree Way Project in 1973 no Cree language materials for education existed nor did the population read and write in Cree. It started with a single resource teacher teaching Cree syllables for half an hour a day in each classroom. Currently, nine communities in the James Bay area are using an immersion program that now goes to Grade 4, using Cree syllables as the writing and reading system (www.cscree.qc.ca). Dialect differences as well as distance make it difficult to learn from this group. It is expensive to fly from northern Saskatchewan to James Bay. Even when contact has been made with the James Bay Cree School Board and bookings researched, the trip was not approved because of cost. Another avenue is for the community to review their decision to use Cree syllabics. If SRO were the orthographic system, then teachers with English decoding skills and the ability to speak Cree, would be able to sound out and read the material. As 65 discussed earlier, Cree has a transparent orthography, even at an early stage in language acquisition. The use of syllabics adds another layer to their development of reading and writing skills as teachers have to learn the syllabic sound system prior to reading the material. Galletly and Knight (2004) suggest that the more transparent a language is, the easier it is to be an independent reader of that language. This means that once students have mastered their letters or in this case, the syllabics, and their sounds, the words contain no hidden secrets as they are highly transparent and can be read accurately and independently, although slowly at first (p. 5). English does not have a transparent orthography so it is difficult for many students to read independently of the teacher once letters and sounds are mastered. Cree is reasonably transparent. If SRO were used instead of syllabics there would be some transferability in sound/symbol skills once the students began to learn to read English. Initial decoding strategies would be learned with a transparent language and then moved with the students once they began to learn to read in English. Nunavut teaches Inuit syllabics to its students, introducing English at Grade 4. The community situation is somewhat different than Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan as most of the Inuit children arrive at school speaking their mother tongue. English is a second language for them. Thomas Berger's Concilliator's Final Report (2006) discovered that many Inuit were unable to obtain work because their literacy levels in both Inuktitut and English were so low. Only 25% of Inuit children graduate from high school. Even though 75% of Inuit speak Inuktitut as their first language, the language of the government is English. Berger reports that the schools are supposed to equip the students with 66 employment skills. However, the schools are failing. Students are not competent in Inuktitut and they have the lowest rate of English literacy in Canada. In Nunavut, Inuktitut is the language of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 4 and then English becomes the sole language of instruction. Many of them can converse in English. But they can't write in English, nor are their English skills sufficiently advanced to facilitate instruction in English. In Grade 4, they are starting over, and they find themselves behind. Their comprehension is imperfect; it slips and as it does, they fall further behind. By the time they reach Grade 8, Grade 9, and Grade 10, they are failing (not all or them, to be sure, but most of them). This is damaging to their confidence, to their faith in themselves. For them, there has been not only an institutional rejection of their language and culture, but also a demonstration of their personal incapacity. The Inuit children have to catch up, but they are trying to hit a moving target since, as they advance into the higher grades, the curriculum becomes more dependent on reading and books, more dependent on a capacity in English they simply do not have. In Nunavut this reinforces the colonial message of inferiority. The Inuit student mentally withdraws, then leaves altogether. In such a system Inuktitut is being eroded. Of course, language is only one element of identity, but it is a huge one (Berger, 2006, p.5). Berger suggests that a better bilingual program would begin in the preschool years and go through to Grade 12. Inuktitut would still be the principal language of instruction to Grade 3 but would not be abandoned in Grade 4. Both English and Inuktitut would be languages of instruction through out the system to Grade 12. A recent report on northern reading programs. O'Sullivan and Goosney (2007) support this view. Although their early language and reading development (to Grade 2) is good in both Inuktituk and their second language, there is considerable concern that children experienced difficulty learning subject matter when the language of instruction is switched to English or, especially, French, (p.32) 67 I would argue that it is not the language of instruction that is causing the problem, but the use of syllables as the reading and writing system of the territory. There are not the resources to support the use of syllables nor the teachers to teach them. Krashen (1997) believes "that the ability to read transfers across languages even when the writing systems are different." However, that belief presupposes the idea that there are many books to read and teachers able to teach the writing system. Other First Nations have had success when SRO is used rather than syllables. The Navajo Immersion Program at Fort Defiance, Arizona has been running an immersion program for over 15 years. The Kindergarten and Grade 1 students are taught completely in Navajo. Grades 2 and 3 are taught a half-day in Navajo and a half-day in English. Grades 4 and 5 have a minimum of an hour's instruction a day in Navajo (Arvison & Holm, 2001. p. 206). From test scores administered at both the school level and the state level, the immersion program had not hurt the students. At Grade 4 they were doing as well or better than the students in the English only stream. In addition, they also knew quite a bit of Navajo (p. 211). O' Sullivan and Goosney (2007) report that children in the Navajo immersion program out perform those in English programs in English reading, writing, and mathematics at Grades 3 and 5 when tested state wide (p. 33). The writing and reading system is SRO. The Mohawks of Kahnawake near Montreal have also had success with their language immersion program. In the early 1980s, the Kanien'kehaka Raotitohkwa Cultural Centre began a pilot language project to only use Mohawk with English- speaking preschool children. It was modeled on the French immersion programs seen in 68 other parts of Canada (Hoover, 1992, p. 271). Currently, there is full day immersion for Kindergarten to Grade 4 students, and maintenance language programs for students in Grades 5 to Grade 8. Grenoble and Whaley (2006) record that the achievement of the program has depended heavily on individuals with the persistence to develop community commitment and participation. There has been careful navigation between different attitudes about the immersion program coming from within the community. Before the program began, Mohawk was an unwritten language. A linguist was hired and with five summer students developed a standard orthography for Mohawk. The linguist knew the language and was sensitive to community concerns. The group was able to develop a linguistically sound grammar workbook for teachers that became the source for their written knowledge. There has been ongoing development of language and a new codification was completed in the 1990s with the Mohawk Language Standardization Project (pp. 87-91). O'Sullivan and Goosney (2007) report on the Mohawk immersion program: Longitudinal evaluation of the children's English language skills showed that by Grade 3 children in the Mohawk immersion program performed as well as average Canadian children on the vocabulary, mathematics concepts, and mathematical computations of the English Canadian Test of Basic Skills. The third graders could not read the English used in the other subtests (e.g., reading comprehension, mathematics problem solving), but when the tests were read aloud, their performance was equivalent to average Canadian children. In Grade 4, children could read all the subtests and with the exception of spelling scored on par with children in the rest of Canada. After a year of instruction in English, immersion students performed as well as students in English programs (p. 34). 69 The Mohawk immersion program uses Roman orthography. The reading and writing systems have not been mentioned in O'Sullivan and Goosney (2007) report nor in Berger's analysis. However, it is evident that the two First Nations immersion programs which work use Roman orthography and that the children do well in standardized testing in English. The immersion program in Nunavut "produces young adults who, by and large, cannot function properly in either English or Inuktitut" (Berger, 2006). This does suggest that the orthography plays a large role in the success of First Nations' immersion students when they begin to learn to read and write in English. Chapter Summary In this chapter I have described some of the obstacles faced by Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan in trying to provide a Cree immersion program for their students. I have identified areas where research shows an alternative approach. These approaches and their applicability to Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan will be discussed in the next chapter. 70 CHAPTER FIVE Lessons learned "Cree should be spoken at home I think. That way children will understand it better. They will hear it more and they will use it more. It should be spoken right from when the kids are born. "Ann, parent In this chapter I present some concluding 'lessons learned' from this research project. I describe six areas where the community could become more fully integrated into the Gift of Language Program. I then make some recommendations for further research and, finally, respond to research questions which guided this study. 1. Planning The first area that needs to be discussed and formalized is the purpose for the immersion program. Rubin (1999) uses his experience to support the need for goals. "Until we define the goals of the program, it will be extremely difficult to develop curricular scope and sequence or implement effective language programs"(p. 20). The purpose will determine the next steps. Fettes (1998) argues that there needs to be a close study of language use and language attitudes in individual communities. This would provide a valuable resource for formulating language policy (p. 121). It is important that the entire community is invited to participate in these discussions. One possibility is that a survey instrument is developed similar to one used by the Kanien'kehaka Raotitiohkwa Cultural Centre. The study helped to determine the Mohawk community's needs and wishes by looking at the patterns of Mohawk language use in Kahnawake, attitudes towards the language, and gauging community support for a series of initiatives to promote the use of the Mohawk language (Hoover, 1992). A 71 similar approach could then provide a solid basis for the community involvement in language revitalization in Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan. As part of the planning process, terminology should be identified and defined to the satisfaction of the community. Words like immersion, bilingualism, intergenerational transmission of language, and language revitalization need to be used correctly so that the community has an understanding of the services that are promised by the educational community. 2. Intergenerational transmission of language If the purpose of the Gift of Language Program is identified by the community as being the intergenerational transmission of language, then there needs to be a discussion with families and community leaders to decide on their language needs. It may be that their only concern is the ability to speak the language. The focus may not be on the ability to read and write the language. From the conversations from the community, I learned that no one was particularly interested in learning to read and write in Cree. There is little for anyone to read in any case. The only reading material currently available is that written for the Nursery - Grade 3 program at the immersion school. I was told by the linguist who works for the James Bay Cree that the biggest use of syllables in that community is for people writing their names. The Eastern James Bay Cree dictionary on the web allows people to enter their English name and it is immediately spelled in syllables (www.eastcre.org). Because syllables in the James Bay continue to be used by the churches in the area, there is a need for people to be able to read the hymns, the bible, and the prayer book. This need does not exist in Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan. 72 However, the students really would like to learn to speak and understand Cree so that their traditions and cultural practices have real meaning for them. Currently, the immersion program is only funded to Grade 3. Fishman (1997) worries that if the language is only taught and spoken in the school setting, then it will not be transmitted intergenerationally because the students will have lost the language by the time they have children. One solution might be to offer Cree classes as part of prenatal care. There could also be tutoring at that time in the benefits of children knowing it as their mother tongue as well as English. Another solution could be the development of community-based programs that can be developed within the framework of local learning styles. The focus would be on a domain (or domains) of language use rather than just language instruction. A community activity is chosen that is suited to informal learning styles. Participation is encouraged and language instruction becomes part and parcel of learning the activity as a whole and participating in it. This could be part of a summer immersion camp or an after- school activity (Grenoble and Whaley, 2006, pp. 59 -60). This approach would help the students that I interviewed understand and learn the basis of their culture. Activities such as the Round Dance, the Sun Dance, and other cultural specifics could be taught to the older students with information about the ceremonies being shared with the students. This would go a long way to alleviate the language loss issues the students expressed, especially their need to know and understand language so they can understand cultural activities A different approach is Hinton's (2001c) Master-Apprentice language learning program which has been developed and used successfully in California. People interested in learning a language are matched with a speaker of that language. The master must have 73 fluency; the apprentice must demonstrate a prior interest in learning and teaching the language. Each team member is given $3000 in installments for 360 hours of language immersion work spread out over a year. The apprentice is asked to log their work and describe the activities and the types of language learning that has taken place. This is checked by the coordinator of the program. Both master and apprentice are tutored in how the process works in a weekend seminar. The leaders demonstrate a variety of strategies showing how communication can take place when the apprentice knows little if any of the target language. The stress is oral language, not written. Activities are the basis of the language lessons. Table 8 explains some of the strategies used by the master and the apprentice. Table 8. Master and Apprentice Eight points of language learning Teachers Apprentices 1. Be an active teacher. Find things to talk 1. Be an active learner. Ask about things. about. Create situations or find something Create situations, bring things to ask your in any situation to talk about. Tell stories. teacher to tell you about; find things in the Use the language to tell the apprentice to environment to ask about; ask him/her to do thing. Encourage conversation. tell you stories. 2. Don't use English, not even to translate. 2. Don't use English, not even when you can't say it in the language. Find other ways to communicate what you want to say. 3. Use gestures, context, objects, actions 3.Use gestures, context, objects, actions to help the apprentice understand what you to help in your communication when you are saying. don't know the words. 4. Rephrase for successful 4. Practice. Use new words and new communication. Rephrase things the sentences and grammar as much as apprentice doesn't understand, using possible, to yourself, to your teacher, to simpler ways to say them. other people. 74 5. Rephrase for added learning. Rephrase 5. Don't be afraid of mistakes. If you things the apprentice says, the show him don't know how to say something right, correct forms or extend his knowledge to say it wrong. Use whatever words you more complex forms. Encourage know; use gestures, etc. for the rest. communication in the language, even with errors. 6. Be willing to play with language. 6. Be willing to play with language like Fantasize together; make up plays, poems, children do. Name things you see, count and word games together. them, talk about what colour they are. Make up stories. 7. Understanding precedes speaking. Use 7. Understanding precedes speaking. various ways to increase and test You may recognize and understand many understanding. Give the apprentice things you cannot say. Focus on commands to follow. Ask him/her understanding: that is the most important questions. It is not necessary to focus on step toward language learning. After you speaking each new word right away; that understand an utterance fully, learning to will come naturally. speak it will not take long. 8. Be patient. An apprentice won't learn 8. Be patient with yourself. It takes a long something in one lesson. Repeat words and time to learn a language well. You are phrases often, in as many different doing a heroic task; forgive mistakes. situations and conversations as possible. (Hinton, 1996, pp. 243-244) The apprentice uses a tape recorder as a way of recording their developing language. There is more assessment of each team at the beginning and the end of each year. Teams can apply annually for funding but it only lasts for three years. The desired result is that at the end of three years, the apprentice will at least be conversationally fluent in the language and be ready to be a language teacher to others (Hinton, 2001c, pp. 218-223). This may be an alternative solution for the students in Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan. Each year funding is available for summer work projects on the reserve. This type of project could be one of those submitted for funding. Elders who are fluent in the language could be matched with high school students who want to become orally fluent 75 in their language. The Master/Apprenticeship model provides a culturally appropriate model that can strengthen intergenerational ties within the community. It would bring the elders who feel they cannot communicate with their grandchildren together with students who do not feel they understand cultural activities that take place in the community. As a way of developing oral skills and hearing Cree language, the elders' stories that have been recorded on cassette from many years ago do not need to be transcribed. With today's technology, the stories can be added to the website as sound bites and accessed by the community. Transcription and translation take a long time and placing the stories on the web in their purest form would add to people's language skills. Suggestions 1 and 2 fit with Hinton's (2001a) adaptation of Fishman's theoretical model which calls for language planning in Stage 1 and encouragement by Fishman of the intergenerational transmission of language in Stages 2 and 3. This is outlined in Table 3 on pages 23 and 24. 3. Reading and writing If the purpose, as decided by the community, is to teach students how to speak, read, and write in Cree, then there are several steps that should be taken. The first is to decide on the orthographic system. This needs to be decided based on the best interests of the students. A linguist should be contracted to come to the community and discuss the pros and cons of both styles of writing. Research should be gathered about the effects the two writing systems have on students' acquisition of English. If Cree syllabics remains the orthography, I would recommend that the immersion school at Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan be closed until such a time as teachers are able to read and write fluently in 76 syllables. It is not fair for the students to have teachers who cannot read and write the language they are supposed to teach. If the reading and writing system changes to SRO, then the resources could be easily printed in that orthography. Teachers would be able to sound out the words in the resources as they already speak the language. There would need to be some grammatical training in the language by a fluent reader and writer. One of the community members stated that she thought she could learn to read and write in Cree syllables or SRO if she had a book or a manual she could use. I would suggest that the community hire a linguist to document the language and the dialect of the community and help in the development of learning resources for community members. There have been several locations where this has happened. Anonby (1998) gives the example of the Dogrib language being documented by a linguist and then developed into primers and workbooks for adults who are interested in the reading and writing of their language (p. 39). This would provide consistency with spelling and language use within the classroom. It would also provide reference material for the teacher. 4. The role of educational institutions Cantoni (1997) states there are several things schools can do to help keep minority languages alive. Firstly, they can dispel the misconception that learning more than one language retards a child's development and causes confusion, and the perception that English is more valuable than an indigenous language. Families who have only spoken English to their children have denied them the advantages of bilingualism as well as an understanding of cultural knowledge that has no equivalent in the language of outsiders. Now, the same parents and their children look to the school to keep the 77 language alive. Cantoni suggests that schools need to develop native language programs and hire qualified, literate teachers to implement them as well as encourage diversity in language use rather than conformity. It is important that the language is used. The direction can be provided by the community but the school participates in the effort so that the language has credibility. The school must become a strong promoter of local language preservation and transmission (pp. 1-6). This is exactly what one of the students wanted from the school. She felt that as there are First Nations teachers at the high school who speak Cree even though they teach a variety of subjects, they should be encouraged and applauded for speaking Cree to the students in the halls, the classrooms, as well as outside of school. Another student said that anyone who speaks Cree has the responsibility to teach it. 5. The establishment of a Language Authority in the community Communities which have decided to embark on a program to revitalize their language could research the possibility of setting up a Language Authority in the community. Rubin (1999) suggests that communities establish a language authority that makes the decisions about training and certification of language teachers, maintenance of traditional patterns of grammar and syntax, and screens new words and word forms (p. 22). Baraby (2002) saw one community in Labrador set up a committee to make the decision about the writing system and to set up a coherent program for teaching the Montagnais language as a first language from kindergarten to Grade 11. The committee was made up of three language teachers, a pedagogical consultant, the school principal, 78 and a linguist. The same group of teachers worked with the linguist to design materials (p. 203). Kavangh (1999) suggests that a Language Authority can be the group that documents and authorizes vocabularies, writing systems, spelling, and pronouciation of words. They can also authorize new words to modernize the language. Another key role of the Language Authority is to certify Aboriginal speakers. They can set standards and criteria for proficiency in the language (p. 92). She has developed a workbook for communities that have decided to revitalize their language. It would be an ideal document to use as a basis for developing a Language Authority. A Language Authority at Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan could be the group that works with a linguist to develop the written form of the local dialect. It could also monitor the teaching of the language by interviewing teachers and checking their oral skills but also their ability to read and write. It might be possible for the community to develop levels of fluency that community members could aspire to and be tested for. This would allow for consistent and quality teaching standards. If the community decided to use the Master/Apprentice program, the Language Authority could administer it and match speakers with students and monitor progress. The University of Calgary has recently proposed a proficiency exam for student teacher candidates wishing to become second language teachers (Naqvi & Coburn, 2008). This could be adapted by Language Authority in Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan so that fluency could be assessed prior to the teacher entering the classroom. (See Appendix C) 79 6. Teacher training The Cree Way Project in James Bay has had a long relationship and partnership with McGill University in developing courses, training, and certification for those community members wanting to become involved in teaching in their immersion program. Perhaps the same kind of partnership could be developed with one of the universities in Saskatchewan or Alberta so that an actual program of studies could be devised that would build on speaking skills and create reading and writing skills that could then be transferred into the classroom. Teachers also need to be given the tools to do the job. This would include intensive Cree language lessons, strategies to teach Cree as a second language, assessment strategies for second language learners, and continual inservice training on activity-based teaching. The inservice training could be linked to one of the universities for credit towards a graduate degree. It could include learning about linguistics as well as second language teaching strategies. Suggestions 3 to 6 reflect Stage 5 -6 of Fishman's model as the school becomes involved in using Cree or supporting people, including teachers and community members who wish to learn the language. Fishman's model: The missing link Central to this research is the theoretical model provided by Fishman (1997) and the work that Ignace (1998) and Hinton (2001) have added to make it more appropriate to First Nations' communities. As has been explained earlier, Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan began their language revitalization at Stage 5, the implementation of an immersion program at the school. What is missing is the critical role played by the family which 80 Fishman (1997) describes as an 'unexpendable bulwark' in attempts to reverse language shift. He states that other groups like schools can contribute, but, without the active involvement of the family, they cannot assume sole responsibility for revitalizing the language (p. 94). It is also important to use the lessons learned by other cultures further along the path of revitalizing languages. The Welsh language has seen a resurgence in use but authorities have recognized that the school alone is not enough, that families have to be involved. The language planners have worked with midwives and health visitors to take language information to families with new babies. Edwards and Newcombe (2005) distribute a leaflet called 6 reasons for making sure your children speak Welsh. There are two language versions of the text which are not just translations. They address the specific concerns of both English and Welsh speaking communities. There is also a CD aimed at helping parents use Welsh with their children. There is also a regular newsletter that showcases people who have successively raised children to speak both Welsh and English (pp. 308-309). This approach could be adopted by Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan. Health care workers who distribute immunizations at well baby clinics could also hand out information of the Cree language. If parents are interested, then a community language worker could visit and help with language issues. A CD for young children could be developed by the community as there are already computer technicians who have the knowledge to create CDs. This could be one of the ways to encourage the community to use Cree when they speak to their children. 81 Further research Initially, each community which would like to be involved in a language revitalization program would need an assessment tool to measure the language use as well as the language interest in the community. Hoover (1992) has one that was used as an measuring device for Mohawk language development. Grenoble and Whaley (2006) recommend a number of different evaluation tools that would have to be administered depending on the information that was being sought. If community based cultural activities are used as method of teaching oral language, then a measuring instrument to monitor language development would need to be developed as a way of monitoring the success/failure of such an approach. The same type of measuring device could be used in the Master-Apprentice program for high school students. There is also the need for orthographic research into the writing system that is most successful for the students. In discussions with Marie Odile Junker, the Carleton University linguist who works with the Cree School Board in James Bay, she said she was unaware of any research that compares the results of students learning syllabics to those learning SRO. The anecdotal suggestions that I have found are not based on a research model, rather a suggestion that no one thought to look at the writing systems the students were taught prior to looking at their test scores after they had learned English. 82 Conclusion I asked three research questions at the end of Chapter 2. 1. To what degree is the intergenerational transmission of the Cree language taking place in a community which supports the revitalization of its indigenous language? I discovered that the community does want its language to survive but it also wants its children to succeed. Parents believe that their children's success is linked to their children's ability to communicate, both written and oral, in English. There is no understanding of Cantoni (1997) and Cummins (2006) work that stresses that children who learn a second language have great success in school. 2. To what extent does the establishment of an immersion program facilitate the learning of the indigenous language by children for whom English is the lingua franca? Fishman believes that an immersion school is just a band aid unless the community has been part of the process. Unfortunately, in Wicekaskosiw Sakahikan, the community has been aware of the process and the program but not part of the language decisions. There needs to be a reason for learning to speak the language and there needs to be a reason for people to read and write the language. The immersion program will provide speakers of the language who have had 3 Vi years of Cree if they started in Nursery. This is not enough to provide fluent speakers according to Cummins research. It's a start but it's not the answer. How is the language used and carried by those children to a point where it reverts to their mother tongue and they speak Cree to their children? It is an awesome task. 83 3. In what ways does the community perceive its role, vis-a-vis the school, in the teaching and intergenerational transmission of Cree? From my research, I don't think the community views the school as the vehicle to preserve language. All the people I interviewed felt that the responsibility rested with the family as well as those family members who could still speak Cree. Subsidiary research questions 1. Why is there little or no intergenerational transmission of Cree? From the parents of students in the community I learned that there were historical as well as linguistic reasons why parents did not speak Cree to their children. 2. Why is there a need for an immersion program? The community members that I interviewed did not regard the immersion program as important to the regeneration of their language. The immersion program was not part of their daily lives, with the exception of the parents who worked in the Gift of Language Program itself. The immersion program involves reading and writing in an orthography that the community does not know. There are no reading materials outside of the immersion school program. There is no need to write anything in Cree syllables outside of the immersion school because no one can read them. The immersion program is employing a number of people to create materials for the school, yet no one in the school can use the materials because the teachers are not able to read syllables at the level of the resource material. The community is at most ambivalent about the immersion program because they have not been involved in any decision making. 84 3. To what extent is an immersion program the answer? The immersion program in its current form will not give the students life long linguistic skills in Cree. It will not supply the next generation of Cree speakers who will speak Cree to their children. Rehyner (1999) remarks that historically school-based second language programs have not lead to students conversing in the new language. New approaches need to be developed. 4. How can the language program meet the linguistic needs of the community? The community needs to be asked what its linguistic needs are prior to a language program beginning. The linguistic needs have to be defined by the community in order to have a program that is wanted and respected by the community. 5. What role, if any, should the community play in language revitalization? The community's role is fundamental in the success of any language revitalization. Fishman( 1997) believes that the community's role is necessary prior to an immersion program. The community needs to promote the use of the language everyday. Rubin (1999) states that the community ultimately owns the language. Friesen and Friesen (2005) state that unless a language is used in meaningful ways on a daily basis then it will not survive. Burnaby (1997) believes that strong community leadership is necessary. Researcher after researcher mentions parts of the community that need to be involved in any language revitalization program. The community in this study was not asked what it needed or wanted. For any language revitalization program to succeed, the language community it serves should be part of the planning and the implementation process. If not, then the program does not meet the needs of the community. In the community of Wicekaskosiw 85 Sakahikan, the Gift of Language Program is meeting the needs of the funding agency by presenting curriculum guides and resource material. That is not the language revitalization need expressed by the community. It is imperative that the community and the Gift of Language Program discuss what the community needs and then funding should allow it to happen. 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Ottawa, ON: Canadian Heritage. 92 APPENDIX A: YEAR OUTLINE GRADE 1, GRADE 2, GRADE 3 93 Grade 1 Outline Fall: September - Winter: December - Spring: March - April Summer: May-June November February 8 weeks 6 weeks 10 weeks 10 weeks Fl: Seasonal change WI: Seasonal change Spl: Seasonal change: SI: Seasonal change: 1) Introduction to 1) Introduction to the 1) Earth 1) Earth school earth 2) Plants 2) Plants 2) Plants in the fall 2) Plants 3) Animals 3) Animals 3) Weather in the fall 3) Animals 4) Weather 4) Weather 4) Weather F2: Identity (SS) W2: Heritage (SS) Sp2: Interdependence (SS) S2: Decision making (SS) 1) Me 1) Family celebrations 1) Meeting needs and 1) Family changes 2) Belonging to past and present wants 2) Family rules groups 2) Families in the past 2) Responsibilities in 3) Making 3) Our families the family decisions 4) Mapping 3) Conserving 4) A summer resources celebration F3: Senses (SC) W3: Sky (SC) Sp3: Food S3: Motion (SC) 1) Introduction to 1) Talking about food 1) How different senses 2) Preparing food things move 2) Sight 2) What is force? 3) Hearing 4) Touching 5) Tasting 6) Smelling 7) Sometimes your senses fool you F4: Animals (SC) W4: Legends (LA) Sp4: Butterflies and Spiders 1) Many types of 1) How the people 1) Butterflies animals hunted the moose 2) Spiders 2) Basic needs of 2) How Wildcat and animals Coyote tricked 3) Animals adapt to each other their environment 4) Animals played a role in the past F5: Celebrations 1 1) Heroes 94 Grade 2 Outline Fall: September - Winter: December - Spring: March - April Summer: May-June November February 8 weeks 6 weeks 10 weeks 10 weeks Fl: Identity (SS) Wl: Heritage (SS) Spl: Interdependence (SS) SI: Decisionmaking 1) Classroom and 1) School then and 1) Needs and wants (SS) school community now 2) Schools meet needs 1) Making 2) Our community 2) The local and wants decisions 3) Weather and community then 3) Communities meet 2) Rules seasons in our and now needs and wants 3) Community community government 4) Our changing world F2: Habitat (SC) W2: Magnets (SC) Sp2: Dinosaurs (SC) S2: Environment (SC) 1) The intricacy of 1) Animals from long 1) Importance of our environment ago water 2) Interactions within 2) Searching for 2) Polluted air and the environment information about polluted water the past endanger life F3: Healthy bodies (HEA) W3: Community dance Sp3: Novel study (LA) 1) Emotional support tradition (FA) 1) Evan finds his strength 2) Nutrition 1) The dances 2) The performance F4: Weather (SC) Sp4: Plants (SC) 1) Data 1) Parts of a plant 2) Weather 2) Plant reproduction descriptions 3) Role of agriculture 3) Effects of weath er in our society 95 Grade 3 Outline Fall: September- Winter: December - Spring: March - April Summer: May-June November February 8 weeks 6 weeks 10 weeks 10 weeks Fl: Identity (SS) Wl: Heritage (SS) Spl: Interdependence SI: Decisionmaking Mod 1: Comparing Mod 1: Communities then (SS) (SS) Canadian families and now Mod 1: Human needs and Mod 1: Making decisions Mod 2: Comparing Mod 2: Culture as reflected wants Mod 2: Groups make Canadian schools in folktales Mod 2: Communities decisions Mod 2: Comparing around the world Mod 3: Our changing Canadian communities Mod 3: Meeting needs world through industry and services Mod 4: Meeting needs through agriculture F2: Animals(SC) W2: Solar system(SC) Sp2: Earth (SC) S2: Properties of Mod 1: Food chains and Mod 1: Motions of the earth Mod 1: Structure of the matter(SC) food webs and moon earth Mod 1: Characteristics of Mod 2: Endangered Mod 2: Solar system Mod 2: Characteristics of the properties of matter animals the crust Mod 2: Changes in matter F3: Healthy bodies W3: Sound (SC) Sp3: Novel study (LA) (HEA) Mod 1: Nature and Mod 1: Gathering facts for properties of sound wellness Mod 2: Uses of sound Mod 2: Social and emotional well-being F4: Novel study (LA) W4: Simple machines Sp4: Fire and fuels(SC) Fantastic Mr. Fox (SC) Mod 1: Components of fire Mod 1: Types of force and Mod 2: Principles of energy extinguishing fire Mod 2: Simple machines Mod 3: Uses of fires convert force into motion 96 APPENDIX B: CREE SYLLABIC FONT 97 no IPVbo-h • o < A wow A E J 0 H • > < V A PA PE P! PO P n TA TE TI TO ' f • b P d KA KE KO ~' k" U 1 r J CHA CHE CHI CHO CH '~ L "1 J c MA ME Mi MO M or NA NE Ni NO "N r1 n SA SE SI SO s YA YE Yl YO t^ http://www.miyo.ca/cree/crimages/syllabics.gif 98 APPENDIX C: PROPOSED PROFICIENCY EXAM 99 REQUIREMENTS All applicants must submit the following information no later than one week before your scheduled interview: 1. Prepare a language portfolio (digital, or photocopy of original) detail ing personal proof of your language knowledge (Remember: focus is on Spanish, German and Mandarin). * PI ease ensure it is accurate and only contains items that revolve around your personal experience with the language in question. The following can be part of your portfolio: Examples of your interpersonal skills. This could include: any non-formal experiences that you have had with the language in the past five years. Hxperiences with the language on a personal basis such as travel, working in. the country/ hosting people who speak the target language in your home, something you have written, etc. Examples must include samples of speak ing, reading, writing or listening, (e.g. a) having a Spanish friend vou talk to on a regular basis, reading a Spanish book (include book in the portfolio, title?), writing a letter in the lan guage, watching movies in the language on a regular basis). Please be sure to document your examples with specific dates and length of time spent in the second language context. b) Examples of your cognitive academic language proficiency. This could include: formal coursework, involvement in academic programs, 100 = 2 Cunew Issues exchange opportunities., certification, and international, as well as national academic experience. Samples can he of speaking, reading, wilting or listening. H. Completion of the Language Proficiency Self-Assessment. This docu ment (attached) assesses vour ability in the language in question, as you perceive it. The University in gits you to he. as hottest as possible when grading i/oitrtdf, so ic> not to skip t/ottr ttfults in the Language Proficiency InU'rwiv. Ill, Participation in a Language Proficiency Interview. The purpose ot the Language Profit iencv Interview is to ascertain the language proficiency level ot the Second language Teacher Candidate. The interview will be approximately 45 minutes in length and vvHi incorporate the /our com ponents of a language: speaking, reading, writing and listening, "(he portfolio you have prepared will be used to instigate conversation around your language proh'ciencv. ASSJESStNG LANGUAGE FOR PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE Please rate yourself a-i honestly as possible on the follow ing statement;.: 1 - beginner proficiency 2 — advanced beginner proficiency 3 ~ approaching native-like speaking proficiency 4 " native-like proficiency Speaking Proficiency 1 lean give directions io someone. 12 3 •'! e.g. How to get somewhere How to ritte a bike 2. I can explain sometliing to someone. I 2 > 4 e.g. Why the sky is blue? View to tell masculine and feminine in Spanish 3. 1 can analyze snmeone s performw.ee J 2 T 1 e.g. Describing what someone did in detail Your opinion of a movie/btKik. 4. I can critique someone's performance i 2 ,T •! e.g. How well someone did on a performance Your analysis of an event Reading Proficiency 5 I can read something thai is interesting Us me. I 2 3 4 eg- A novel, magazine, newspaper 6. I can read a professional document related to something 12 3 4 specific. e.g. an educational journal, a technical manuscript Writing Proficiency ?. I car- write a personal text. 12 3 4 e.g. a tetter describing present, past, predictions on the . future, with variations of Hme. 101 Assessment Policy in Teacher Education ] 3 8 I can write an abstract academic text. 1234 e.g. an academic paper, a report, an impersonal article, reflections in a journal Listening Proficiency 9. lean understand informal, personal communication- 12 3 -1 e.g. somehody talking to me at the dinner table about day-to-day events 10. ! can understand formal, more /icaden-nc-themed 12 3 4 communication. e.g. a lecture, a television news report, radio communication TOTAL SCORE: 40 ASSESSOR'S COMMENTS: Signature Date ASSESSING LANGUAGE FOR PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE PLEASE RATE YOURSELF AS HONESTLY AS POSSIBLE ON TUB FOLLOWING STATEMENTS: 1 *- Beginner proficiency 3 — Approaching Native-like speaking proficiency 2 - Advanced Beginner proficiency 4 = Native-like proficiency Speaking proficiency L 1 can. give directions to someone. e.g. How to get somewhere or How to ride a bike 2. I can explain something to someone. e.g. Why the sky is blue or How to te13 masculine and feminine in Spanish 3. I can analyze someone's performance. e.g. Describing what someone did in detail Your opinion of a movie/book. 4. I can critique someone's performance. e.g. How well someone did on a performance Your analysis of an event 102 1 d Current issues in Language f Reading proficiency 5 I can vend something th.it is interesting to me. J 2 e.g. A novel, magazine, newspaper fc I can read a professional document related to something 1 2 spcoitie. e.g. an educational journal, a technical manuscript Writing proficiency 7 ! car. write .i personal text. 1 e.g. a letter describing presen), past, predictions on the future, with variations of time. o*. I can write an abstract, academic text. t e.g. an academic paper, a report, an impersonal article, reflections in a journal Listening proficiency '") • 1 can understand informal, personal communication I e.g. somebody talking to me at the dinner table about day-to-day events 10 I can understand formal, more academic-tliemed 1 amitr) unication. e.g. a lecture, a television news report, radio communication TOTALSCORE: ASSESSOR'S COMMENTS: Signature Naqvi, R., & Coburn, H. (2008). Assessment policy in teacher education: Responding to the personnel implications of language policy changes. Current Issues in Language Planning, 9(3) 103