12 First Nations Languages Curriculum Building Guide
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
British Columbia Kindergarten ‐ 12 First Nations Languages Curriculum Building Guide By Dr. Marianne Ignace For the First Nations Education Steering Committee TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT INTRODUCTION ORGANIZATION OF THIS REPORT About FNESC First Peoples Principles of Learning PART ONE: THE CONTEXT 1.1 The State of First Nations Languages In BC 1.2 Reasons For Decline 1.3 The Importance Of Stemming the Tide of Language Loss 1.4 A Critical Time 1.5 The Role Of K‐12 Schooling In First Nations Language Education 1.6 The Legal Picture – Official Languages and Aboriginal Languages 1.7 BC Language Protection Laws and Policies 1.7.1 The BC Ministry of Education Policies PART TWO: FUNDAMENTALS OF LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING 2.1 The Urgent Need For Fluent Speakers 2.2 Thinking Outside The Box: Creating Proficiency in First Nations Languages 2.2.1 How Many Words Are Needed For Proficiency? 2.2.2 What Is Grammar and How Is It Best Taught? 2.2.3 Phonology – Correct Accent and Pronunciation 2.2.4 The Culture in the Language 2.2.5 How Many Hours or Years Does It Take? 2.3 Types Of Language Programs and The Language Education They Provide 2.3.1 Second Language or Additional Language Programs 2.3.2 First Nations Language Immersion Programs 2.4.3 Partial Immersion or Bilingual Programs 2.4.4 Intensive French 2.4 Language Teaching Methods In K – 12 Curriculum 2.4.1 The “Berlitz Method” (Interactive Question/Answer) 2.4.2 Total Physical Response 2.4.3 Total Physical Response Storytelling 2.4.4 Aim – Accelerative Integrated Method 2.4.5 “Where Are Your Keys?” 2 2.4.6 Other Conceptual Pedagogical Approaches PART THREE: LANGUAGE‐SPECIFIC CURRICULUM FRAMEWORKS 3.1 The Need For Curriculum Frameworks And Plans 3.2 Existing Curriculum Frameworks For First Nations Languages In Canada 3.2.1 The Western Canadian Protocol Common Curriculum Framework 3.2.2 BC Integrated Resource Packages (IRPs) and Languages Template 3.3 Examples From Elsewhere 3.3.1 The Australian Draft Framework 3.3.2 The Common European Framework of Reference For Languages 3.3.3 Whakamātauria Tō Reo Māori (National Maori Language Proficiency Exams) 3.4 Additional Language Benchmark And Standards Documents 3.4.1 American Council On the Teaching Of Foreign Languages 3.4.2 CLB ‐ Canadian Language Benchmarks 3.4.3 FNLB ‐ Canadian Language Benchmarks 3.4.4 First Nations Language Essentials 3.4.5 Perceptions of Proficiency 3.5 Student Assessment 3.5.1 Assessing Emerging Language Proficiency PART FOUR: DESIGNING CONTENT CURRICULUM 4.1 Beyond Curriculum Frameworks: the Need For Content In Curriculum Design 4.2 Assembling or Consolidating Your Team 4.3 Starting With a Needs Assessment 4.3.1 Determining The Type of Program and Starting Point 4.4. Human Resources Now and In The Future 4.5 Types Of Curriculum Design 4.5.1 Grand or Forward Design 4.5.2 Practice‐Driven Central Design 4.5.3 “Backwards Design” – Starting With Competency Levels 4.6 Making A Case For “Scripted Curriculum” 4.7 The Role of Literacy In K‐12 Education 4.8 Accommodating Different Dialects 4.9 Communicative Topics or Themes 4.10 Developing Curriculum Binders and Breaking the Year Into Units 4.10.1 Unit Development As a Web 4.10.2 Developing Content For Units 4.10.3 Lesson Planning From Units 3 4.11 Issues Related to Copyright and Intellectual Property Rights CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES APPENDIX 1 COMMUNICATIVE OBJECTIVES AND GRAMMATICAL CONCEPTS APPENDIX 2 LANGUAGE BENCHMARKS: FIRST NATIONS LANGUAGE ESSENTIALS APPENDIX 3 LIST OF THEMED TOPICS FOR LANGUAGE UNITS AND LESSON APPENDIX 4 SAMPLE SYLLABI AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHARTS APPENDIX 5 A SIMPLE ASSESSMENT TEST (CHIEF MATTHEWS SCHOOL) 4 ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT This document was developed at the request of the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC). Recognizing the diversity and wealth of First Nations languages and cultures in British Columbia (BC) and their critically endangered state, this paper is intended to assist First Nations language teachers, members of First Nations language communities, educational staff in First Nations and public schools, and policy makers as they consider First Nations language and culture frameworks at the K ‐ 12 level, as informed by existing and emerging research and approaches. In addition, it is also meant to serve as a guide for designing language and culture K ‐ 12 curriculum that will provide practical tools for First Nations language groups, curriculum developers and teachers. This document builds on a prior draft document developed for FNESC, The Breath of Our Ancestors (2012), parts of which are included in Appendix Four of this document. The author and FNESC very much appreciate the work of the team that wrote that earlier paper. This project also follows a series of FNESC‐sponsored workshops led by Dr. Marianne Ignace in 2013. At those workshops, the topics included in this guide were presented for discussion, and the input and feedback from the workshop participants is gratefully acknowledged. The help and support of Deborah Jeffrey, Jennifer White and Jan Haugen with the workshops is also much appreciated. In the final stages of writing and editing this document, comments and suggestions from the FNESC First Nations Languages Subcommittee, and especially from Jesse Fairley, FNESC Manager of Languages and Culture, provided great support towards its completion. Yiri7 re skukwstsétselp, háw’aa, t’ooyaxsut ’nü ü sm, maasi cho, maasi and my thanks also in the many other languages we have and are working to maintain. Marianne Ignace, PhD 5 INTRODUCTION In this document, First Nations cultures and languages are viewed as inseparable and intertwined. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP, 1996) expressed the role and function of language in the transmission of culture as follows: Language is the principal instrument by which culture is transmitted from one generation to another, by which members of a culture communicate meaning and make sense of their shared experience. Because language defines the world and experience in cultural terms, it literally shapes our way of perceiving – our worldview. Knowledge systems and relations with the land, people and everything in nature are expressed through the language, which guides the way in which culture is experienced and should be understood. Given this importance, coupled with the precarious state of languages, it is vitally important that First Nations languages are (re)vitalized, used, practiced, and instilled in younger generations, thus breathing new life into First Nations’ cultures and invaluable heritage. Organization of this Document This document is organized into four parts. Part 1: This document begins with a discussion of the precarious state of First Nations languages in BC, the reasons for their declining state, and the value of maintaining and revitalizing First Nations languages based on the irreplaceable connections they have with cultural knowledge and learning and with First Nations’ unique ways of perceiving the world. Knowing one’s language is connected to one’s sense of self, self‐worth and identity, and beyond that helps to support cognitive and intellectual development. Recognizing that importance, this report describes the role that school language programs can play as a key component of the daunting task of language revitalization. In particular, the pros and cons of different types of language programming at the K ‐ 12 level are reviewed. Part 2: The second part of this document describes some key concepts that provide the context for curriculum development, including what is needed for language proficiency, types of language programs, and fundamental aspects of language programming. Part 3: Given the need for an effective framework that can enhance K‐12 First Nations language education in this province, Part 3 of this document highlights existing language 6 and culture curriculum, including the much neglected but very useful Common Curriculum Framework – Aboriginal Language and Culture Programs – Western Canadian Protocol for Collaboration in Basic Education. The BC Languages Template is described, which – although not specifically designed for First Nations languages – for some time has guided Integrated Resource Package (IRP) development for languages in BC. Finally, the paper reviews curriculum frameworks that set standards and benchmarks across languages, which are now increasingly being used for language education in Canada. Part 4: In the final part of this document, we review the issue of curriculum design and development for particular First Nations languages. This part is intended to provide practical tools for language curriculum developers, including outlining some general principles and challenges associated with language curriculum design – and with First Nations language design in particular. About FNESC FNESC is an independent society led by representatives of First Nations across the province. With a mandate to facilitate discussion about education matters affecting First Nations in BC by disseminating information and soliciting input from First Nations, FNESC has worked to promote the priorities of BC First Nations to the federal and provincial governments and to support First Nations communities in working together to advance education issues. Among its many activities, FNESC conducts research to support First Nations education initiatives (including First Nations language programs), and serves as a clearinghouse for resources and models for First Nations education activities. FNESC is guided by the belief that BC First Nations, for all their rich diversity, share some significant common experiences, priorities, and beliefs, as well as a characteristic First Nations approaches to teaching and learning that can be expressed as a set of principles. Originally identified for the English 12 First Peoples curriculum, the “First Peoples Principles of Learning” articulate the shared wisdom of Elders and educators within BC’s First Nations. First Peoples Principles of Learning Learning ultimately supports the well‐being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.