Pidgins and Creoles in Education (PACE) NEWSLETTER Number 10 December 1999
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Pidgins and Creoles in Education (PACE) NEWSLETTER Number 10 December 1999 SHORT REPORTS WELCOME TO THE 10th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE USA from: Georgette Gonsalves The PACE Newsletter started in 1990, and 308 Columbus Ave now has over 170 subscribers in 27 countries. Boston, MA 02116 USA Many thanks go to all of you who have been Despite the general, hostile climate towards the sending in contributions over the years. use of languages other than English in US This 10th issue contains the usual reports school classrooms, the City of Boston and information about new publications, continues to support the role of native theses and conferences dealing with the use of languages in its Transitional Bilingual pidgins, creoles and minority dialects in Education programs. Current efforts are education. But in this issue, we have three underway to develop learning standards in the special longer reports from three different following languages: Spanish, Chinese, countries and an article about adult literacy Vietnamese, Haitian Creole and Capeverdean programs in Vanuatu using Bislama Creole. Truly exciting! Especially for the last (Melanesian Pidgin). two languages. Of course they are spoken by Special thanks to all the contributors for significant numbers of students in the schools, this issue. Please pass it around and urge grades K-12. people to send in contributions for the next Starting October 1998, I will be teaching an issue in 2000! innovative graduate course for Haitian and Capeverdean language teachers in the Boston Jeff Siegel schools. Entitled “Creoles in Education: the Linguistics Role of Reading and Writing in Capeverdean University of New England and Haitian Bilingual Education”. It is offered Armidale, NSW 2351 through the University of Massachusetts, Australia Boston, supported by Dr. Donaldo Macedo [email protected] and by Dr. Michel DeGraff of M.I.T. The timely announcement in July 1998 by the Government of Cape Verde to support the IN THIS ISSUE officialization of a unified orthography for the Capeverdean language is most encouraging page for those of us who are working for validation Short reports 1 of creoles in the area of formal education. Special Reports Finally, the Capeverdean Creole Institute, Inc. of Boston is sponsoring the November French Guiana 2 visit of Dr. Manuel Veiga, author of the first St Lucia 4 comprehensive linguistic study of Hawai‘i 5 Capeverdean Creole entitled “Introdução à Gramática do Crioulo” (1995,1996). More Article: information about the Institute can be obtained Literacy Programs in Vanuatu 7 by e-mail to me: GRGET @AOL.COM or by Publications 11 accessing the web using keyword “Capeverdean” On the Web 16 A Luta Kontinua! Conferences 17 Solomon Islands aims of the workshop, which were all from: Fr Bernie O’Donnell achieved, were: a) to introduce and develop LASI Kriol literacy skills; b) to explore the domains Box R4 and roles of Kriol literacy in Aboriginal Honiara, SOLOMON ISLANDS society; and c) for each student to produce a [email protected] written text based on one such role. As the linguist, I designed and delivered the course LASI (Literacy Association of Solomon with assistance from the two lecturers and Islands) continues to conduct its literacy support from Diwurru-wurru-jaru Aboriginal programs in SI Pidgin as well as other local Corporation (Katherine Language Centre). languages. These adult literacy programs have The students displayed great enthusiasm and proved very useful in getting older people able interest and it was felt the workshop was to read and at a later stage, to write, if successful both in this way and in meeting its necessary. Those who are well-motivated are aims. able to read in 6 months with a couple of 1-1.5 2. Kriol used as the language of instruction hour classes every week. in Language Revitalisation (LR) Programs in In general, while English is still the official primary schools. language of instruction in formal education, Since 1996 I have worked as a teacher- much education is effectively done in Pidgin. linguist on 4 LR programs, largely in the Officially in the Solomon Islands, Pidgin is Roper River region. It has become looked down upon, but it is increasingly increasingly obvious that Kriol must be spoken, making it necessary for everyone to employed both orally and in literacy as the become more conversant in it and also to read, language of instruction. There are 3 main write and speak it accurately. benefits, and they are: a) Aboriginal teachers and teaching assistants will only claim Sweden ownership over material written in Kriol and from: Karl Erland Gadelii these are therefore the only ones they will use. Department of Oriental and African b) It broadens the scope of the program from Languages simply teaching a traditional language as a Göteborg University second language to one where Aboriginal Box 200 language and culture can begin to find a place SE-405 30 Göteborg, SWEDEN within the school. c) Children’s compre- [email protected] hension is immediate and therefore more I do not know how relevant the stuff I am effective. doing now is but I am still working on the from: Margaret Sharpe grammar of Lesser Antillean French Creole 33A Brown St and my present (and also past) endeavour is to Armidale, NSW 2350 show that this language has a grammar of its AUSTRALIA own which can neither be derived from its Currently working on the final draft of the super- nor substratal languages. I suppose this Alawa-Kriol-English triglot dictionary. Alawa has educational implications because it means people are now centred around Minyerri or that Lesser Antillean has to be treated as a Hodgson Downs in the Northern Territory. language in its own right in the educational Children (whose first language is Kriol) are system. learning some Alawa in the school at Minyerri, aided by Jen Munro who is employed by Australia Diwurruwurru-jaru (Katherine Regional from: Jennifer Munro Aboriginal Language Centre). 6 Dudley St Rapid Creek, NT 0810 AUSTRALIA SPECIAL REPORTS I have been involved in 2 main programs that involve the use of Kriol in education: MULTILINGUAL EXPERIMENT IN 1. Kriol literacy workshop for General FRENCH GUIANA Studies students of Batchelor College during the Aboriginal Languages Fortnight. by Laurence Goury This was held in May 1999 for 2 weeks; 23 French Guiana, a French overseas students attended, mostly from the Roper département, presents a large multilingual River region of the Northern Territory. The situation where typologically different workshop was held in Katherine. The main Pidgins and Creole in Education (PACE) Newsletter 10 (1999) languages are represented: Creole languages two, 2 week sessions per term. from two lexical bases (French and English), Activities: Amerindian languages (from three linguistic • linguistics: introduction to phonetics and groups: Arawak, Carib and Tupi-Guarani), phonology of the mediators’ languages; Hmong, Chinese, and others. reflection about existing alphabets (critics; Since French is the only official language, changing); approach to comparative and no official place is given to other grammar languages, such a complex situation raises • pedagogy: methodology of literacy many problems, especially in the educational teaching and language activities field. • production of classroom material (hand- The IRD (Institute for Research and books for reading training; handbooks for Development - ex ORSTOM) has a Depart- literacy teaching...) ment of Social Sciences where linguists are working on Amerindian languages and The experiment began with a two weeks the English based creoles spoken by the training session: Maroons, both in French Guiana and • introduction to pedagogical and linguistic Surinam. In addition to fundamental research questions on these languages, we try to suggest • discussion about writing systems alternatives to the problems of teaching in • preparation of a first reading handbook Non-French Speaking (NFS) communities. 2. Practice in the class room: into the We are presently leading the ‘bilingual community; under the teacher’s authority, mediator project’ which is described below. during eight to ten weeks per term: The ‘Bilingual Mediator Project’ Activities: • literacy in mother tongue The aim of this project is to take on some • vocabulary exercises; language practice young people, native speakers of an (mother tongue) Amerindian language or speakers of the • experimentation of handbooks and class- Maroons’ English based Creoles, and allow room materials them to teach literacy in the mother tongue for NFS communities, [by] sharing time and Training staff experience with the teachers, and receiving a • linguistics: researchers working on the simultaneous training in linguistics and previously cited languages, based in pedagogy by some qualified researchers or French Guiana or in metropolitan France teachers. • pedagogy: two teachers (training masters) • pedagogy of writing: specialists of the Profile CEFISEM (Organization for French as • native speaker of one of the Amerindian or Foreign Language teaching) the English based Creoles from French Guiana This kind of experiment is nothing new in • qualification required: ‘bachelier’ (i.e. the educational field, especially in South High School diploma or A level) and/or America where different linguists of the cultural experimentation Department have already been working, with • motivation for pedagogical and cultural Amerindian languages and bilingual work among the NFS communities education. But it might be something