e , 005 Reclaiming the language of Sydney 1 Message from the editor 2 Gamilaraay- Yuwaalaraay workshop 3 OBOS workshops 4 Book news 5 Mastering language 6 News from a participant 6 Aboriginal language course online 7 Language learning through RECLAIMING THE LANGUAGE OF SYDNEY singing and dancing 7 The school language team at Dunheved Campus, Quality Chifley College have been working to reclaim the Teaching 8 Dharug language of Sydney. Members of the language team are pictured above. Alan Johnson (Head teacher HSIE); Kerry Burns (AEA), Connie Ah See (AETD), Richard Green (Dharug community language teacher) Amanda Oppliger (linguist/languages teacher) and Tim Jones (Principal). Despite the fact that much of the Dharug language has been lost, due to the impact of settlement, the team has been working hard to enable Aboriginal students in Sydney to communicate using some of the language that was spoken in the region where they now live. Richard is particularly delighted that his ancestral language can again be heard, spoken by children’s voices. Term 2, 2006 Aboriginal languages newsletter Dear Colleagues Working on school Aboriginal Language programs always needs to be a team effort. Earlier this year Professor John Lester, the Director of the Aboriginal Education and Training Directorate, invited representatives from several sections of the Department of Education and Training, as well as from the Office of the Board of Studies, the Aboriginal Educational Consultative Group, and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, to join him in reporting about Aboriginal languages to the Director-General, Andrew Cappie-Wood. The fact that this was a Joint Agencies Report, indicates the emphasis on partnerships and cooperation at all levels. School Aboriginal language programs need to be supported by the school and the community and they provide a good opportunity for school staff, Aboriginal community members and students to work together to grow the languages of New South Wales. It is important to remember that many staff and students are also Aboriginal community members. As one principal told me, ‘The school is part of the community too.’ It is exciting for me to see evidence that, when school staff and community language teachers work together, bringing their special skills to the program, those programs make significant progress. At Chifley College Dunheved Campus a team approach has achieved what would once have been considered impossible, enabling Aboriginal students from the Sydney region to engage in some meaningful communication in their own ancestral language. While much of the language has been lost, mainly as a consequence of an epidemic of smallpox that wiped out much of the population very soon after colonisation, what is left is forming the basis of a school program. You will all be aware that developing a program can be quite tricky, and we all need all the help we can get. For this reason, those of us who are involved in supporting Aboriginal languages, in the Curriculum K-12 Directorate, the Aboriginal Education and Training Directorate (AETD) and the Office of the Board of Studies (OBOS), are working together so that we do not duplicate our efforts and can share our results. In this issue, there is an article by Jennifer Munro from OBOS and by Connie Ah See from AETD. I have been working with schools in NSW for almost a year now and have had the opportunity to get a sense of how things evolve over time. Sometimes a language program appears to be working well and then a crucial team-member gets sick, or moves elsewhere, and it seems as though the whole language program will fall apart. A few months later I apprehensively ring the school to speak to the language coordinator to find out if the story of gloom and doom is continuing, and a bouncy voice tells me how someone new has appeared to fill the gap and things are working well. I’m not going to be trite and suggest that everything always turns out for the best, in fact one of my favourite little sayings is that of a Swedish philosopher: ‘Don’t worry, it will never be alright!’ Aboriginal language programs are fragile, just as the languages are fragile, there are few resources and programs often do appear to depend on one or two people: the expertise of an Elder, the goodwill of a principal or the hard work of an AEA. It is rarely easy and there are frequent setbacks. Despite this, there are so many of you out there doing a wonderful job, managing to produce your own resources and design and run programs. Well done! Hang in there! Mari 3A Smalls Road, Ryde NSW 2112 Phone: (02) 9886 7689 Fax: (02) 9886 7160 Email: [email protected] To the best of my knowledge, the web sites and books listed on the following pages contain no controversial materials or links. However, it is always best to check these for yourself before recommending them to students. 2 Aboriginal Languages Newsletter Workshop news Gamilaraay-Yuwaalaraay workshop In late May the inaugural Gamilaraay-Yuwaalaraay Language Circle meeting will be held in Moree. This is the first of what is hoped will be a series of regular meetings between language teams from a number of schools working on the same or related languages. You will all be aware that there are very few published resources for teaching Aboriginal languages. Unlike French or Indonesian, for which you can buy textbooks galore, there are no textbooks for most Aboriginal languages. There are no dictionaries for many of them and for some, not yet any agreed orthography (spelling system). Teachers and others involved in language programs, can find themselves making everything for themselves. By developing Language Education Circles, people in schools that are working with the same languages can come together to share knowledge and resources, just as happens with teachers in other languages. Those people involved in Gamilaraay-Yuwaalaraay are lucky in that there is a published dictionary that is widely accepted, as well as teaching resources and a website www.yuwaalaraay.org In addition, there are many community members (many of whom are employed in some capacity in the education system) who are dedicated to reviving their language and are working hard to bring the language to school students in the Gamilaraay-Yuwaalaraay country that spans a large area of northwest NSW. Suellyn Tighe, who teaches Gamilaraay at TAFE and has been closely involved in a school program, is pictured here with her sons just prior to her graduation with a Diploma in Education (Aboriginal). She will be among the presenters at the workshop in Moree. Aboriginal Languages Newsletter 3 Workshops with the Office of the Board of Studies Jennifer Munro We’ve been very busy in Term 1 getting all our school-based workshops organised and happening. This year we’re working with four Years K-6 programs and three Years 7-10 programs. Many thanks to Broulee Primary School, Brewarrina Central School, Hillston Central School, Parkes High School, St Josephs’ Walgett and Vincentia High School. The term one workshop at each of these locations was very productive. Many thanks to all of the school staff and Aboriginal community members involved, for their contributions and hard work in Term 1 and for all of their enthusiasm and commitment to the start of the 2006 projects. As we all know Aboriginal Language programs are a team effort – so they function well when we can all come together to contribute. Each school and community is unique, as we all know, and so the objectives are slightly adapted in each case, although the overall aims which each project has in common, are to focus on: language learning, language teaching methodology and planning/programming. The workshops are structured to provide opportunities to work on all of these aspects of language programs. We are also paying particular attention to Stage 4 this year because it is often very difficult to get Aboriginal Language courses that meet the Aboriginal Languages K-10 Syllabus requirements for this stage. This year we have also welcomed on board Susan Poetsch, who many of you will know. Susan has made an immediate impact and everyone appreciates her expertise in teaching and linguistics as well as her friendly personality at workshops. Here are photos of some of the school/community teams we have been working with this year so far. Hillston Central School Vincentia High School 4 Aboriginal Languages Newsletter Brewarrina Central School Parkes High School Book news There have been some requests for reading lists on Aboriginal languages and a short list of books appeared in the first 2006 bulletin. The bulletins can now be accessed online. The following book was recommended by members of the language team at Goodooga Central School. Parker, K. L. 1905 The Euahlayi Tribe: A Study of Aboriginal Life in Australia London, Archibald Constable and Company. I was warned that, since it was first published in 1905, some of the views expressed, and terminology used, would not be acceptable by modern standards. However, it is rare for a white station-owner to have written a relatively sympathetic account of the original inhabitants of the country and so this document is one of the few sources of information about the lifestyle and beliefs of Yuwaalayaay people one hundred years ago. It would be a useful resource for anyone involved in a Yuwaalayaay or related-language program. It is also good background-reading for teachers of other NSW languages. For example, Parker writes about the names and stories attached to constellations and this indicates the degree of knowledge of the sky that would have been common to all Aboriginal people, even if the details vary from place to place.