The Primacy of the Mother Tongue: Aboriginal literacy and Non-Standard English

Margaret Zeegers; Wayne Muir; Zheng Lin

doi:10.1017/S1326011100003823

Authors

Margaret Zeegers School of Education
Wayne Muir University of Ballarat
Zheng Lin School of Education

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1326011100003823

Abstract

This article describes Indigenous Australian languages as having a history of pejoration dating from colonial times, which has masked the richness and complexity of mother tongues (and more recently developed kriols) of large numbers of Indigenous Australians.The paper rejects deficit theory representations of these languages as being inferior to imported dialects of English and explains how language issues embedded in teaching practices have served to restrict Indigenous Australian access to cultural capital most valued in modern socio-economic systems. We go on to describe ways in which alternative perspectives where acknowledgment of rich, complex and challenging features of Indigenous Australian languages may be used by educators as empowering resources for teacher education and teaching in schools. Our paper stresses the urgency of establishing frameworks for language success within which to develop other successful learning outcomes of Indigenous Australians.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Bensoussan M. ( 1998). Schema effects in EFL reading comprehension. Journal of Research in Reading, 21( 3), 213– 227.

Board of Studies. ( 2000). Curriculum and standards framework II: English. Carlton: Board of Studies.

Bourdieu P. & Passeron J.C. ( 1990). Reproduction in education, society and culture( Nice R. Trans.). London: Sage.

Bowman C., Pascoe L., & Joy T. . ( 1999). Literacy teaching and learning in a bilingual classroom. In Wignell P. (Ed.). Double power: English literacy and Indigenous education(pp. 61– 94). Melbourne: Language Australia.

Carrell P.L. ( 1988). Three components of background knowledge in reading comprehension. Language Learning, 33, 183– 207.

Christie F. . ( 1987). Language education. Geelong: Deakin University.

Christie F., & Mission R. ( 1998). Framing the issues in literacy education. In Christie F., & Mission R. (Eds.), Literacy and schooling(pp. 1– 17) New York: Routledge.

Clay M.M. . ( 1991a). Becoming literate: The construction of inner control. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Clay M.M. . ( 1991b). Child development. In J. Flood J., Jensen J.M., Lapp D. & Squire J.R. (Eds.), Handbook of research on teaching the language arts(pp. 40– 45). New York: Macmillan.

Clay M.M. . ( 1993). An observation of early literacy achievement. Auckland: Heinemann.

Clay M.M. . ( 1998). By different paths to common outcomes. York, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Department of Education, Employment and Training. ( 2001). Guidelinesfor managing cultural and linguistic diversity in schools. Melbourne: Department of Education Employment and Training.

Department of Employment, Education and Training. (n.d.). Langwij comes to school. Canberra: Department of Employment, Education and Training.

Eades D. . ( 1992). Aboriginal English and the law. Brisbane: Queensland Law Society.

Education Victoria. ( 1997). Keys to life: Teaching reading in the early years: Early years literacy program. South Melbourne: Longman.

Farrell K. . ( 1997). Bidialectalism and the potential educational status of Aboriginal English. In Harris S. & Malin M. (Eds.), Indigenous education: Historical, moral and practical tales(pp. 59– 70). Darwin: Northern Territory University Press.

Fitzgerald J. ( 1995). English-as-a-second-language learners’ cognitive reading processes: A review of research in the United States. Review of Educational Research, 65( 2), 145– 190.

Fromkin V., Blair D., & Collins P. ( 2000). An introduction to language(4th ed.). Sydney: Harcourt.

Gergen K.J. . ( 1994). Realities and relationships: Soundings in social construction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Goodman Y.M. . ( 1990a). Children’s knowledge about literacy development: An afterword. In Goodman Y.M. (Ed.), How children construct literacy: Piagetian perspectives(pp. 115– 123). Newark: International Reading Association.

Goodman Y.M. . ( 1990b). Discovering children’s inventions of written language. In Goodman Y.M. (Ed.), How children construct literacy: Piagetian perspectives(pp. 1– 11). Newark: International Reading Association.

Goodman Y.M., & Burke C., with Sherman B. ( 1980). Reading strategies: Focus on comprehension. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Halse Y.M., & Robinson A.M. ( 1990). Towards an appropriate pedagogy for Aboriginal children. In Craven R. (Ed.), Teaching Aboriginal studies(pp. 199– 229). St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Heath S.B. ( 1994). What no bedtime story means: Narrative skills at home and school. In J. Maybin J. (Ed.), Language and literacy in social practice: A reader(pp. 73– 95). Sydney: Department of Employment, Education and Training.

Johnston E. . ( 1991). National report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody, Vol. 2. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.

Johnston R.R. ( 2001a). Children’s literature as a locus of literary practices. In Winch G., Johnston R.R., Holliday M., Ljungdahl L., & March P. (Eds.), Literacy: Reading, writing, and children’s literature(pp. 362– 371). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Johnston R.R. ( 2001b). Fairytales: A pervasive paradigm. In Winch G., Johnston R.R., Holliday M., Ljungdahl L., & March P. (Eds.), Literacy: Reading, writing, and children’s literature(pp. 320– 328). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Johnston R.R. ( 2001c). Aforum: Social issues, history, fantasy. In Winch G., Johnston R.R., Holliday M., Ljungdahl L., & March P. (Eds.), Literacy: Reading, writing, and children’s literature(pp. 422– 426). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Johnston R.R. ( 2001d). A locus for world community. In Winch G., Johnston R.R., Holliday M., Ljungdahl L., & March P. (Eds.), Literacy: Reading, writing, and children’s literature(pp. 414– 421). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Jonas B., Langton M., & AIATSIS Staff. ( 1994). The little red, yellow and black (and green and blue and white) book: A short guide to Indigenous Australia. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

Kaplan R. ( 1966). Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education. Language Learning, 16( 2), 1– 20.

Krashen S.D. . ( 1987). Principles and practice of language acquisition. London: Prentice Hall International.

Lindstrom L. 1990. Local knowledge systems and the South Pacific classroom. Papua New Guinea Journal of Education, 10( 1), 5– 17.

Luke A. 1991. Literacies as social practices. English Education, October, 131– 141.

Malinowski B. . ( 1994). The problem of meaning in primitive languages. In Maybin J. (Ed.), Language and literacy in social practice: A reader(pp. 1& 10). Cleveden: Open University.

Nakata M. . ( 1999). History, cultural diversity and English language teaching. In Wignell P. (Ed.), Double power: English literacy and Indigenous education(pp. 5– 21). Melbourne: Language Australia.

Nicholls C. . ( 1994, February). Watch your language, eh?Paper presented to Teacher Education Staff while a Visiting Fellow in Aboriginal Education, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia.

Nodelman P. . (Ed.). ( 1985). Touchstones: Reflections on the best in children’s literature(Vol. 1). West Lafayette, IN: Children’s Literature Association.

Rampton M. 1990. Displacing the “native speaker”: Expertise, affiliation, and inheritance. ELT Journal, 44( 2), 97– 101.

Rose D., Gray B., & Cowey W. . ( 1999). Scaffolding reading and writing for Indigenous children in school. In Wignell P. (Ed.). Double power: English literacy and indigenous education(pp. 23– 59). Melbourne: Language Australia.

Saxby M. . ( 1997). Books in the life of a child: Bridges to literature and learning. Melbourne: Macmillan Education Australia.

Taplin J. 1996. Writing across a general curriculum. EA Journal, 14( 1), 8– 9.

Tolkien J.R.R. . ( 1980). In Egoff S., Stubbs G.T., & Ashley L.F. (Eds.), Only connect: Readings in children’s literature. (2nd ed., pp. 111– 120). New York, Oxford University Press.

Torres P., & Williams M. (n.d.). The story of the crow. Broome: Magabala Books.

Tripcony P. ( 2000). Englishes and literacies: Indigenous Australian contexts. TESOL in Context, 10( 2), 8– 14.

Wright J. ( 2002). Apartheid, Australian style. Australian Universities Review, 45( 1), 36– 39.

Wright J., & Burchell D. ( 2002). The “Indigenous issue”: Introduction. Australian Universities Review, 45( 1), 2– 3.

Yunupingu M. . ( 1999). Double power. In Wignell P. (Ed.), Double power: English literacy and Indigenous education. (pp. 1– 4). Melbourne: Language Australia.

Yunupingu M. . ( 2000, September). Keynote address. Paper presented to ALARPM/PAR World Congress, University of Ballarat, Ballarat, Victoria.

Zeegers M. . ( 1996). Let’s get critical: Observations on a non-literate text and context. Changing Education: A Journal for Teachers and Administrators, l(March), 22– 24.

Zeegers M., Muir W., & Lin Z. ( 2003, July). How may I marginalise thee? Let me count the ways: Indigenous Australians’ languages and English literacy. Paper presented at the IFTE Conference, Melbourne.