Aboriginal Tongues Set Wagging

Nine graduate teachers have been welcomed into the profession after completing training in reviving forgotten Aboriginal languages.

The University of Notre Dame Aboriginal Languages Teacher Training course, offered since 1998, trains people who speak Aboriginal languages to be Aboriginal language teachers.

Each graduate will work in a school to teach students an Aboriginal language which is at risk of being lost – Noongar, Walmajarri, Yawuru, Wangkatja, Mangala, Nyikina or Gooniyandi.

Aboriginal Languages Project Officer at the Department of Education, Coleen Sherratt said one of the reasons the languages were not widely known was because teaching was restricted to geographic areas.

“Aboriginal languages belong to their respective regions and can only be taught in those regions,” she said.

“For example, Noongar language can only be taught in Noongar country.”

Last year, 57 Aboriginal staff taught 18 Aboriginal languages in 40 public schools in remote, rural and metropolitan areas.

They were taught to 5,248 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students from Kindergarten to Year 12.

“With the skills of the new graduates it is hoped more students across WA will be learning an Aboriginal language next year,” Ms Sherratt said.

Noongar language teacher graduate, Judith Birchall said she was looking forward to bringing Noongar language to more schools in the south-west of the State.

“I have always been interested in languages, but it was only when I started working as an Aboriginal and Islander Education Officer and became involved with my local Aboriginal community, that I realised how few Aboriginal people actually spoke their native language,” she said.

Ms Birchall said her biggest challenge during the course was finding a Noongar speaker in her area to mentor her.

“If you travel to Italy or Japan you expect that a national of that country will speak Italian or Japanese, but there is no guarantee that an Aboriginal person will speak an Aboriginal language,” she said.

“There are 14 dialects within Noongar country which covers the south-west, and there was no elder in my area who could help me learn the Noongar language.”

During the two-year course, trainees spend at least one hour each week teaching language classes as well as learning the best ways to plan lessons, teach languages and assess students’ understanding.