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Indigenous rights welfare payments Aboriginal Communities Aboriginal organisations Australia Remote Communities employment Arnhem Land closing the gap Northern Territory English second language Government approach communication History Yolngu home lands outstations working in an Aboriginal community cross-cultural dis-empowerment Effective Education economic issues poverty Indigenous Law Policy Language self-determination Indigenous issues social security personnel Aboriginal Law consultation cultural awareness human dynamics interventionLinks
- Cultural Survival Institute Case studies and reference advocating for Home lands and Indigenous languages in the Northern Territory
- Our Generation A Documentory exploring social and cultural injustice in Aboriginal communities, through the mouths of men & women from North East Arnhem Land, Australia.
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The Elder speaking was quite irate about decisions that had been made by Goverment and organisations that had not been discussed with local leaders. “Why don’t you Balanda explain to us what are your plans?… You don’t talk to us… You just change things.” …
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Recent Articles
English second language Archive
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How do Indigenous Languages help Learning outcomes?
Posted on December 8, 2008 | No CommentsTo some we may be beginning to sound like a broken record, always talking about the importance of using Indigneous languages. But the reason I continue to talk about this is because many Australia personnel and agencies have so much trouble really absorbing the importance of starting with local languages. So lets say it as simply as possible. If a hearer does not understand well the language being used then ZERO meaning or information may be being conveyed. How can this be? Let's break it down... -
Four hours in English – The NT Government’s Indigenous ed. plan built on misinformation.
Posted on October 17, 2008 | 6 CommentsThe NT Minister for education argues that Indigenous languages have no place in teaching literacy and numeracy in remote indigenous schools and has announced that the first 4 hour of every school day must be in English. Support for the Government's position seems to be based on a few misunderstanding about way learning actually operates on remote indigenous communities. Let's briefly explore the reality in the bilingual community schools this will effect. -
Cross cultural issues confound Australian justice systems.
Posted on June 10, 2008 | 2 CommentsAn interesting report called “An absence of mutual respect” was released at the beginning of June by our friends at ARDS which gives great insight into the difficulties faced by English second language Aboriginal people. It is a report on the problems that arise for... -
English only Education Part 2 – Transfering meaning
Posted on May 16, 2008 | 1 CommentFor an Indigenous person on a community where English a second or even sixth language all their peers will difficulties in understanding and learning certain English words. When a person in such a community does hear a new English word they can not easily learn the meaning. Because their parents and peers do not use it, do not know it or they may use a local assumed meaning, which can be very wrong. -
English only Education, Part 1- Vocabulary & Word deafness
Posted on May 13, 2008 | 1 CommentAn English only classroom can mask the problems of not utilising first language knowledge and concepts to teach English. It is important to understand how education or training can be going wrong, as a result of neglecting language use, without an English only speaker even knowing it. I will discuss these problems over a series of posts, starting with something I call word deafness that prevents individual ESL students easily acquiring new vocabulary.