Reclaiming Our Languages

Tribal

Reclaiming our languages Annotated BibliographyDownload

“teepaalilaani” © Hannah Buchanan 2025

  • Using assessment to inform instruction in cherokee language revitalisation

    Peter and Hirata-Edds describe the positive backwash effects of using the Cherokee Preschool Immersion Language Assessment (C-PILA) on teacher practices at the Cherokee Immersion Preschool. They offer a model of how assessment can be as much for learning as of learning and how assessment, especially in language revitalization projects, can be a pedagogical tool not a determination of program success or failure. They describe the C-PILA, its results, and detail how feedback from assessments can be successfully integrated into professional development.

    Peter, L., & Hirata-Edds, T. E. (2016). Using assessment to inform instruction in Cherokee language revitalisation. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 9(5), 643–658. https://doi.org/10.2167/beb385.0

  • From preschool to home: Processes of generalisation in language acquisition from an indigenous language recovery programme

    Tangaere and McNaughton study how children bring Maori home from the Te Kohanga Reo language nest, and what factors at home facilitate the transfer of knowledge. They also investigate how generalization happens between a language nest and the home environment. They learn that Waiata (socialization songs), which are learned at school through routines of demonstration and imitation embedded in group performances, are a major way that knowledge transfer may happen between school and home. They also recognize that language transfer can be supported by already existing activity structures at homes that match school structures. For example if singing is valued at home, then the language skills learned through song at school can be easily transferred to the home environment.

    Tangaere, A. R., & McNaughton, S. (2003). From preschool to home: Processes of generalisation in language acquisition from an Indigenous language recovery programme. International Journal of Early Years Education, 2(1), 23–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2003.10807104

  • Ax toowú át wudikeen, my spirit soars: Tlingit direct acquisition and co-learning pilot project

    Johnson provides a detailed description of how a well-defined initial language strategy can be developed to kick-off community language revitalization. They describe the direct-acquisition teaching model, cohort-style learning, curriculum development, and a Tlingit pilot project. Johnson raises up community language educators by providing concrete, evidence-based strategies for developing grassroots Indigenous language programs. They explain how to adapt a Nsylixcn curriculum to Tlingit (unrelated languages), and how to create an immersion environment when teachers and learners start with very low language capacity.

    Johnson, M. K. (2016). Ax toowú át wudikeen, my spirit soars: Tlingit direct acquisition and co-learning pilot project. Language Documentation and Conservation, 10, 306-336.

  • Is early immersion effective for Aboriginal language acquisition? A case study from an Anishinaabemowin kindergarten

    Morcom and Roy explore Indigenous language immersion in Canada and evaluate fluency, academic development, and pride in kindergardners at Mnidoo Mnising Anishinabek Kinoomaage Gaming (MMAK) Anishinaabemowin immersion school. They provide an overview of the enrichment immersion method, as well as the MMAK school development. They argue for continued funding for immersion programing, especially in consideration of its evidenced effectiveness.

    Morcom, L. A., & Roy, S. (2019). Is early immersion effective for Aboriginal language acquisition? A case study from an Anishinaabemowin kindergarten. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 22(5), 551–563. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.1281217

  • Revitalising language through music: a case study of music and culturally grounded pedagogy in two Kanien’ke:ha (Mohawk) language immersion programmes

    Vallejo aims to generate discussion on how music can be incorporated into every subject in an Indigenous language immersion classroom, and to show that music and language should be equally considered as revitalization priorities. She details how Kanien’ke:ha communities are already incorporating music into immersion spaces, and how the use of music enhances language learning by offering synergistic effects on language and cultural reclamation. She argues for increased use of music in language revitalization projects, especially immersion classrooms.

    Vallejo, J. M. (2019). Revitalising language through music: A case study of music and culturally grounded pedagogy in two Kanien’ke:ha (Mohawk) language immersion programmes. Ethnomusicology Forum, 28(1), 89–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/17411912.2019.1641124

  • Narrative Inquiry as Praxis: Examining Formative Assessment Practices in a Nature-Based Indigenous Language Classroom

    Baker (the researcher) and Germain (the Mi’gmaq immersion teacher) collaborate to investigate assessment in an Indigenous language immersion nature-based classroom and then consider how their findings relate to theory-practice connections. They offer specific and comprehensive examples of learning and assessment. In addition to modelling a nuanced researcher-teacher relationship, they also strongly support immersion, place-based programming, and culturally-relevant assessment as integral to language revitalization projects.

    Baker, B., & Germain, J. (2020). Narrative inquiry as praxis: Examining formative assessment practices in a nature-based Indigenous language classroom. In M. E. Poehner & O. Inbar-Lourie (Eds.), Toward a reconceptualization of second language classroom assessment: Praxis and researcher-teacher partnership (pp. 107–127). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35081-9_6

  • A worksheet, a whiteboard, a teacher-learner: leveraging materials and colonial language frames for multimodal indigenous language learning

    Engman explores the relationships between teacher-learners, multilingualism, classroom materials, and print literacy in an Ojibwe kindergarden class in the Great Lakes Region. She is especially interested in how English can be used to cultivate Ojibwe literacy in an English-majority environment. She comments on the challenges of providing high quality immersive language education within an English-majority classroom given a lack of time for planning, schedulaing constraints, and the presence of other instructional staff. She learns that using English may allow students to experiment across languages, and that the presence of an Indigenous language in a classroom, no matter how ineffectual in promoting proficiency, disrupts colonial education norms.

    Engman, M. M. (2021). A worksheet, a whiteboard, a teacher-learner: Leveraging materials and colonial language frames for multimodal indigenous language learning. Classroom Discourse, 12(1–2), 75–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463014.2020.1856696

  • Remote language revitalisation efforts during COVID-19

    Wiley-Camacho et al. investigate how digital learning tools, such as videoconferencing and flipped classrooms, can be best leveraged to support teachers engaged in language revitalization in tribal elementary schools. They find that at the Salish School of Spokane, video conferencing and flipped classrooms can both prompt community-building, intergenerational transmission/connections, and comprehension as students work on understanding class content without traditional in-class supports. They report that the flipped classroom structure can lead to improved pronunciation; however, both the flipped classroom and use of video conferencing decrease unprompted language use.

    Wiley-Camacho, G., Hillaire, G., Buttimer, C. J., & Colwell, R. (2022). Remote language revitalisation efforts during COVID-19. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 31(3), 331–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2022.2077819

  • Visibility, Healing and Resistance: Voices from the 2005 Dena’ina Language Institute.

    Bell and Marlow explore the tensions between funding goals, community goals, and learner/participant goals in Indigneous language projects, especially in consideration of how the Dena’ina Language Institute’s programming can better align with community needs. They consider how a program can be considered a success by its participants and a failure by its funders and note that informal teachings seem to be the most memorable aspects of programming for participants. They discuss core participant goals and outcomes, including fluency, community, culture, literacy, resistance, and healing/visibility.

    Bell, L., & Marlow, P. E. (2009). Visibility, healing and resistance: Voices from the 2005 Dena’ina Language Institute. Journal of American Indian Education, 48(1), 1–18. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24398747

  • Turning a Corner in Language Revitalization: Sitting Bull College’s Lakota Language Capacity Building Initiative.

    Hauff et al. describe the community impacts, creation, successes, and lessons learned through Sitting Bull College’s language revitalization program: Lakota Language Capacity Building Initiative. They hope to share what they have learned in their revitalization work with other Indigenous communities who wish to implement similar programs. They explain how including elder speakers can facilitate the re-creation of a speech community, and how various assessments, especially videos, can be used to help student self-awareness as well as program evaluation. They also call for increased scholarship about the successes and failures of other language revitalization projects, and note the need for sustainable, long-term funding.

    Hauff, T., Walker, N., & Bannister, E. (2024). Turning a corner in language revitalization: Sitting Bull College’s Lakota language capacity building initiative. Tribal College, 35(3), 60–64. https://tribalcollegejournal.org/turning-a-corner-in-language-revitalization-sitting-bull-colleges-lakota-language-capacity-building-initiative/