The Language Factor

1. The Language Factor Natasha Holzberger Yarrabah State School Far North Queensland Indigenous School Support Unit – Language Perspectives nholz4@eq.edu.au Ph. 4056 0666

2. Our Context: Yarrabah State School Yarrabah State School • Indigenous community 45 minutes south-east of Cairns • 3 campuses: pre-prep, primary, high school • 400 students

3. Exploring the Language of Yarrabah Experiencing the Language What do you notice? • ‘At da Crick’ poster • Yarrie Lingo audio (Aunty / Mission)

4. Standard Australian English, literacy and numeracy All students require a high degree of competency in spoken and written Standard Australian English, including an understanding of its use in different contexts, if they are to actively participate in society. Standard Australian English (SAE) is the language of instruction in Queensland schools. Many students will come into the learning environment with a home language, or dialect, other than Standard Australian English. These students will need explicit and scaffolded teaching and assessment. Literacy and numeracy are at the heart of each student’s ability to learn and succeed in school and beyond. Literacy and numeracy skills and knowledge are integral to effective learning in every subject area and must be explicitly identified and developed by all teachers across the curriculum in increasing sophistication from Prep to Year 12. From the P-12 Curriculum Framework

5. English? • SAE sounds (vowels and consonants) • SAE vocabulary (word meaning) • SAE grammar (how vocabulary is put into sentences) • SAE intonation and rhythm (the music of SAE) • SAE word order (how vocabulary and grammarwords are organised in a sentence) • SAE orthography (phonemic awareness, spelling knowledges) • SAE pragmatics (the behaviours that accompany language; and cultural aspects built into language)

6. What does this mean for us? Language Difference – what does it mean?

7. 2 Pronged Approach

8. Planning for Whole School Improvement

9. What are we doing at Yarrabah State School?

10. Developing School Policy Teaching, Learning & Assessment Policy “All curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment programs, planning and processes (from whole school to year level and classroom, across all year levels and learning areas) to embed and align with High Yield Teaching and Learning practices and pedagogies appropriate to Indigenous speaking language students/creole speaking students.”

11. Draft ESL Strategy Draft Year Targets for ESL Strategy

12. A review of research into assessment and learning found that: 'initiatives designed to enhance effectiveness of the way assessment is used in the classroom to promote learning can raise pupil achievement.' (Black & Wiliam, cited in Assessment Reform Group, 1999, p.4). 1 Strategy: Before & After Samples

13. What are “Before and After” Samples? Examples of students’ oral and written abilities in Standard Australian English (SAE). Written samples can be obtained during everyday assessment practices. Spoken samples can be obtained through transcribing semi-structured interviews (start by focusing on 1-3 students). Mellor & Corrigan (2004) explain that qualitative research is beneficial when investigating Indigenous education, as it provides personalised data, that accounts for various complex factors.

14. Why are Language Samples Useful for Mainstream Classroom Teachers? • In the majority of schools, classroom learning and discourse occurs in SAE. This is problematic for learners of ESL, particularly Indigenous students who speak creoles. • Teachers assess students on what they know through severalmodes, but most often through verbal or writtenlanguage. However, language proficiency is very seldom assessed. • Analysing language samples with mainstream classroom teachers is a strategy that can assist them in: • tracking students’ second language acquisition and wider content learning; • informing planning for ongoing teaching/learning; • setting goals for students’ learning during a planned unit; and • developing their own understanding/awareness about language • considering the language in their teaching.

15. When are Language Samples Collected? • Ideally, language samples should be collected: • at the beginning of a unit; • during the middle of the unit; and • at the end of the unit. • The first and last (“before and after”) samples are especially valuable, as they enable teachers to see students’ progress in learning SAE features. • Teachers must ensure that all students are provided with opportunities to learn the necessary language to access classroom curriculum and express their learning.

16. How are Student Interviews Conducted? • Identify your topic (what do you want to know?) • Set questions/choose a stimulus text (to ‘moderate’ across samples/time) • Select students (e.g. one beginner, one developing and one more proficient) • Record an interview with each student (avoid background noise; explain the purpose to the student; verbalise/note contextual and visual information; keep interviews ‘short and sharp’; move from familiar topics to abstract concepts) • Type up the interviews (use headphones to listen to the interviews; transcribe into a generic template; repeat the recordings several times) 6. Analyse the interviews 7. Goal-set/identify teaching points 8. Re-do steps 4-7 at different points throughout the unit

17. Transcribed “Before & After” Interviews

18. ‘Growing Plants’ Unit Extracts from oral “Before” sample: Extract from written “After” sample: “Its can grow by seed” “Iss get wet by rain/ flower get wet by rain” “It can drink waters” “It [is?] yellow” “It is green” “Its has lots ob different inside tings” Its long beins” [veins]

19. Language Analysis Measures of complex syntax developed by Angelo and Carter (2009, unpublished), adapted from Craig & Washington (2006).

20. Teaching & Learning Sequence

21. Conclusion “Before and after” language samples provide classroom teachers with evidence of ESL learners’ successes and challenges with SAE and wider classroom content. This makes the process an effective strategy for influencing mainstream teachers to align with ESL-informed practices. Language-focused adjustments to teachers’ planned curriculum, pedagogy and assessment - alongside language awareness activities - help encourage students to become three-way strong (The State of Queensland, Department of Education and Training, 2010).

22. References Angelo, D. (2006). Language Awareness Continuum (see ‘Awareness of Students’ Language Situation: Goals, Strategies and Activities’ in Bound for Success Oral Diagnostic Map. Teaching Strategies: Language Awareness). Angelo & Carter (2009). An investigation into the interface between language and literacy at Bundamba State Secondary College. Cairns: Far North Queensland Indigenous Schooling Support Unit (unpublished). Adapted from Craig & Washington (2006) Malik Goes to School. Examining the language skills of African-American students from preschool - 5th grade. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum. Berry, R. & Hudson, J. (1997). Making the Jump: A resource book for teachers of Aboriginal students. Broome, WA: Catholic Education Office, Kimberley Region. Mellor, S. & Corrigan, M. (2004). Australian Educational Review. The Case for Change: A review of contemporary research on Indigenous educational outcomes [Online]. Available URL: http://www.acer.edu.au/documents/INDEDU_TheCaseforChange.pdf (accessed 6th July 2009). The Assessment Reform Group (1999). Assessment for Learning: Beyond the Black Box [Online version]. Available URL: http://arrts.gtcni.org.uk/gtcni/handle/2428/4621 (accessed 25th June 2010). The State of Queensland, Department of Education and Training (2010). Three-way strong [Online]. Available URL: http://www.languageperspectives.org.au/ (accessed 15th June 2010).

23. Analysing Student Interviews The help of a staff or community member who speaks the same home language as the child being interviewed is invaluable.

24. TEACHING LANGUAGE IS EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS ESL in Action photos from Yarrabah SS

31. Language Differences

43. The Language Factor Natasha Holzberger Yarrabah State School Far North Queensland Indigenous School Support Unit – Language Perspectives nholz4@eq.edu.au Ph. 4056 0666