Teaching our way of life through our language: Materials development for Indigenous immersion education

Resource for Self-Determination or Perpetuation of Linguistic Imposition: Effects of English Learner Classification Among Alaska Native Students*

“…EL classification fails to recognize some students' fluency in nonstandard English varieties (Flores & Rosa, 2015), and as such, services may be shaped largely around a prevalent image of an EL student of immigrant origin who has a non-English-dominant language and is acquiring English as a new language. Furthermore, there is qualitative evidence that EL services, such as ELD, may displace culturally relevant content (Siekmann et al, 2017).…”

“…While certain laws, including the Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act (1975), the Native American Languages Act (1990), and in Alaska, the Alaska Native Educational Equity, Support and Assistance Act (2002), support Indigenous languages and selfdetermination in education, barriers persist with regard to heritage language development and culturally responsive instruction (Beaulieu, 2008;Jester, 2002;Lomawaima & McCarty, 2006;Patrick, 2008;Winstead et al, 2008;Wyman et al, 2010b). Required standards displace culturally sustaining and place-based curricula (Lomawaima & McCarty, 2002;Siekmann et al, 2017), omitting Indigenous histories and relying instead on White-centric perspectives (Quijada Cerecer, 2013). Similarly, standardization of instruction and assessment is generally misaligned with Indigenous knowledges and Indigenous student identities (R. Barnhardt & Kawagley, 2005;Dinero, 2004;Nelson-Barber & Trumbull, 2015;Reyhner & Hurtado, 2008).…”

“…While causal evidence is needed, culturally responsive and sustaining education practices and policies are positively associated with Indigenous students' outcomes (Castagno & Brayboy, 2008). In Alaska specifically, integrating instruction on Alaska Native cultural traditions, practices, and knowledges with core content learning-such as star navigation to support math learning-can engage and support Alaska Native students (Ayuluk et al, 2015; R. Barnhardt & Kawagley, 2005;Hogan, 2008;Jester & Fickel, 2013;Lipka & Adams, 2004;Siekmann et al, 2017).…”

Language Teachers as Materials Developers

“…For example, in their design-based research, Moore and Lorenzo (2015) found that teachers designing Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) materials faced challenges, including balancing cognitive and linguistic demands. Through action research, Siekmann et al (2017) revealed the tensions between cultural and academic content that language teachers experience when designing culturally and linguistically appropriate textbooks for Indigenous elementary students in southwest Alaska. Atkinson (2020) employed concurrent verbalisation to allow language teachers to speak their thoughts aloud while designing materials.…”

Language Education for Orang Asli Children in Malaysia

“…This situation points towards a difficulty in making sense of language use. Therefore, language learning within indigenous children's cultural context is more likely to assist them in meaning-making (Bruner, 1966b;Siekmann et al, 2017) For the Orang Asli children, if the aspect of the environment is better understood, then language education can be better conceptualised for these children, and therefore benefit their language learning. Overall, the mismatch observed between language learning and Orang Asli children's meaning-making in the case cited points to the lack of recognition of the environment as one of the factors that can hinder their language education.…”