Language Acquisition

Because of the state of language loss for Indigenous languages in North America, teaching and learning indigenous languages as a second language are essential to reversing language shift and revitalization efforts. Current language revitalization efforts range from informal language classes and gatherings, such as language tables that meet weekly to use the language over a meal, language classes where the language is taught as a subject in schools from elementary through college levels, bilingual education and various immersion experiences, ranging from short camps to master-apprentice relationships to immersion classrooms (Hinton 2001).

The majority of language instruction is occurring in schools where the language is taught as a subject, as a foreign language, similar to French or German. And in most cases, the time allotted for language instruction is too short to be effective – 15 minutes on most reservations in the U.S. and Canada (Greymorning 1999).

And while research and scholarship into the theory and methodology of second language acquisition has exploded in the last three decades, the teaching instruction found in most language classrooms lags behind. Language instruction is dominated by grammar-based teaching approaches and teaching about the language in the non-target language, usually English (Shultz 1991). Many attempts at teaching endangered languages fail because of poorly developed teaching methodologies (Hinton 2001).

The importance of school-based language learning programs cannot be downplayed. Indeed, the school-based program when used with immersion methods becomes an important link building a comprehensive language environment that encompasses home, family, neighborhood and community (Fishman 2001).

But according to Fishman (2001), if no efforts are undertaken to teach adults of child-bearing age the threatened language as a second language, then the parents will not be able to transmit that language to their children so that these children can bring learn it as a first language. Ultimately, intergeneration language transfer must occur for languages to flourish, meaning children must learn it from their parents as a first language.

Many language programs are looking to the experience of the Maori language nests in New Zealand and the immersion schooling of the Hawaiians as models for creating new generations of speakers. But the aging of fluent speakers for many indigenous languages creates problems in creating that type of language learning situation. Hermes (2004) relates that of the 4000 speakers of Ojibwe in the United States, most are over age 65.

Coming Next

What we hope to be able to assemble for you here soon is information about how people learn language, how your brain works and strategies to help you learn more effiently. Stay tuned.