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Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages
Illustrations of practice
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School

Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages Illustrations of practice

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School

Introduction

The Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring Language and Culture Centre

The Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring (MDWg) Language and Culture Centre Kununurra is situated 3,214 km from Perth in far northern Western Australia, at the eastern extremity of the Kimberley. The MDWg works to document, revitalise and maintain the Miriwoong language and culture, delivering a range of programs in the community. One of the main activities of the Language Centre is the Miriwoong Language Nest, which works in partnership with various organisations in and around Kununurra, with over 400 children participating in Miriwoong language lessons each week. The lessons enable students to access the Miriwoong language and culture in an immersive environment as part of their regular school learning programs. Currently, two Miriwoong educators from the Language Nest are studying the Aboriginal Languages Teacher Training (ALTT) course provided by the WA Department of Education. This course provides a formal qualification and a limited authority to teach in the community.

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Kununurra

In 2017, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School engaged the services of the Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring (MDWg) Language and Culture Centre's Miriwoong Language Nest to provide Miriwoong lessons to all students at the school. St Joseph’s caters for students from Foundation to Year 6 (F – 6) and is located on the traditional lands of the Miriwoong Peoples. The current enrolment is 157 students, of whom approximately 59% are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and 38% of students have English as an additional language or dialect (EALD). Surrounded by unique Kimberley landscapes and the local Aboriginal culture, St Joseph’s students are presented with rich learning experiences, such as on-country excursions and cultural immersion.

Students from F-2 receive one 30-minute Miriwoong lesson per week and students from Years 3-6 receive one 60-minute lesson per week. Students learn Miriwoong through exploration of keywords and grammatical structures relating to particular topics and participating in a range of group and individual language and cultural activities, such as singing, games, role-playing, cloze exercises, crafts and stories. The classroom teachers at St Joseph’s support the teachers of Miriwoong, engaging with the activities alongside students, and embedding the learning into other curriculum areas. Students are encouraged to use Miriwoong outside the classroom and around the school community to support a school-wide approach to promote and embed the language and culture.

In Western Australia, all students study a language from Year 3. The introduction of Miriwoong at St Joseph’s school was as a result of the school’s belief that their students would benefit from learning the local Miriwoong language to develop a stronger connection to local heritage and culture and enable a sense of belonging and empowerment for Aboriginal students.

This Illustration of Practice demonstrates how the Miriwoong Language Nest operates in the community and how St Joseph’s engages with the Miriwoong Language Nest to deliver language lessons, facilitated by Miriwoong educators.

The two videos represent perspectives of the Language Centre and the school:

Video 1: Miriwoong Dawang – perspectives of the Language Centre and Nest

Video 2: Teaching and Learning Miriwoong – perspectives of the teaching team and St Joseph’s School

Curriculum Connections Years 3-6 Language Revival Learner Pathway (LR) Years F–10 Sequence

Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages

https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/languages/framework-for-aboriginal-languages-and-torres-strait-islander-languages/

Years 3–6 Curriculum connections

Lesson number	Content Description
1	Interact with peers, the teaching team and visiting Elders/community members about aspects of personal worlds, such as experiences at school, home, everyday routines, interests and activities (ACLFWC152) Participate in guided tasks that involve following instructions, making things, cooperating with peers, planning for and conducting shared events, activities or school performances (ACLFWC153) Expand vocabulary in the language through word-formation processes and recognise and use simple language structures (ACLFWU164)
2	Participate in guided tasks that involve following instructions, making things, cooperating with peers, planning for and conducting shared events, activities or school performances (ACLFWC153) Participate in everyday classroom activities and routines, such as responding to questions and requests, asking permission, requesting help (ACLFWC154)
3	Participate in guided tasks that involve following instructions, making things, cooperating with peers, planning for and conducting shared events, activities or school performances (ACLFWC153) Participate in everyday classroom activities and routines, such as responding to questions and requests, asking permission, requesting help (ACLFWC154) Distinguish and produce the speech sounds of the language, understanding how these are represented in writing (ACLFWU163)
4	Participate in everyday classroom activities and routines, such as responding to questions and requests, asking permission, requesting help (ACLFWC154) Convey information on specific topics using formats such as oral or digital presentations, displays, diagrams (ACLFWC156)
5	Participate in guided tasks that involve following instructions, making things, cooperating with peers, planning for and conducting shared events, activities or school performances (ACLFWC153) Expand vocabulary in the language through word-formation processes and recognise and use simple language structures (ACLFWU164) Understand that texts such as stories, paintings, songs and dances have distinct purposes and particular language features (ACLFWU165)
6	Participate in guided tasks that involve following instructions, making things, cooperating with peers, planning for and conducting shared events, activities or school performances (ACLFWC153) Create and present real and imaginative texts suitable for a particular audience, using familiar expressions and modelled language (ACLFWC158) Expand vocabulary in the language through word-formation processes and recognise and use simple language structures (ACLFWU164)
7	Participate in guided tasks that involve following instructions, making things, cooperating with peers, planning for and conducting shared events, activities or school performances (ACLFWC153) Translate simple texts from the language to English and vice versa, identifying elements which require interpretation rather than translation and involve cultural references (ACLFWC159)
8	Distinguish and produce the speech sounds of the language, understanding how these are represented in writing (ACLFWU163)
9	Listen to, read and view different real and imaginative texts, identifying and making simple statements about key elements, characters and events, and interpreting cultural expressions and behaviours (ACLFWC157) Create and present real and imaginative texts suitable for a particular audience, using familiar expressions and modelled language (ACLFWC158) Expand vocabulary in the language through word-formation processes and recognise and use simple language structures (ACLFWU164)
10	Interact with peers, the teaching team and visiting Elders/community members about aspects of personal worlds, such as experiences at school, home, everyday routines, interests and activities (ACLFWC152) Notice and describe ways in which the language and associated communicative behaviours are similar or different to other known languages and cultures (ACLFWC162)

Cross Curriculum priorities

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures

The Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages provides a direct way of learning about and engaging with diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures are an integral part of learning Aboriginal languages and Torres Strait Islander languages as there is an inseparable connection between the languages and land, sea, sky and waterways. Through learning a framework language, all students gain access to knowledge and understanding of Australia that can only come from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander perspective.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, learning their own language can have a significant influence on their overall learning and achievements. It can foster a strong sense of identity, pride and self-esteem and enables students to develop a wider recognition and understanding of their culture, Country/Place and People. This then contributes to their wellbeing.

Code	Organising ideas
Country/Place
OI.1	Australia has two distinct Indigenous groups: Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and within those groups there is significant diversity.
OI.2	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities maintain a special connection to and responsibility for Country/Place.
OI.3	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have holistic belief systems and are spiritually and intellectually connected to the land, sea, sky and waterways.
Culture
OI.4	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies have many Language Groups.
OI.5	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ ways of life are uniquely expressed through ways of being, knowing, thinking and doing.
OI.6	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples live in Australia as first peoples of Country or Place and demonstrate resilience in responding to historic and contemporary impacts of colonisation.
People
OI.7	The broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies encompass a diversity of nations across Australia.
OI.8	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' family and kinship structures are strong and sophisticated.
OI.9	The significant contributions of Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the present and past are acknowledged locally, nationally and globally.

Additional information and resources

Teaching resources

Miriwoong unit lesson plans 3–6 Stage 3+

References and links

AIATSIS - Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies: https://aiatsis.gov.au/

Australian Curriculum Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/languages/framework-for-aboriginal-languages-and-torres-strait-islander-languages/

The Miriwoong Language Nest: http://mirima.org.au/mdwg-work/language-nest/

Miriwoong Mobile App: http://mirima.org.au/mdwg-work/miriwoong-app/

Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring Language and Culture Centre (MDWg): http://mirima.org.au/

Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School Kununurra: https://www.stjoknx.wa.edu.au/

Department of Education Western Australia: https://www.education.wa.edu.au/

Questions for educators and schools

Reflecting on this Illustration of Practice: 

What are the reasons for St Joseph’s implementing Miriwoong as the language curriculum through the Language Nest?
How does the school engage with the Language Nest?
How is the community working with Miriwoong people to revive and teach the language?
What are the benefits of the Miriwoong language program for the students (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal), in this school and community?
How is the Language Nest using and adapting the AC: Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages Framework in their planning and implementation?
How does the school deliver an authentic Miriwoong language and cultural experience?
How does the school cater for all learners?
How do St Joseph’s classroom teachers support the teaching and learning of Miriwoong?

In your school context:

How could you implement an Aboriginal Languages or Torres Strait Islander Languages program? Do you have the option to engage with a Language Centre or external provider?
Which Curriculum pathway (LR, L1, L2) would be the most appropriate for your school and community context and why?
What requirements would your school and the community need to discuss? How would the consultation and engagement processes establish the foundation for the language program?
Identify how an Aboriginal Language or Torres Strait Islander Language program would benefit your students, school and community.
Identify a process to review the initial program goals and measure growth and success.

Acknowledgements and disclaimers

ACARA acknowledges that the filming for this Illustration of Practice took place on the traditional land, sky and waterways of the Miriwoong People.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the videos in this Illustration of Practice may contain images and voices of deceased persons.

ACARA would like to thank:

The Miriwoong Community and Elders
Miriwoong teachers and leaders
Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring Language and Culture Centre (MDWg)
The Miriwoong Language Nest
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Kununurra
Aboriginal Languages Curriculum Support, Department of Education WA
The Commonwealth Government for funding this Illustration of Practice through the Endeavour Language Teachers Fellowship