Topic: language issues

[Michael]

This is an extract from a paper I am reading by Thomas Nielson, who researched an education program in Canada with the First Nation people:

Exploring a possibly central theme: How the longhouse became a Victorian picket fence overnight
There is one theme that I would like to explore in particular, as it may be important for a deeper understanding of the other themes. From the data on the LUCID (f)actors, as well as from the larger literature, we learn that LUCID operates within a setting that is beset with challenge. Alcohol and drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, poverty, low school attendance and high dropout rates present difficult challenges for any education system and pedagogy. This, combined with a public school system that, as a whole, stands in stark contrast to the traditionally embodied and experiential learning of First Nations children, puts LUCID in a position of trying to exert an influence on a community, the workings of which to a large extent reside outside the project’s sphere of influence.
    Indeed, a social commentary came up during this research that was claimed to have considerable influence on project intentions. Vincent, a proud First Nation teacher in his thirties, recalls:
    If you look at First Nations communities today, something happened in there. The older generation made a hard shift in the 1880s, 1890s and early 1900s to change to the European way of life. When you see pictures of their houses, with the little white picket fences, you notice how well kept it all is, how they kept their gardens. And they did that for a good 30 years. What happened after that? The fences eventually fell down, and the houses fell into disrepair. Ninety years later and the houses are still falling down and the fences haven’t been replaced. What happened to their kids? Why didn’t their kids have that drive and that same withitness that the old original population had, the people who grew up speaking their Native tongue? Why is it that their kids seem to fall off the rails? And what made these beautiful, graceful old people so different? I remember visiting the house of an elder when I was younger. There was a whole wall with racks of china – all matching teacups and plates for putting on feasts. The old people had it together. They had goals. Yes, they were trying to adopt European ways, and they did that with real grace at times. They were highly respected by both Natives and whites. How did the following generation find it so difficult to follow in their parents footsteps?
    There is a pause, then Vincent continues:
    It wasn’t until I started to read Lev Vygotsky and how he believed that language and thought are intimately connected that I started to understand this. I now believe that the dramatic change that occurred from one generation to the next came about because of a sudden language deficiency. The old generation learned to think in their Native language and that was fine – they thought powerfully. Then they tried to teach their kids English, many of them believing that they would do their kids a favor by not teaching them their traditional language.  The only problem was that the older generation was not particularly good at English themselves, and so the kids did not learn a very substantial form of English. In effect, the kids were left with no language learned really well. And now it is intergenerational. The initial language is not there anymore, and the insubstantial English is handed down generation to generation. So the question is, do you fix this now by having First Nations elements reintroduced into the curriculum – will that fix that problem? Certainly, it may improve self-esteem, which in turn may have positive influences on academic achievement, but it does not address the fundamental challenge of a language deficiency. We need to focus on early language intervention. In high school it is already too late.
    Commenting on the sensitivity and social ramifications of this argument, Vincent concluded:
    To say all this is bound in taboo. It requires a certain amount of courage just to discuss it. A lot of people understandably find it difficult to deal with this argument. One thing is to say you have problems communicating. Another thing is to link that to the very act of thinking itself. But, honestly, I think this is the problem. If we help our kids to speak and thus think well, we in turn also will help combat all the problems associated with bad decision-making, such as teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, low school attendance rates, and so on. The LUCID objectives presuppose that basics have been covered, but the cognitive tools and imaginative teaching may only be a band-aid solution to a much deeper social problem. Language development is needed – for pre-school children as well as their parents.

[Nichi]

That's a very interesting point, about the older generation thinking in their native tongue, and not being able to pass on a "substantial English" - therefore, the younger generation isn't even thinking in substantial English. They speculate that this deficiency leads to an inability to follow up on task completion per goals set, or to make good decisions. The insubstantial English may surely be an influence, but I submit that this is a problem for straight-up English-speaking younger (white) generations as well, who have English-speaking parents. It is not so easy anymore to meet goals and to keep house like our mothers and grandmothers did.

[Ke-ke wan]

Oh Wow!  Thanks for posting this Michael, I hadn't considered this as a possibility.  Makes a lot of sense and also kind of makes me sad.

[Michael]

Oh Wow!  Thanks for posting this Michael, I hadn't considered this as a possibility.  Makes a lot of sense and also kind of makes me sad.

I've discussed this with numerous people since reading it, and everyone has the same response as you - hadn't considered it, but once mentioned it's as though they knew it all along.

[Jahn]

Very interesting - and striking.

Adaption processes are interesting stuff and of course has the language a central role. See how every business have their own professional terms. To learn a academic profession is much to learn a language along with the "thinking" and theories.