New Aboriginal curriculum a model (fwd)

Mon Jan 17 02:29:23 UTC 2005

Published on TaipeiTimes
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/01/16/2003219606

New Aboriginal curriculum a model
PRESERVING CULTURES:  The editor of a pioneering new curriculum that
covers 40 Aboriginal languages said that the work will serve as a
global example

By Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Jan 16, 2005

The first government-edited Aboriginal Languages Curriculum has reached
its final editing stage, and is expected to be published this year.

Editor in chief of the curriculum materials Lin Hsiu-che (???), an
ethnology professor at the Center for Aboriginal Languages Culture
Education at National Chengchi University, said the pioneering new
curriculum is a model for similar efforts across the globe.

"All Aboriginal languages in Taiwan, as well as in other parts of the
world, are on the verge of extinction," Lin said in a press conference
held on Friday to showcase the sample textbook. "Taiwan is in a leading
position globally in terms of editing curriculum materials for
aboriginal languages. The curriculum helps preserve the disappearing
languages and further shows our appreciation of Aboriginal cultures."

The curriculum, which covers 40 languages and dialects from the 12
Aboriginal Peoples in Taiwan, is co-sponsored by the Ministry of
Education and the Council of Indigenous Peoples. The Center for
Aboriginal Languages Culture Education is authorized to lead the
editing of the curriculum.

The design of the curriculum is based on the premise of localization and
practicality. Both the contents and the pictures in the textbooks are
carefully researched and reviewed by editors and respected tribal
elders.

In addition to the textbooks, there is also an online edition to help
students learn and practice the curriculum outside the classroom. Lin
said that Aboriginal language classes are only taught one hour per week
in most schools. This learning Web site will provide students with more
chance to practice what they learn in schools.

Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (???) said the curriculum is
valuable because the editing team has designed specific curriculums for
each of the 40 Aboriginal languages.

"As the first complete set of Aboriginal languages curriculum, this
material will be able to fully preserve all Aboriginal languages," said
Tu.

Council of Indigenous Peoples Chairman Chen Chien-nien (???) also
praised the editing team's work since many Aboriginal dialects are
disappearing. He further pledged to develop a better system to
cultivate and hire certified teachers.

"Qualified teachers will help bring the curriculum materials into full
usage. And we hope Aboriginal language education will be spread out
from schools to tribes, families and even the public," Chen said.

Since the beginning of the Nine-Year Educational Program launched in
2001, the Ministry of Education has added the Aboriginal languages
classes as required classes in elementary schools. According to the
program, all the cities and counties with Aboriginal students need to
prepare Aboriginal language classes. In the past, the language
textbooks were designed by local governments and Aboriginal language
curriculum materials have not been organized and unified.

While the new curriculum, whose textbooks are already sent out to
schools with Aboriginal language classes, has won many acknowledgments,
it also drew some criticism. Aziman Isdana, an Aboriginal language
teacher in Nantou County's Tongpu Elementary School, has been teaching
Bunan dialects since last year. He complained that there are many
grammatical and pronunciation mistakes in the textbooks, and some of
the contents are simply too hard for first and second-graders.

"My students often tell me that Aboriginal languages are harder than
English," Aziman said. In addition, both the limited class hours and
the fact that test scores from the language classes do not count in
semester transcripts discourages students from taking the class
seriously. Aziman suggested the government should establish some rules,
such as adding the scores of the language classes to semester
transcripts, so that schools can follow such standards and provide a
more positive learning environment for Aboriginal languages.

Feng Ya-Chun (???), secretary of the Indigenous Peoples Commission of
the Taipei City Government, said that while she is happy to see the
government complete a set of Aboriginal language curriculum materials,
it is even more crucial to encourage the public at large to learn
Aboriginal languages.

"The Taipei City Indigenous Peoples Commission for example, has adopted
a movement called `Language Nest' from New Zealand, which established
the program with an attempt to immerse children in the Maori language,"
Feng said.

Feng added that the commission may consider using the government-edition
textbooks for the program if the government wants to integrate their
curriculum materials with the language nest program.