Master Apprentice in Australia

[Patrick McConvell]

I don't know of formally organised M-A schemes in Australia. When I was doing Native Title work in N. Queensland a few years back I met up with a situation of a Girramay woman in her 70's who has since died (a fluent speaker of this highly endangered language) who had independently and without input from linguists, overseas models etc set up something very similar with a woman of about 30. The latter was keen and also had quite a high level of education, but it was a rigorous regime of being with the older woman for long periods of time. I don't think any evaluation was done on this 'experiment' and there was no language centre to support this individual effort. My impression was that the younger woman was finding it hard to learn the language fully and that she would have benefitted from having regional institutional support like a language centre and more structured materials rather than just relying on a 'traditional' oral method of instruction.

Pat McConvell


-----Original Message-----
From: Margaret Florey [mailto:Margaret.Florey at arts.monash.edu.au]
Sent: Wed 5/7/2008 3:46 PM
To: Resource-Network-Linguistic-Diversity at unimelb.edu.au
Subject: Master Apprentice in Australia
 
Dear RNLD-ers,

Does anyone know of examples of the Master-Apprentice Program being used
with Australian Indigenous languages? I know it's been recommended for
use (in NILS, and in relation to NSW languages), and I'd appreciate
hearing of any cases.

best wishes,
Margaret

-- 
Dr Margaret Florey
Senior Lecturer
Linguistics Program
School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics
Monash University
Victoria 3800
Australia
Tel: +61 (0)3 9905-2237
Fax: +61 (0)3 9905-5437
Email: Margaret.Florey at arts.monash.edu.au
Home page: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/linguistics/staff/mflorey.php

Studies in Language Endangerment
Web Site: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ling/pglangen/

Maluku Endangered Languages Project
Email: Maluku at arts.monash.edu.au
Fax: +61 (0)3 9905-8492
Web Site http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ling/maluku/

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