Question on assessing technology for endangered language communities

Wed Nov 4 00:55:56 UTC 2009

I think its interesting topic too,
Most here are convinced our computer technology is fabulous for material
collection and storage....and as a skilled tool.it can be used deftly by a
committed community
but we haven't really heard from many students who were raised in immersion
programs.
I was recently in New Zealand for a few weeks and visited a "nest school"
a Maori immersion school in Whangarei on the North Island. The young man
showing me around was a sharp young high school student who had been reared
there, and was donating some of his time to help out and to "give back"
helping out with the pre-schoolers.
*He told me one of the greatest aides in learning the language for him were
songs.*
But I can ask him about the use of computer technology as well?
Maoris are ahead of many of us by decades and are powerfully grounded
people.
He felt the Maori science classes were VERY difficult since new terms and
concepts are endless and could only go so far in the Maori language.
** While coming and going he was greeting and speaking to students
casually in Maori and introduced me to the elder behind the efforts to start
the school.She gave me great encouragement as i shared with her the
difficulties we are facing in the states trying to revive a dormant
language(and culture) among our Wyandot nations.

yes , it would be good to hear from the now fluent ones, who came through
the immersion schools.

Richard
Wyandotte Oklahoma

On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 3:55 PM, Garry Forger <gforger at email.arizona.edu>wrote:

> This is an interesting thread and I am getting a lot out of it. Below are
> some
> more references on the topic.
>
> I think a main issue with this would be that for languages with very few
> speakers, there may not be a computer equivalent of the written language,
> if
> there is a written language, and there would not be terms for the
> technology in
> the language.
>
> Also there may be a big difference between technology for language
> preservation,
> archival recordings of the last speakers, and how technology would be used
> to
> teach the language to acquire more speakers.
>
> Garry
>
> Technology and Indigenous Language Revitalization: Analyzing the Experience
> of
> Hawai'i
> Journal Canadian Modern Language Review/ La Revue canadienne des langues
> vivantes
> Publisher       University of Toronto Press
> ISSN    0008-4506 (Print) 1710-1131 (Online)
> Issue   Volume 55, Number 1 / October 1998
> Pages   139-160
> Online Date     Tuesday, September 19, 2006
> http://utpjournals.metapress.com/content/mq61j741px875187/
>
>
> Integrating Technology into Minority Language Preservation and Teaching
> Efforts:
> An Inside Job
> Journal article by Daniel J. Villa; Language, Learning & Technology, Vol.
> 6,
> 2002
>
> http://llt.msu.edu/vol6num2/pdf/villa.pdf
>
> The use of information and communication technology for the preservation of
> Aboriginal culture: the Badimaya people of Western Australia
> K. Michael_ L. Dunn, University of Wollongong
> http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1375&context=infopapers
>
> Gordon, A. C., Gordon, M., & Dorr, J. (2003). Native American technology
> access:
> the Gates Foundation in Four Corners. The Electronic Library. 21 (5),
> 428-434.
> http://universityofarizona.worldcat.org/oclc/437783001
>
> Wilson, J. (1992). The Computers and Culture Project: A Multimedia Approach
> to
> the Preservation of Native History, Language, and Culture. Canadian Journal
> of
> Native Education. 19 (1), 7-19.
> http://universityofarizona.worldcat.org/oclc/425496606
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Quoting Susan Penfield <susan.penfield at gmail.com>:
>
>   Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. As Garry points
>> out,
>> "There certainly is much written and used with technology and second
>> language acquisition, so I see no reason why it would not be as effective
>> for language preservation and revitalization."
>>
>> AND YET-- there is very little application of any recent SLA techniques,
>> methods, strategies and research aimed at revitalization contexts.
>> (particularly the latter -- research on second language learning in
>> revitalization contexts is rare ....) -- Without it, it seems to me,
>> communities will continue to struggle to find the best ways to teach
>> indigenous languages (with or without technology).
>>
>> Susan
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 11:06 AM, Garry Forger <gforger at email.arizona.edu
>> >wrote:
>>
>>   I can’t speak to the efficacy of this article but I did find this.
>>> Language,
>>> Learning & Technology, Vol. 6, 2002, May 2002. Integrating Technology
>>> into
>>> Minority Language Preservation and Teaching Efforts: An Inside Job.
>>> Daniel
>>> J. Villa, New Mexico State University.
>>> http://llt.msu.edu/vol6num2/pdf/villa.pdf There certainly is much
>>> written
>>> and used with technology and second language acquisition, so I see no
>>> reason
>>> why it would not be as effective for language preservation and
>>> revitalization. It just appears that there has not been a lot published,
>>> so
>>> a field waiting to be explored. I think that certainly technology and
>>> language preservation would be important, but that the technology should
>>> not
>>> replace the human interaction that is the most important for keeping the
>>> language in context.   Garry Forger
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:
>>> ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] *On Behalf Of *Richard Zane Smith
>>> *Sent:* Saturday, October 31, 2009 5:27 PM
>>>
>>> *To:* ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
>>> *Subject:* Re: [ILAT] Question on assessing technology for endangered
>>> language communities
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Susan,
>>>
>>> such a good question. I'm kinda waitin' for a good answer on this one
>>> too.
>>>
>>> and more specificly:
>>>
>>> Is there evidence yet, that all the high tech stuff is helping with
>>> fluency?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Richard,
>>>
>>> Wyandotte Oklahoma
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 1:53 PM, Susan Penfield <
>>> susan.penfield at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> QUESTION:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Has anyone done any specific research addressing the question of how
>>> technology (broadly) is impacting indigenous language communities?  And /
>>> or
>>> how it is specifically being assessed, in terms of community involvement,
>>>  as an instrument for either documenting or revitalizing endangered
>>> languages?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Any input appreciated!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Susan
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>>
>>> **********************************************************************************************
>>> Susan D. Penfield, Ph.D.
>>> (Currently on leave to the National Science Foundation.
>>> E-mail: spenfiel at nsf.gov
>>> Phone at NSF: 703-292-4535)
>>>
>>>
>>> Department of English (Primary)
>>> Faculty affiliate in Linguistics, Language, Reading and Culture,
>>> Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT),
>>> American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI)
>>> The Southwest Center
>>> University of Arizona,
>>> Tucson, Arizona 85721
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> **********************************************************************************************
>> Susan D. Penfield, Ph.D.
>> (Currently on leave to the National Science Foundation.
>> E-mail: spenfiel at nsf.gov
>> Phone at NSF: 703-292-4535)
>>
>>
>> Department of English (Primary)
>> Faculty affiliate in Linguistics, Language, Reading and Culture,
>> Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT),
>> American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI)
>> The Southwest Center
>> University of Arizona,
>> Tucson, Arizona 85721
>>
>
>
>
> Garry J. Forger, MLS, MWS
> (Santa Cruz Watershed)
> Development and Grants Management Officer
> for Learning Technologies
> http://ltc.arizona.edu
> and
> Technology Manager for the Center for Educational
> Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy
> (CERCLL) http://cercll.arizona.edu
> The University of Arizona
> gforger at email.arizona.edu
> 520-626-3918
> Fax 520-626-8220
>
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