18/6/02
Indigenous Australians will make more advances in education when Aboriginal English is respected in all classrooms, according to Education and Indigenous Affairs Minister Alan Carpenter.
Mr Carpenter said there was a stigma associated with Aboriginal English, and a danger that speakers of Aboriginal English could be unfairly labelled as low achievers when they were unable to express themselves well in Standard Australian English.
The Minister yesterday launched a joint Department of Education and Edith Cowan University video package to help train Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educators in better understanding the language challenges that can arise in the classroom and elsewhere.
The 'Ways of Being, Ways of Talk' video training package consists of a series of four, 15 to 20-minute videos, designed and produced to raise awareness about Aboriginal English and its impact on communication.
The videos are supported by a users' guide containing background information, a copy of the video scripts, and four research background papers.
"The materials have been developed through a wide consultation process involving Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educators and community members," Mr Carpenter said.
"The video materials contribute to the reconciliation process and are relevant to the wider community to increase Aboriginal employment and participation.
"In education, all students will benefit from a deeper insight into how the rules, conventions and underlying meanings in language can change through different world perspectives.
"In the wider community, such understandings will bring about greater respect and understanding about the complex situation that arises when two differing dialects are involved in communication.
"They also provide the opportunity to assist non-Aboriginal people to understand the world-view and perspectives of Aboriginal people."
The videos are part of the ABC of Two-Way Literacy and Learning project developed after eight years of collaborative research between the Department of Education and the Centre for Applied Language and Literacy Research at Edith Cowan University.
Mr Carpenter said since 1998, the ABC Two-Way project had provided professional development on Aboriginal English to more than 2,000 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Department of Education personnel.
"The materials released yesterday will help the two-way teams which work within the Department of Education to ensure that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal voices, perspectives, ways and expertise are jointly incorporated into curriculum and professional development," he said.
"This new way of working has attracted international recognition and the Western Australian model is currently being trialled by the Education Department in New South Wales."
The Minister said the video package, which was launched at the opening of a three-day train-the-trainer workshop, would be distributed to all Government schools and also made available to non-Government schools and other interested bodies.
Minister's office: 9213 6800
