Post by Okwes on Feb 28, 2007 16:22:16 GMT -5
Separated By A Common Language
By Elizabeth Wynne Johnson COEUR D ALENE, ID 2006-12-26
www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2007/01/the_talking_way.ht\
ml
<http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2007/01/the_talking_way.h\
tml> These days, most Native Americans grow up speaking English. So
you might not think language would be a barrier for native students. But
many Indian kids speak a dialect that's rooted in native language. That
affects how students learn in the classroom and how well they perform on
standardized tests. Correspondent Elizabeth Wynne Johnson introduces us
to the dialect known as "Red English."
-----------
Donna MacArthur lives at edge of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in
southeastern Idaho. Here, daily conversation with her eight-year-old
granddaughter Emerson is laced with traces of the ancestral tongues.
Donna MacArthur: "If I say, 'XXX' or 'XXXX' I'm talking English, but if
I say 'XXX' Emi knows 'Let's go!' So what we do is we throw a few Indian
words in with our English."
Emerson MacArthur: "Me and my dad, we -- if he says 'do you want some
[bahbah]?' I know, 'Do you want some water?'"
Donna MacArthur: "They know the kids are supposed to learn English, but
still a lot of the phrases are spoken in Shoshone or Bannock."
Emerson MacArthur: "I don't really think about I'm mixing two
languages."
That mix is called "American Indian English." Known around here as "Red
English." It refers to more than the occasional use of Indian terms.
Scholars describe "Indian English" as having many varieties. Each
dialect reflects the distinct grammar and structure of its native tribal
language.
Donna MacArthur: "We'll say, 'What car we goin' on?' That's very common.
It's just not proper English but we know what we're talking about."
(laughs)
(Sound of kids in school hallway.)
In school, though, Red English can be a problem. Fort Hall Elementary is
a public school. Virtually all the students live on or near the
reservation, most in English-speaking homes. Yet Fort Hall is designated
LEP, which stands for Limited English Proficiency.
Idaho State University professor Beverly Klug works closely with kids at
Fort Hall.
Beverly Klug: "You have a longer learning curve for a subject area if
you have to learn a whole new dialect, another way of putting your
thoughts together."
Klug is an expert in literacy and multicultural education. She sees kids
struggle with things like determining the meaning of a word through
context -- something Standard English relies on heavily.
Beverly Klug: "And we use nouns for verbs and verbs for nouns. That's
not done in many American Indian languages. You have one meaning for a
word and that's it."
On standardized tests under No Child Left Behind, some 60% of Fort Hall
students score basic or below in language proficiency. But Klug says
that's not an accurate gauge of these kids' intelligence.
Beverly Klug: "We see a lot more going on in the classroom that tells us
how much they're learning than what they're able to show on those
tests."
Under federal guidelines, kids will have to score better or the future
of the school could be at risk. For some, though, the most pressing
concern with poor test results is that they reinforce negative
perceptions about American Indians both for outsiders and for the kids
themselves.
Drusilla Gould is a Shoshone language instructor and tribal member.
Drusilla Gould: "We're always forever hearing that whatever we do is
wrong, how we speak is wrong. It tears at a person. Tears them apart
from the inside. And this is where a lot of our youth are today."
For Gould, it recalls the days of forced assimilation, when kids were
shipped off to boarding schools and punished for speaking their native
languages.
Drusilla Gould: "I think basically what the school system would like to
see is, um -- what do you call that? Like clones? You have to do this or
you don't belong. So it's very hard for native people to feel like they
belong."
ISU professor Beverly Klug says teachers have a responsibility to equip
these kids to operate in two cultures. That means not trying to
eradicate cultural markers like dialect.
Beverly Klug: "In the past we've expected the kids to do all the work,
and if the kids can't adapt something's wrong with them. As teachers, we
have to know enough about their cultures and their languages that we
know where they're coming from. I believe very strongly we never want to
take away a child's culture."
Klug says there is a benefit to the school's LEP designation. Testing
has raised awareness about a genuine challenge facing many Native
American students. It brings in additional federal dollars to help this
school develop a more culturally-appropriate curriculum.
Beverly Klug: All right, let's get back in our places. Ready? Here we
go. (Sound of clapping sticks.)
Today the kids gather to rehearse an upcoming school play. A traditional
Shoshone story, told in Standard English. Connecting what's new to
what's familiar.
Beverly Klug: "Let's be the Buffalo Calf. Are you ready? Go to your
right." (Sound of sticks clapping faster.)
The challenge remains finding an approach that overcomes -- rather than
reinforces -- the boundaries that separate Indian and non-Indian people.
By Elizabeth Wynne Johnson COEUR D ALENE, ID 2006-12-26
www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2007/01/the_talking_way.ht\
ml
<http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2007/01/the_talking_way.h\
tml> These days, most Native Americans grow up speaking English. So
you might not think language would be a barrier for native students. But
many Indian kids speak a dialect that's rooted in native language. That
affects how students learn in the classroom and how well they perform on
standardized tests. Correspondent Elizabeth Wynne Johnson introduces us
to the dialect known as "Red English."
-----------
Donna MacArthur lives at edge of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in
southeastern Idaho. Here, daily conversation with her eight-year-old
granddaughter Emerson is laced with traces of the ancestral tongues.
Donna MacArthur: "If I say, 'XXX' or 'XXXX' I'm talking English, but if
I say 'XXX' Emi knows 'Let's go!' So what we do is we throw a few Indian
words in with our English."
Emerson MacArthur: "Me and my dad, we -- if he says 'do you want some
[bahbah]?' I know, 'Do you want some water?'"
Donna MacArthur: "They know the kids are supposed to learn English, but
still a lot of the phrases are spoken in Shoshone or Bannock."
Emerson MacArthur: "I don't really think about I'm mixing two
languages."
That mix is called "American Indian English." Known around here as "Red
English." It refers to more than the occasional use of Indian terms.
Scholars describe "Indian English" as having many varieties. Each
dialect reflects the distinct grammar and structure of its native tribal
language.
Donna MacArthur: "We'll say, 'What car we goin' on?' That's very common.
It's just not proper English but we know what we're talking about."
(laughs)
(Sound of kids in school hallway.)
In school, though, Red English can be a problem. Fort Hall Elementary is
a public school. Virtually all the students live on or near the
reservation, most in English-speaking homes. Yet Fort Hall is designated
LEP, which stands for Limited English Proficiency.
Idaho State University professor Beverly Klug works closely with kids at
Fort Hall.
Beverly Klug: "You have a longer learning curve for a subject area if
you have to learn a whole new dialect, another way of putting your
thoughts together."
Klug is an expert in literacy and multicultural education. She sees kids
struggle with things like determining the meaning of a word through
context -- something Standard English relies on heavily.
Beverly Klug: "And we use nouns for verbs and verbs for nouns. That's
not done in many American Indian languages. You have one meaning for a
word and that's it."
On standardized tests under No Child Left Behind, some 60% of Fort Hall
students score basic or below in language proficiency. But Klug says
that's not an accurate gauge of these kids' intelligence.
Beverly Klug: "We see a lot more going on in the classroom that tells us
how much they're learning than what they're able to show on those
tests."
Under federal guidelines, kids will have to score better or the future
of the school could be at risk. For some, though, the most pressing
concern with poor test results is that they reinforce negative
perceptions about American Indians both for outsiders and for the kids
themselves.
Drusilla Gould is a Shoshone language instructor and tribal member.
Drusilla Gould: "We're always forever hearing that whatever we do is
wrong, how we speak is wrong. It tears at a person. Tears them apart
from the inside. And this is where a lot of our youth are today."
For Gould, it recalls the days of forced assimilation, when kids were
shipped off to boarding schools and punished for speaking their native
languages.
Drusilla Gould: "I think basically what the school system would like to
see is, um -- what do you call that? Like clones? You have to do this or
you don't belong. So it's very hard for native people to feel like they
belong."
ISU professor Beverly Klug says teachers have a responsibility to equip
these kids to operate in two cultures. That means not trying to
eradicate cultural markers like dialect.
Beverly Klug: "In the past we've expected the kids to do all the work,
and if the kids can't adapt something's wrong with them. As teachers, we
have to know enough about their cultures and their languages that we
know where they're coming from. I believe very strongly we never want to
take away a child's culture."
Klug says there is a benefit to the school's LEP designation. Testing
has raised awareness about a genuine challenge facing many Native
American students. It brings in additional federal dollars to help this
school develop a more culturally-appropriate curriculum.
Beverly Klug: All right, let's get back in our places. Ready? Here we
go. (Sound of clapping sticks.)
Today the kids gather to rehearse an upcoming school play. A traditional
Shoshone story, told in Standard English. Connecting what's new to
what's familiar.
Beverly Klug: "Let's be the Buffalo Calf. Are you ready? Go to your
right." (Sound of sticks clapping faster.)
The challenge remains finding an approach that overcomes -- rather than
reinforces -- the boundaries that separate Indian and non-Indian people.