Between Dec 19, 2024 and Jan 2, 2025, datasets can be submitted to DRUM but will not be processed until after the break. Staff will not be available to answer email during this period, and will not be able to provide DOIs until after Jan 2. If you are in need of a DOI during this period, consider Dryad or OpenICPSR. Submission responses to the UDC may also be delayed during this time.
 

Revitalizing language, reframing expertise: An ecological study of language in one teacher-learner's Ojibwe classroom

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Persistent link to this item

Statistics
View Statistics

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Title

Revitalizing language, reframing expertise: An ecological study of language in one teacher-learner's Ojibwe classroom

Published Date

2017-05

Publisher

Type

Thesis or Dissertation

Abstract

The demand for Ojibwe language education is outpacing the current number of ‘first speakers’ in the United States (Treuer, 2010). This inverse relationship between the number of learners and the number of fluent speakers means most teachers involved in Ojibwe language education are themselves language learners with varying levels of proficiency. Nevertheless, the experiences, practices, and ideologies of the ‘teacher-learner’ (Hinton, 2003) have received little attention despite their central role in the success of classroom-based, K-12 language programs. This study addresses this gap in the literature through an ethnographic and sociocultural analysis of language use within one teacher-learner’s Ojibwe kindergarten classroom. It examines classroom language and interaction, participant structures, and routines, documenting the languages and discourses that are used for academic, social, and spiritual purposes. It employs linguistic ethnography (LE) to first present a descriptive picture of the linguistic ecology of the classroom along with the teacher-learner’s practices and strategies. LE is then combined with critical discourse analysis (CDA) to unpack the beliefs and ideologies that shape these practices. Findings show how the teacher-learner’s reliance on routines and matrix-language framing to scaffold her own language opens up discursive space for learners to experiment, play, and relate to one another in English and Ojibwemowin. Furthermore, this study highlights the ideological constraints and openings that shape the learning and use of an Indigenous language within a colonial institution (school) that has long been a tool of assimilation and Indigenous language erasure. This study incorporates experiential knowledge from Indigenous educators and critiques of applied linguistics from Indigenous scholars to call attention to the obstacles and innovations that arise as multilingual Ojibwe language learners and their teacher(-learner) negotiate new terrain in classroom-based language revitalization. Findings provide a better understanding of how language teaching and use function in teacher-learner-led classrooms with implications for both language revitalization research and the development of heteroglossic Indigenous identities. Moreover, the inclusion of oft-dismissed Indigenous epistemology speaks back to the field of applied linguistics, arguing for an increased openness and commitment to difference and flexibility in multilingual language teaching and learning theory.

Description

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. May 2017. Major: Education, Curriculum and Instruction. Advisors: Kendall King, Mary Hermes. 1 computer file (PDF); ix, 171 pages.

Related to

Replaces

License

Collections

Series/Report Number

Funding information

Isbn identifier

Doi identifier

Previously Published Citation

Other identifiers

Suggested citation

Engman, Melissa. (2017). Revitalizing language, reframing expertise: An ecological study of language in one teacher-learner's Ojibwe classroom. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/188842.

Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.