Indigenous learners of English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) have historically not been the central focus of TESOL expertise here in Australia, or overseas. Despite moves towards inclusion increasing over the last two decades, there is an ongoing tendency for Indigenous EAL/D learners to remain on the periphery of current TESOL advocacy, research and practices in Australia. They are still often overlooked, as identification processes and support settings for migrant and refugee services are mismatched to Indigenous EAL/D learning contexts. Indigenous EAL/D learners, especially with un-/under-recognised contact languages (creoles and related varieties), can remain invisible in classrooms with mainstream curriculum and assessment practices (Angelo, 2013; Angelo & Hudson, 2018; Gawne et al., 2016; Macqueen et al., 2019). Hence, we argue that understanding and consideration of Indigenous EAL/D learners’ needs should become a priority in TESOL initiatives. This paper aims to place Indigenous EAL/D learners at the centre by alerting the TESOL field to a recent body of research and development on new Indigenous contact languages and whole class EAL/D teaching and assessment practices. Clarifying substantial issues and providing solutions, the paper makes Indigenous EAL/D its central focus, highlighting areas that otherwise result in “forgettings” about needs particular to Indigenous EAL/D learners.Thus informed, the Australian TESOL profession will surely include First Nations EAL/D learners at the heart of future discourse and initiatives.
This paper discusses the concepts underlying two proficiency scale innovations which include and describe the development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners of Standard Australian English (SAE). Both scales, developed in Queensland, are adaptations of the National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia (NLLIA) ESL Bandscales (McKay, Hudson, & Sapuppo, 1994). The revisions attempt to describe very complex terrain: the development of SAE by cohorts of Indigenous students, whose first languages are for the most part generated by language contact (English-lexified creoles or related varieties) in a range of language ecologies (second or foreign language or dialect learning situations), and who are undertaking their schooling in whole-class, mainstream curriculum contexts with SAE as the medium of instruction (Angelo, 2013). This work is of both national and international significance due to the growing awareness of the need for more valid language assessment of the diverse cohorts of students who have complex language backgrounds in relation to a standard language of education, such as non-standard dialects, contact languages, or ‘long-term’ language learners from indigenous or ethnic communities undergoing language shift. The concepts discussed suggest ways to capture students’ learning trajectories which are otherwise not visible in standardised L1 (literacy) assessments nor in typical L2 proficiency tools.
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