Hostname: page-component-7857688df4-p2b9w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-11-17T07:54:24.103Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Addressing the Language and Literacy Needs of Aboriginal High School VET Students who Speak SAE as an Additional Language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2013

Rhonda Oliver ,
Ellen Grote ,
Judith Rochecouste  and
Mike Exell
Rhonda Oliver*
Affiliation:
Curtin University, Australia
Ellen Grote
Affiliation:
Research Consultant, Perth, Australia
Judith Rochecouste
Affiliation:
Monash University, Australia
Mike Exell
Affiliation:
Curtin University, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Rhonda Oliver, School of Education, Curtin University, PO Box U1987, Bentley WA 6845, Australia. Email: rhonda.oliver@curtin.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

Vocational Education and Training (VET) in high schools has had positive effects on the retention of Indigenous students, providing important pathways into further education and the workforce. However, low-level literacy (and numeracy) skills can make successful completion difficult, especially for students who speak Standard Australian English as an additional language or dialect. This article describes research undertaken to inform the development of a second language and literacy needs analysis model designed for high school VET teachers to address the needs of Indigenous students. The study draws on second language acquisition research, which demonstrates the value of using tasks as the basis for language teaching syllabus design, with needs analysis as a fundamental aspect of this. The project centred on Aboriginal high school VET students from remote and rural communities in Western Australia, who speak English as an additional language/dialect. Data collected included: individual and focus group interviews, training materials, and observation field notes on the language and literacy practices in classrooms and workplaces. The major findings focus on the development of oral language (for both job-oriented and social interactions in the workplace) and literacy skills, as well as the need to overcome ‘shame’ and develop confidence for speaking to non-Aboriginal people.

Keywords

Indigenous educationneeds analysislanguage and literacysecond language acquisitionEnglish as an additional languageEnglish as a second language

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 41 , Issue 2 , December 2012 , pp. 229 - 239
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2010). National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social survey, 2008 (Cat. no. 4714.0). Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4714.0Main%20Features52008?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4714.0&issue=2008&num=&view=Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2011a). Australian social trends, Mar 2011 (Cat. No. 4102.0). Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features50Mar+2011Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2011b). Labour force characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, Estimates from the labour force survey, 2010 (Cat. No. 6287.0). Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/6287.0~2010~Chapter~EmploymentGoogle Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2012). The health and welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Oct 2010 (Cat. No. 4704.0). Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/lookup/4704.0Chapter360Oct+2010Google Scholar
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2011). National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy: National report for 2011. Sydney, Australia: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority.Google Scholar
ANTA. (2003). Follow workplace hygiene procedures: An optional resource for learners, trainers and assessors to support the Tourism, Hospitality & Caravan training packages THT02, THH02 & THC03. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Training Products Ltd.Google Scholar
August, D., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.). (2006). Developing literacy in second-language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Australian Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations. (2011). Job guide. Retrieved from http://www.jobguide.thegoodguides.com.au/Google Scholar
Barnett, K., & Ryan, R. (2005). Lessons and challenges: Vocational education in schools — Research overview. Adelaide, Australia: NCVER.Google Scholar
Berry, R., & Hudson, J. (1997). Making the jump: A resource book for teachers of Aboriginal students. Broome, Australia: Catholic Education Office, Kimberley Region.Google Scholar
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2011). Remote power and water: Essential service training for Aboriginal communities Book 3 Learner's resource — External 1811 (DRAFT). Canberra, Australia: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.Google Scholar
Eades, D. (2007). Aboriginal English in the criminal justice system. In Leitner, G. & Malcolm, I.G. (Eds.), The habitat of Australia's Aboriginal languages: Past, present and future (pp. 299–326). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eagleson, R.D., Kaldor, S., & Malcolm, I.G. (1982). English and the Aboriginal child. Canberra, Australia: Curriculum Development Centre.Google Scholar
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gass, S.M. (2003). Input and interaction. In Doughty, C.J. & Long, M.H. (Eds.), The handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 224–255). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilabert, R. (2005). Evaluating the use of multiple sources and methods in needs analysis: A case study of journalists in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia (Spain). In Long, M.H. (Ed.), Second language needs analysis (pp. 182–199). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, J., & Beresford, Q. (2001). Alienation from school among Aboriginal students. Perth, Australia: Institute for the Service Professions, Edith Cowan University.Google Scholar
Gray, J., & Partington, G. (2012). Attendance and non-attendance at school. In Beresford, Q. & Partington, G. (Eds.), Reform and resistance in Aboriginal education (pp. 261–303). Perth, Australia: University of Western Australia Publishing.Google Scholar
Grote, E., & Rochecouste, J. (2012). Language and the classroom setting. In Beresford, Q., Partington, G., & Gower, G. (Eds.), Reform and resistance in Aboriginal education (pp. 174–201). Perth, Australia: University of Western Australia Publishing.Google Scholar
Harkins, J. (1990). Shame and shyness in the Aboriginal classroom: A case for practical semantics. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 10, 293–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helme, S. (2005). Indigenous students and vocational education and training in schools: Ladder of opportunity or corrugated iron ceiling? Australian Journal of Education, 49 (2), 169–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, A., & Helme, S. (2005). VET in schools for Indigenous students: ‘Hands on’, ‘default’, or promising? International Journal of Training Reseach, 3 (1), 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holmes, J. (2005). When small talk is a big deal: Sociolinguistic challenges in the workplace. In Long, M.H. (Ed.), Second language needs analysis (pp. 344–371). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jasso-Aguilar, R. (2005). Sources, methods and triangulation in needs analysis: A critical perspective in a case study of Waikiki hotel maids. In Long, M.H. (Ed.), Second language needs analysis (pp. 127–158). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liberman, K. (1981). Understanding Aborigines in Australian courts of law. Human Organizations, 40 (3), 247–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, M.H. (1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In Ritchie, W.C. & Bhatia, T.K. (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 413–468). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Long, M.H. (Ed.). (2005a). Methodological issues in learner needs analysis. In Second language needs analysis (pp. 19–76). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, M.H. (Ed.). (2005b). Second language needs analysis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malcolm, I.G. (1995). Language and communication enhancement for two-way education. Perth, Australia: Centre for Applied Language Research, Edith Cowan University and Education Department of Western Australia.Google Scholar
Malcolm, I.G., & Grote, E. (2007). Aboriginal English: Restructured variety for cultural maintenance. In Leitner, G. & Malcolm, I. (Eds.), The habitat of Australia's Aboriginal languages: Past, present and future (pp. 153–179). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malcolm, I.G., Haig, Y., Königsberg, P., Rochecouste, J., Collard, G., Hill, A., & Cahill, R. (1999). Towards more user-friendly education for speakers of Aboriginal English. Perth, Australia: Centre for Applied Language and Literacy Research, Edith Cowan University and Education Department of Western Australia.Google Scholar
Malcolm, I.G., & Konigsberg, P. (2007). Bridging the language gap in education. In Leitner, G. & Malcolm, I. (Eds.), The habitat of Australia's Aboriginal languages: Past, present and future (pp. 267–297). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonald, S., Warren, E., & DeVries, E. (2011). Refocusing on oral language and rich representation to develop the early mathematical understandings of Indigenous students. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 40, 9–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGlusky, N., & Thaker, L. (2006). Literacy support for Indigenous people: Current systems and practices in Queensland. Adelaide, Australia: NCVER.Google Scholar
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oliver, R., & Grote, E. (2010). CAPS student needs: Emerging themes. Bunbury, Australia: Edith Cowan University.Google Scholar
Oliver, R., Haig, Y., & Rochecouste, J. (2003). Oral language assessment and the communicative competence of adolescent students. Perth, Australia: Centre for Applied Language and Literacy Research, Edith Cowan University.Google Scholar
Oliver, R., & Mackey, A. (2003). Interactional context and feedback in child ESL classrooms. Modern Language Journal, 87 (4), 519–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oliver, R., Rochecouste, J., Vanderford, S., & Grote, E. (2011). Teacher awareness and understandings about Aboriginal English. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 34 (1), 60–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Partington, G., & Galloway, A. (2007). Issues and policies in school education. In Leitner, G. & Malcolm, I.G. (Eds.), The habitat of Australia's Aboriginal languages: Past, present and future (pp. 237–266). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Queensland Department of Education and Training. (2011). The crux of the matter: Language, literacy and numeracy and vocational education and training. Brisbane, Australia: Queensland VET Development Centre.Google Scholar
Sharifian, F. (2001). Schema-based processing in Australian speakers of Aboriginal English. Language and Intercultural Communication, 1 (2), 120–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegel, J. (2010). Second dialect acquisition. Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sullivan, P., & Girginer, H. (2002). The use of discourse analysis to enhance ESP teacher knowledge: An example using aviation English. English for Special Purposes, 21, 397–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Western Australian Department of Education. (2012). Tracks to two-way learning. Perth, Australia: Western Australian Department of Education.Google Scholar
Wardhaugh, R. (1998). An introduction to sociolinguistics. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers.Google Scholar
Zubrick, S., Silburn, S., Lawrence, D., Miltrou, F., Dalby, R., & Blair, E., . . . Li, J. (2005). The Western Australian Aboriginal child health survey: The social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people. Perth, Australia: Curtin University of Technology and Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.Google Scholar