Indigenous language landscapes, social connectedness and classroom practice in Australia

Abstract

In this paper we revisit our own research to extend understanding of the social context of language landscapes of Australian Indigenous students. The disconnection between home and school languages or discourses is made explicit. "One of the areas of greatest diversity to confront teachers... are the 'language landscapes' surrounding the children [in Indigenous communities]" (Simpson & Wigglesworth, 2008, p. 1). We argue that without knowing about the process of language socialisation in the Australian Indigenous multilingual landscape, teachers will remain powerless with respect to improving classroom practice. In Indigenous settings, especially in remote communities, children hear a variety of languages in many different contexts and the language landscape is rapidly changing. Our study addresses the belated realisation by educators that many Indigenous Australian students speak very little Standard Australian English (SAE) outside classrooms.