Immersion or Submersion?
Barry M. Montour, Ph.D.
Margaret M. Peters
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Review some basic research in second
language acquisition theory and models
Review some examples in Kanien'kéha and
Anishinaabe
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Generate thought / discussion on second
language teaching strategies
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Review components of a community language
strategy
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Civilizations = literacy
Our indigenous languages are deeply rooted in
the history of this continent
Our languages show how we view and perceive
the world – the depth of description and the
ability to constantly produce and generate new
words / thoughts/ ideas / descriptions indicate
that our people are forward thinking
The level of complexity in the structure of our
languages show a highly civilized and advanced
society of peoples
When an Italian, Greek, or PortugueseCanadian child loses his or her heritage
language it is a loss for the child, the family
and the community. When an Aboriginal child
loses his or her language, it is an even
greater loss: it is a cultural tragedy.
Canadian Language Literacy Research Network
. . . the Swedes can go back to Sweden, the
Italians can go back to Italy, the Polish can go
back to Poland, and they can regain their
language that way… but where do the
Mohawks go? There is nowhere in the world
for other Iroquois to go if they…want again to
speak their language.
Sakokwenionkwas
Tom Porter
“Every 14 days a language dies.
By 2100, more than half of the 7,000
languages spoken on Earth—many of them
not yet recorded—may disappear, taking with
them a wealth of knowledge about history,
culture, the natural environment, and the
human brain.”
National Geographic
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Task specific / task oriented language around
basket-making, fishing, cleaning corn,
gardening, sewing, trapping, etc.
“Social” conversational language that is filled
with humour
Historical “time oriented” stories are also lost
(time, place, people, events, etc.)
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An indigenous language in southern Mexico is in
danger of disappearing because its last two speakers
have stopped talking to one another.
The language of Ayapaneco has been spoken in the
land now known as Mexico for centuries. It has
survived the Spanish conquest, seen off wars,
revolutions, famines and floods. But now, like so
many other indigenous languages, it is at risk of
extinction.
(Archaeology News Network, 2011)
to
communicate
 L1
– first language
 L2 – second language
 Polysynthetic: languages in which words
/ phrases are composed of many morphemes /
roots / stems (North America, Chile, Northeastern
Siberia, Australia)
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Children and adults acquire language through
their experience with language
Indigenous languages (specifically
polysynthetic languages) are no more difficult
to acquire than other languages (L1)
Most children in the world grow up learning
two or more languages simultaneously
(bilingualism or multilingualism)
Learning one language (monolingual) is the
norm only in most Western middle-class
societies / countries
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The correction of pronunciation or of
grammatical structure is of little or no use to the
learner (negative / linguistic feedback occurs mostly in
classrooms, rather than in real life situations) – providing
good modeling of the sounds and structure is
most beneficial (L1 & L2)
Several studies have shown that later learners,
rather than children, learn a second language
quicker (short-term), although children surpass
adults (long-term) as long as they have regular
and continued exposure
The second language has to be useful to that
person as a means of freely expressing thought –
it has to be useful beyond the school or other
formal settings (naturalistic settings)
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Many immigrants to the US and Canada lost
their language over 2 to 3 generations
Indigenous languages in North America have
been lost completely in 1 generation
parents are speakers, but their offspring neither understand
nor are able to produce the required sounds in the language
parents had great difficulty in school and didn’t want their
children to have the same experiences
the parents use the language as a secret language between
each other, often to talk in front of the children without their
knowledge
Parent / Parent
L1 - Kanien’keha
Parent / Parent
L1 - Kanien’keha
Children
L1 - English
Parent 1 - L1 Kanien'keha
Parent 2 - L1 English
Children
L1 Kanien’keha
(elder siblings)
L1 - English
(younger siblings)
Children
L1 - English
Parent 1 - L1 Kanien'keha
Parent 2 - L1 English
Parent 1 - L1 Kanien'keha
Parent 1 - L1 Kanien'keha
Parent 2 - L1 English
L2 - Kanien'keha
Parent 2 - L1 English
L2 - Kanien'keha
Children
L1 - Kanien'keha
Children
L1 - English
Children
L1 - English
Children
L1 – Kanien’keha
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Infants acquire the language that they are
surrounded by quickly and without effort –
BUT:
The acquisition of another language later in
life is different BECAUSE the person acquiring
the second language already has a language –
called “first language influence / transfer”
i.e.: shia:ton – shia:ton+ing,
or
the use of the “s” to pluralize a noun
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If the first language (L1) is an indigenous
polysynthetic language, learning a second
(L2) indigenous language that is also
polysynthetic – may be easier
Anishnawbe & Cree = Oji-Cree
- is structurally Ojibwe, but influenced by
Cree with vocabulary and morphology.
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Accessible: must come in a form that is
useful to a learner – well formed words and
sentences
Sufficient: by the age of 5, children’s
knowledge of their first language and their
ability to use that knowledge is essentially
complete
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Simplifying the language is neither necessary
nor useful to the learner
Mithun (1989) found that Mohawk speakers
used normal, rapid, and clear pronunciation
when speaking to their children as first
language speakers (L1), but there is no
research on second language speakers (L2)
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Stage
Stage
Stage
Stage
Stage
I
II
III
IV
V
400 words
900 words
1200 words
1500 words
1900 words
2
2
3
3
4
yrs
½ - 3 yrs
– 3 ½ yrs
½ - 4 yrs
-5 yrs
By age 6 – 14,000 words
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Children raised simultaneously with two
languages or exposure to a second language
that takes place during the first ten months
or so of life
Language Nests: are the most effective, but
language growth in the target language may
be inhibited when the child goes home to
parents who are non-speakers – exposure
must be accessible and sufficient
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You are proof that it is possible!
Children can be raised bilingual when each
parent / caregiver speaks a different
language (or the L2 is learned outside of the home)
exposure must be
accessible and
Parent 1
Parent 2
L1 Kanien'keha
L1 English
sufficient
Child
Kanien’keha
English
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The most effective
method for
language
transmission is
parent (L1) to child
(L1).
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Phoneme – smallest unit of sound in a
language
“n” of naho:ten
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Morpheme - smallest unit of meaning in a
language
“sa” – you
“ra” - he / masculine
“ie” – she / feminine
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languages in which words are composed of many
morphemes
long words / phrases that correspond to complete
sentences in less synthetic languages
languages with more than one morpheme per word
are synthetic (Mohawk has a very high number of
morphemes per word)
- akwe:kon wetewatarihwatkweni –
“all of us, the matter we have won”
Saulteaux
- kakena kegoo ta minosak “eventually all will go well successfully”
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Flexible word order
Incorporation of nouns into verbs and verbs into
other verbs
Takes what is expressed by separate words in
other types of languages and forms it into a
compound verb
 Pronouns are then incorporated (he, she, I)
Take off your hat
“sanonhwaroro’kshi ”
you
hat
take off
“kiweakonkechigonun” – hat take off
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In polysynthetic languages, it takes multiple
generations for a word to become a noun
When a word becomes a noun, it usually
indicates that it is an old / ancient word
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In English, the stress is on the first syllable –
the louder or longer syllable
In polysynthetic languages, stress tends to
fall on the root or stem of a word, which is
the most semantically important part of the
word
But for second language speakers (L2), they
are unaware of the root and therefore often
place the stress in the wrong place
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rah nén:ies
ra nén:ies
- he is tall
- he has long . . . . .
róh tha re
ró’ta re
- he is talking
- he has . . . . on him
sé:kon
shé:kon
- you ate it
- hello or more
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Unless the phonological features are present in
both languages, a second language (L2) accent
will very likely exist and persist
- this is found with French, Spanish, and speakers from
Asian countries
- t’karas
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Or consonant + vowel combinations
However, experience with the language –
accessible and sufficient – is required for
linguistic growth
Correction is not useful – only as it uses well-formed
speech directed towards the learner and provides positive
feedback so that the learner can grow linguistically.
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Many languages adopt foreign words outright –
30% of English words are of French origin.
Polysynthetic languages are highly productive
due to their descriptive nature, so a lower
percentage of words need to be adopted.
However – in informal conversations, words will
be borrowed, such as minit, banané, barowet
(brouette), ti, tshis, rasos . . . .
Tsi Snaihne (the land of the Snye – Chenail) or
Naiento for Rooseveltown (NY and Ottawa Rail)
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Formal : announcements, introductions,
ceremonies, political
Informal : everyday conversations,
interactions, questions, responses,
commands, humour
“Schools are one of the
worst places to learn a
second language.”
-
- too formal
- too structured
- for Native peoples, schools have a history
of indigenous language oppression
- focus is on a “quiet” environment
- and literacy
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School-based second language teaching has
not led to widespread "communicative
competency" (the ability to carry on a
sustained conversation) in the new language
for most students.
It is important to use language teaching
methods in schools that will prepare and
encourage students to use the language they
are learning outside of school (as opposed to
negative feedback).
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1) Primary emphasis on communication and
oral fluency, rather than grammar and literacy
2) Using context that is real or at least
realistic
3) Processing content of high interest to the
learner
4) Adjusting the pace of instruction to the
students' progress, emphasizing speaking
over speaking correctly, and putting
comprehension before completion
5) Correcting students through modeling.
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Lack of opportunity to practice at home
Parent's lack of language proficiency
The tendency to correct novice learners when
they make a mistake
The perception that English is a better vehicle
for economic success
The teaching of isolated vocabulary items
instead of communicative skills
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The home must be the
central focus of Native
language learning
Instruction in the Native
language at home must begin
at an early age (by 9 months a child
has learned all of the phonemes)
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Offer classes in language at
all levels, including adult
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Interaction: must occur between the teacher
and the learner, or between speaker and
learner, i.e. clarification, confirmation checks,
and comprehension checks
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Rosetta Stone teaches language(s) without
translating back and forth from L1 to L2
Due to structure and syntax, translation is
more of a barrier and a hindrance to second
language learning (L1 influence / interference)
For second language learners: when they
begin to dream in the language is when they
know that they have begun the process of
acquisition
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What level of fluency do we expect our
students to achieve (as second language
learners)?
– What would be acceptable?
- What would be good enough?
What are our successes to date?
Given the realities of the school and our
classrooms, what else can we do to create
stronger immersion / language learning
environment?
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Languages are an important element of
culture and therefore basic for a group of
people struggling for their rights in a society
in which they have been socially and
culturally marginalized by the dominant
group.
Speaking a language is the sign of a
community’s existence and it is the basis for
their cultural identity.
(Ajb’ee Odilio Jiménez Sánchez - Mayan Languages and the Mayan
Movement in Guatemala, 1998)
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1. Reconstruct the language (when there are no
speakers left).
2. Mobilize the fluent speakers in the community.
3. Restore intergenerational transmission
through family, neighbourhood, and community
reinforcement.
4. Teach the language (or in the language) in
school.
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5. Implement immersion and / or strong
bilingual education programs in schools.
6. Use and encourage use of the language in
work environments.
7. Offer services in the language.
8. Use the language in higher education,
media, and government.
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What is the “state” of the language?
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What do we value about the language?
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How many L1 speakers are there?
- What are their ages?
How many L2 speakers are there?
- What are their ages?
Access: Where is the language found?
How accessible is the language for learners?
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What other resources are there available on
the language?
- What are the mediums?
What are the attitudes of speakers and nonspeakers toward language revitalization?
What are the best practices for teaching and
learning the language?
Who is the target group for language
revitalization?: children, youth, adults,
teachers, care-givers, Elders, Faithkeepers,
Chiefs
 What
are realistic goals
for language
revitalization in this
community?
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An integral component to this is the
establishment of an Elders' Language
Revitalization Committee;
they provide valuable feedback, guidance,
and direction throughout the process.
Decide: who is responsible for language
revitalization?
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Documentation takes many forms:
visual, audio, written, multi-media, and
computer formats.
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The documentation process itself can range from
simply recording Elders and L1 speakers while
they are talking, to planning detailed interviews
with specific questions about points of grammar,
root words, usage, incorporation, etc.
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Home
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Childcare & Daycare
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School
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Community
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Ceremonies
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Teacher training and certification programs
Linguistic training
Master-Apprenticeship Programs - The
Master-Apprentice program involves pairing
up a fluent speaking adult (Master), with a
younger adult (Apprentice) who is dedicated
to learning the language and passing on what
they've learned. They speak the language for
10-20 hours a week.
Post-Secondary courses
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This step it is important to direct energy
towards cultural activities to ensure that the
language regains its hold within
communities. It involves reconnecting
language with culture. Redevelop or enhance
cultural practices that support and encourage
use of the language at home and in public by
first- and second-language speakers (Hinton
2001).
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Dedicate programming to children, who have
a natural capacity for learning languages.
Develop intensive second-language programs
for children, with a component in the schools.
When possible, use the language as the
language of instruction. (Hinton 2001).
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Language Nests
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Daycares and Childcare
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Immersion programs
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After-school programs
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Week-end, holiday, and summer programs
You might be one person in the world,
but the world to one young person.