DETAILS: This webinar will explore the impact of digital environments on adult immigrants’ language learning and the challenges faced by multilingual individuals in these settings. Jen Vanek, Director of Digital Learning and Research at World Education, will discuss research findings from different studies on improving language instruction and digital literacy through technology. Marguerite Lukes, CAL Board member and Director of Research at Internationals Network for Public Schools, and Mathilda Reckford, CAL Adult Language and Communication Specialist, will participate in the conversation to examine policy and practice implications for enhancing language education and digital skill development. The webinar will cover technologically mediated learning in multilingual contexts and offer insights on digital inclusion, technology recommendations, support and training for teachers, and the role artificial intelligence could play in multilingual education for adult immigrants.
DETAILS: This webinar provided an overview of initiatives in the area of Indigenous language reclamation. Panelists shared about research projects and programs designed to support Indigenous children in connecting to language, heritage, and culture. Webinar attendees heard about what Indigenous-led research said about intergenerational language learning, land-based pedagogy, and the importance of Indigenous languages for early childhood learning.
Q&A UPDATE
Question: When a people lose their language, how do they find it again?
Mary Hermes: You can find your language or one you are connected to by looking to the land of the place you inhabit. Finding other people and classes (online and through tribal colleges) is great.
Question: What is the National Science Foundation document that Mary spoke of?
Mary Hermes: The National Science Foundation science grants are called Documenting Endangered Languages. The document is “Understanding Learning Mechanisms and Language Acquisition Through Intergenerational Conversations in Southwestern Ojibwe, a Native American Language.”
RESOURCES
Forest Walks publications
Engman, M. M., & Hermes, M. (2021). Land as interlocutor: A study of Ojibwe learner language on and with naturally occurring ‘materials’. Modern Language Journal, 105(S1), 86-105. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12685
Hermes, M., Engman, M. M., Meixi, MacKenzie, J. (2023). Relationality and Ojibwemowin in forest walks: Learning from multimodal interaction about land and language. Cognition and Instruction. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2022.2059482
Hermes, M. Meixi, Engman, M. M., & McKenzie, J. (2021). Everyday stories in a forest: Multimodal meaning-making with Ojibwe Elders, young people, language, and place. WINHEC: International Journal of Indigenous Education Scholarship, 2021(1), 267-301. https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/winhec
Position paper on Language Reclamation + Relationality (Henne-Ochoa et al. 2020) + commentary
Hermes, M., Engman, M. M., Meixi, MacKenzie, J. (2023). Relationality and Ojibwemowin in forest walks: Learning from multimodal interaction about land and language. Cognition and Instruction, 4(1), 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2022.2059482
Guerrettaz, A. M., & Engman, M. M. (2023). “Indigenous Language Revitalization.” In Paula Groves Price (Ed.), Oxford Encyclopedia of Race and Education. New York: Oxford University Press.
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