Rationale
The study of Aboriginal Languages enables students to communicate in the target language and learn about the vital role that language has in the transmission of Aboriginal cultures.
The study of Aboriginal Languages provides a unique opportunity to learn about and extend respect to Aboriginal Languages and cultures. Students learn about linguistic features and structures of the target language. Students develop conceptual understanding of the target language culture(s) that enable them to make meaning when responding to and composing texts. Students engage with Aboriginal Peoples’ and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ histories and cultures, to become active participants in community life.
Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages support the identities of Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have the right to access their languages (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Resolution 61/295, adopted 13 September 2007).
The study of Aboriginal Languages enables Aboriginal students to maintain their connections to kin, culture, Country and Community. Aboriginal students are empowered to maintain a sense of identity, and to learn more about their communities. Aboriginal students have the right to learn their own language as future custodians and caretakers of their languages. Non-Aboriginal students are provided with the opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal Peoples’ languages, cultures and connection to Country, and the impact of colonisation histories.
The Aboriginal Languages K–10 Syllabus advocates the ongoing revitalisation and maintenance of Aboriginal Languages. As an exclusive and integral part of the K–10 curriculum, the maintenance, revitalisation, renewal or reclamation of Aboriginal Languages is of benefit to the sustainability of NSW Aboriginal linguistic and cultural diversity.
The delivery of the Aboriginal Languages K–10 Syllabus promotes a coherent and appropriately rigorous curriculum, which allows for developmental continuity. The study of Aboriginal Languages syllabuses could lead to an increased use of Aboriginal Languages in the home and community, as well as provide a foundation for further vocational and/or higher education pathways.