Saving Culture Through Language: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study of Ojibwe Language Immersion Educator Experience
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11575/jah.v0i2.53225Keywords:
First Nations education, hermeneutics, indigenous language, language immersion, language revitalization, phenomenologyAbstract
With the near extinction of many tribal languages at the present, language immersion education offers considerable promise for the restoration of Ojibwe culture and identity. Through a series of structured interviews and longitudinal text-based dialogue with the researcher, eight educators from three school-based programs described the lived practice of working with culture in language immersion education. The study principally revealed how the lived experience of Ojibwe language immersion educators is important, challenging, and rewarding. The dynamic synergy of culture, language, and content that happens in Ojibwe language immersion requires competent and creative educators who are knowledgeable about language, cultural traditions, and teaching practice. The study concludes by noting how the lived experience of immersion school practitioners as cultural workers is marked not only by excellence in practice and professionalism, but by dedication, responsibility, and hope for the future of the culture, language and tribal nation itself.
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Ricoeur, P. (1981). Hermeneutics and the human sciences: Essays on language, action and interpretation. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Robertson-Malt, S. (1999). Listening to them and reading me: A hermeneutic approach to understanding the experience of illness. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 29(2), 290-297.
Silverthorne, J.A. (1997). Language preser-vation and human resources development. In J. Reyhner (Ed.), Teaching Indigenous languages (pp. 105-115). Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University.
Smith, B.A. (1998). The problem drinker’s lived experience of suffering: An exploration using hermeneutic phenomenology. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 27(1), 213-222.
van Manen, M. (1997). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy (2nd ed.). London, ON, Canada: The Althouse Press.
Wojnar, D.M., & Swanson, K.M. (2007). Phenomenology: An exploration. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 25(3), 172-180.
Ajjawi, R., & Higgs, J. (2007). Using hermeneutic phenomenology to investigate how experienced practitioners learn to communicate clinical reasoning. The Qualitative Report, 12(4), 612-638.
Benton-Banai, E. (2010). The mishomis book: The voice of the Ojibway (2nd ed.). St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Creswell, J.W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Finlay, L. (2009). Debating phenomenological research methods. Phenomenology & Practice, 3(1), 6-25.
Fortune, T.W., & Tedick, D.J. (2008). One- way, two-way and indigenous immersion: A call for cross-fertilization. In T.W. Fortune & D.J. Tedick (Eds.), Pathways to multilingualism: Evolving perspectives on immersion education (pp. 3-21). Tonawanda, NY: Multilingual Matters.
Gadamer, H. (2004). Truth and method (2nd ed. J.W. Weinsheimer & D.G. Marshall, Trans.). New York, NY: Continuum.
Grbich, C. (2007). Qualitative data analysis: An introduction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hinton, L. (2001). Language revitalization: An overview. In K. Hale & L. Hinton (Eds.), The green book of language revitalization in practice (pp. 3-18). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Hinton, L. (2003). How to teach when the teacher isn’t fluent. In J. Reyner, O.V. Trujillo, R.L. Carrasco, & L. Lockard (Eds.). Nurturing native languages (pp. 79-92). Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University.
Hornberger, N.H. (2008). Can schools save Indigenous languages? Policy and practice on four continents. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Lauver, L.S. (2010). The lived experience of foster parents of children with special needs living in rural areas. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 25(4), 289-298.
Laverty, S.M. (2003). Hermeneutic phe-nomenology and phenomenology: A comparison of historical and methodological considerations. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2(3), 21-35.
Lindseth, A., & Norberg, A. (2004). A phenomenological hermeneutical method for researching lived experience. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 18(2), 145-153.
Llamas, C., Mullany, L., & Stockwell, P. (2007). The Routledge companion to sociolinguistics. New York, NY: Routledge.
McCarty, T.L. (2003). Revitalising indigenous languages in homogenising times. Comparative Education, 39(2), 147-163.
Nieto, S. (2010). Language, culture, and teaching: Critical perspectives (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Reyhner, J. (2003). Native language immersion. In J. Reyner, O.V. Trujillo, R.L. Carrasco, & L. Lockard (Eds.). Nurturing native languages (pp. 1-6). Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University.
Richards, M., & Burnaby, B. (2008). Restoring Aboriginal languages: Immersion and intensive language program models in Canada. In T.W. Fortune & D.J. Tedick (Eds.), Pathways to multilingualism: Evolv-ing perspectives on immersion education (pp. 202-221). Tonawanda, NY: Multilingual Matters.
Ricoeur, P. (1981). Hermeneutics and the human sciences: Essays on language, action and interpretation. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Robertson-Malt, S. (1999). Listening to them and reading me: A hermeneutic approach to understanding the experience of illness. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 29(2), 290-297.
Silverthorne, J.A. (1997). Language preser-vation and human resources development. In J. Reyhner (Ed.), Teaching Indigenous languages (pp. 105-115). Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University.
Smith, B.A. (1998). The problem drinker’s lived experience of suffering: An exploration using hermeneutic phenomenology. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 27(1), 213-222.
van Manen, M. (1997). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy (2nd ed.). London, ON, Canada: The Althouse Press.
Wojnar, D.M., & Swanson, K.M. (2007). Phenomenology: An exploration. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 25(3), 172-180.
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2013-07-11
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