Applied Linguistics and language teaching: Making connections

For Aboriginal language teaching, connection is multi-faceted. We are connecting people back to their culture and land. We are connecting language to country. We are connecting the various resources that exist such as archival
and modern recordings, text aligned transcriptions of tapes, blog posts and worksheets developed by teachers in a single web system. This includes an interactive dictionary with an Application Programming Interface (API) for other
programs to call up translations, so the language can be utilised across different interfaces such as mobile apps and games. For teachers we are providing lesson guides and support for preparing worksheets. Using features of the environment which have significance for the people, we create categories of words around, for example the eagle or a mountainous feature. The words required to talk about each topic (e.g., greetings, simple motion, birds, stars, sky, weather) are collected by experienced teachers and made available to create lessons. Thus, the eagle, often used to introduce game players to country, is also being used to introduce language students to the land. By connecting Aboriginal people to their own languages, we improve the health and wellbeing of communities, and providing a path for Aboriginal students in general linguistic learning.