Indigenous Languages: From Policy and Planning to Implementation and Assessment

Learners will explore how to develop and implement a language plan that will support individual and community-centered goals for reclamation, revitalization, resurgence, education and/or maintenance based on available resources (e.g., human, financial, linguistic, technology), or resources they need to seek.

Learners will have access to IDIL resources and events through UNESCO’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL) Global Community. Learners are also encouraged to build and participate in a global community by sharing open access resources with their community members and engaging in global dialogue surrounding language policy, planning, implementation and assessment.

This course offers free or low-cost digital learning that does not rely on high-bandwidth or infrastructure to access resources.

This course is for:

• Indigenous community members wanting to develop a language plan for their family, local community, local schools or other settings
• Indigenous community members interested in language and linguistic human rights, language policies, language conservation and maintenance
• Graduate students and advanced undergraduate students in international development, teaching, public policy, political science, social sciences and other fields who are interested in language policy, planning, implementation and assessment
• Teachers, policy makers, government officials and other practitioners interested in the policy and language factors impacting the communities they support and serve
• Sustainable development practitioners who want to understand linguistic needs and the support that is necessary to help communities locally, regionally, nationally and/or internationally
• Those who work for international aid organizations and nonprofits in the realms of human rights, language rights, Indigenous Peoples’ rights and education

Module 1: What is Language Policy?

• Week 1: Key Concepts and Ideas

  • Local policies & frameworks

  • National policies & frameworks

  • Global policies & frameworks

  • Human, language, & linguistic rights

  • Intellectual property & copyright

  • Guiding principles regarding Indigenous knowledges

• Week 2: Case Studies and Practice

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Module 2: What is Language Planning?

• Week 3: Key Concepts and Ideas

  • Language vitality & language use

  • Overall goals for the community and language

  • Environmental scan: Assessment of resources (financial, physical, human)

  • Community-centered, -driven and -led language plans

  • Vision

  • Goals

  • Language activities

  • Language policies (to facilitate language use)

  • Project action plan

  • Funding

• Week 4: Case Studies and Practice

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Module 3: What is Implementation?

• Week 5: Key Concepts and Ideas

  • Building a team that is Indigenous-led

  • Roles & responsibility

  • Accountability

  • Bench marks

  • Outcome driven results

  • Flexibility

  • Working through challenges

• Week 6: Case Studies and Practice

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Module 4: What is Assessment?

• Week 7: Key Concepts and Ideas

  • Ensuring outcomes driven

  • Summative vs formative assessment

  • Performative assessment

  • Community ownership of assessment

• Week 8: Case Studies and Practice