Introduction
In essence, language is one of the most critical aspects of human interaction because is the core determinant of communication. Whereas language is viewed as an important component of communications, it is considered as a cultural tool. In many aspects, language is used to differentiate the cultural heritage of certain groups to another since it determines how people relate and conduct their daily chores (Amery, 2013).
Some of the languages, however, are affected by the overwhelming prevalence of other upcoming languages. As a result, they either become extinct or vestigial since they have few speakers. In that regard, it is important to revitalize the language in order to maintain its existence. As such, this discussion seeks to make a framework and a detailed plan to show how the Mi’kmaq Language can be revived among speakers.
Project Choice is the Mi’kmaq Language Nest Program
In order to revitalize a language and revive its prevalence among speakers in a society, there are two pertinent methods that can be used to achieve the latter. First, the involved personnel can apply the use of Language Nest Program. The second alternative involves the application of a Language Apprentice Program. These two techniques are used objectively to help in the revitalization and revival of a nearly extinct or completely inexistent. While there are two options to choose, this paper seeks to apply the Language Nest Program in order to undertake the revitalization of the program in the university.
A language nest revitalization program can be viewed as an approach based on immersion technique in order to strengthen the use of the language in question. In essence, immersion of language is a technique applied to train a second language whereby the classroom instructions and directions are given to students using the second language. In that regard therefore, students acquire skills in subjects, such as mathematics, social studies, and sciences, in their second language.
This is considered as a strong technique when it comes to fostering bilingualism. As such, it is mean to build the learners competence when it comes to the use of language with proficiency. This implies that they can use the second language alongside the first one in order to build diversity in the society as far as language is concerned. Evidently, the propagation of bilingualism is an important factor in education especially when it comes to the cognition of students learning.
In practical sense, the language nest immersion-based programs vary from one locality to another according to the designers and the objectives intended. It also varies with regards to the language incompatibilities, past antecedents, and opinion of the general public. Importantly, they are determined by the time that is spent in class, the involvement of the native speakers in the entire venture, the age of the new speakers and nature of the second language.
As such, the design must take into consideration the various aspects that may affect its effectiveness. In this regard, therefore, the plan sets out to identify the people involved, the timeline for various activities, as well as the permissions that will be sought in the process.
Project Brainstorming Summary
Who will the program target?
This program is set to target the staff of Arabic origin and ascent in the university as part of their professional support. The project is expected to instill the capability of communicating with the university students easily and create rapport as well as increase interaction. In essence, it was indicated that language is the medium through which people interact and communicate. As such, the revitalization of Mi’kmaq language can only be carried out by popularizing the language among the Arabic staff in order to make sure there is communication taking place.
Who will be the fluent Arabic speakers involved and how many?
The program will involve students who express themselves fluently in the Arabic language so as to form the basis of creating and sharing knowledge on the language. As such, these students will be selected under strict condition of fluency. This implies that students with low and poor proficiency in the language will not be considered whatsoever. In essence, the term fluency will be considered as the ability to write and speak with proficiency.
Such proficiency measured on the basis of communication and writing without spelling and ascent-related mistakes as far as the language is concerned. In that light, therefore, the speaker has to possess critical, deep, and extensive knowledge in writing and speaking the Arabic language. This decision is based on the fact that the definition and perspective of knowledge is defined from the perspective of both writing and reading. Importantly, the student’s fraternity has enough Arabic speakers to help in the dissemination of the language and the completion of the set tasks.
As such, the university will have an easy and favorable time since the administration will not be required to hire any fluent speakers from outside. In fact, the number of students required is essentially favorable since the ration of speakers to students is ½. As such, only a half of the students will be required to provide the necessary training to the rest of the students.
What location or space requirements are needed& what are the time commitments?
Since the program will be based on the use of immersion approach which requires the use of a language in the process of undertaking learning activities, classes will be required to maintain order, seriousness and sobriety. However, since the program will be involving members of staff, who are not part of students, the classes will not be permanent. As a result, they will be temporary classes made of tents and located within the playground. This will not only be meant to offer a location of learning but also to provide a partially informal platform for the learners.
Essentially, learning a language is not a very formal or official undertaking that warrants a lot of seriousness. Instead, it requires an interactive and friendly mood that can help in the absorption of terms and bonding of individuals bearing in mind that language has a interactive component.
The class meetings will be conducted once a week and particularly on Wednesday. However, the program will encourage students to maintain outside contact with each other especially on social media. This will also help to encourage the students to engage in personal practice outside the Nest. As such, this approach will help in the in-formalization of the entire undertaking and make it easy for all students to learn.
Who will be in charge or run the program?
The management of the program will be undertaken by the students from the university because they should be involved maximally. In addition, there is the importance to encourage the students to own the program so that they can utilize it completely and enjoy maximum benefits.
However, an announcement will be made to collect students’ volunteers who will be managing the program. As such, the program will be an opportunity to enable students to practice servant leadership rather than focus on paid services alone.
How will the program be funded?
On the side of the students, the program will have very few obstacles so that the learners do not have a reason to boycott the undertaking. As such, the program will be free to take for the students in the university. This provision will remove the financial obstacle that can lead to reluctance and abandonment of the program by the students.
However, the entire program cannot be conducted without costs. Indeed, the only thing that can be done is the reduction of cost rather than the entire elimination of the expenditures. As such, they will be required to pay an enrollment fee that is used for the purchase of some few items. This list shows some of the costs that will be incurred during the program rollout.
- Tents for Temporary Classrooms
- Mobile blackboards for illustrations
- Two hired project managers
- Stationery
- Awards and other incentives for students’ motivation
The fees will be collected and managed by the student volunteers as well as the project managers hired to help in the organization. As such, all the volunteers must be recorded and provided with obligations in order to ensure their accountability is ensured. In that light, the dean of student will be the patron for this program so as to ensure the integration of the project with the school administration. In essence, the dean will act as the bridge and avenue of communication between the students and the administrators.
Will you give a certificate or some form of credit for this program?
In order to show the seriousness and the value of this program, the students will be accredited. In this light, students will be issued with certificated on participation upon completion. However, well-performing students will be granted certificates of merit to acknowledge their competence as far as the acquisition of the language oral and writing skills are concerned. These certificates will be issued by the dean in order to involve the administration in the process of rolling out this program.
As such, this will help the program to be supported by the administration at later stages with regards to cost and ideological support. In essence, the awarding of the certificates will be undertaken during an official event in order to portray an image of high standards. The students’ volunteers will help to keep records for the sake of future reference. A copy of these records will be handed to the dean in order to formalize the program and also involve the administration organ for the purpose of increasing legality.
What time-line would be realistic for the development and establishment of your program?
What types of program reviews / checks and balances would you put into place?
The major technique of reviewing this program will be the feedback methods which are based on the comments and views of the students after completing the program. This will play a fundamental role in identifying the critical strengths, weaknesses and recommendations for improvement. As such, the reviews will not be limited to the students alone to take the review forms. Instead, the reviews will also be conducted by the pertinent stakeholders such as the dean and the three project managers among others. As such, the review will be holistic so that it can form the basis of improvement.
Would you need involvement from the surrounding Arabic communities?
At some point, it is hypothesized that the program will require the assistance of surrounding Arabic speakers especially when it comes to the use of indigenous terms. Understandably, the present Arabic language has been diluted by the western culture and languages.
As a result, some of the original and traditional terms of the Arabic language might be unknown by the younger generation of students in the university. It will, therefore, be important to consult the elders in that regard. However, this will not need any formalities such as seeking permission from the grand council although the administration will be consulted if such people have to come into the university
Will you need to do any surveying or interviews to design your program properly?
In essence, the reviews and feedbacks provided by the students and other stakeholders will be considered as the pertinent aspects for the improvement of the projects. Therefore, it will not be necessary to conduct a survey for the same reason.
Conclusion
Evidently, the program will involve the application of an immersion-based language nest approach to revitalize the language in question. As part of the brainstorming, it was indicated that the Arabic students of fluent ascent will be involved in the program so as to share their proficiency. In addition, it is hypothesized that the ratio of trainers to students is ½. This implies that the program can run without seeking help from outside sources. Finally, the program is estimated to run for 12 weeks and the feedback method will be used as the main method of review as well as improvement.
Reference
Amery, R. (2013). A matter of interpretation: Language planning for a sleeping language. Language Problems & Language Planning, 10(5), 101-124.