Why learn the language of your culture?

Wherever you live it’s assumed you learn the native or main language of that country. In America, those native languages maybe Navajo, Pawnee, Mohawk, or Hawaiian just to name a few from the very long list of native languages of the land that is United States of America. The U.S. was founded by English speakers therefore that became the main language the people living in this country are expected to learn, speak, read and write.


But what about the other native languages or the people who were here first?


In article “How Hawaiian Came Back From the Dead”, author, Alexandria Neason discusses how the U.S. government wanted the Hawaiian language not to be a part of the curriculum in schools and to have teachers just focus on their students learning and speaking English. As stated in her article, English had long been the official language of government in the islands, mandated in schools and other public spaces. With the lessen exposure of the language, a major part of their culture was disappearing. Many families preferred speaking their native language at home but when teachers insisted on students to only use English, students were losing their want to learn, leading some families to speak less or not speak Hawaiian at all in hopes to keep their children in school. If they are not communicating in Hawaiian they must communicate in English. After many decades of silencing the Hawaiian language, Immersion schools started up to revitalize the language and bring it back to the community.


There were fears with this because families worried that their children’s education would be limited, how can they help them with homework, and when it was time to learn English would they able to succeed? A women who expressed this worry blamed her “Western-world thinking.” I think that meant that if you not speaking English or doing the “American thing” it's wrong. Why is it that English is believed to superior than Hawaiian. Obviously, if you live in America, English needs to learn to communicate with Non-Hawaiian speakers. In the case of the Hawaii families, their language connects them with their heritage. Learning English will make Hawaiian students successful in the economy but learning Hawaiian will make them rich in their culture and bring life to their community. Neason also points out that students who learn in a language other than English experience no long term setbacks in developing language and literacy skills in English.


Taking away one's native language or making the people feel their culture doesn’t have a place in America can really bring down their self-esteem and have little self determination as Tsianina Lomawaima and Teresa McCarty argue in their Article, “When Tribal Sovereignty Challenges Democracy: American Indian Education Democratic Ideal”.


Similar to what had happened in Neason’s article the American Indians were being belittled that they need to assimilate the now American culture and leave their culture behind a “glass window” at a science museum. “In the last century-and-a-half schools have purposely and systematically work to eradicate native languages religions beliefs and practices.” (Lomawaima & McCarty 282) Having the culture of a group basically erased from society lead American Indians to feel they can not coexist with their non-native neighbors, not welcomed. They were here first! They were looking for sovereignty. How are the American Indians going to find their place within the U.S democracy? “American Indians have had further opportunities to implement what has been there will and wish for more than 200 years to take leadership roles in education systems and institutions, to guide and design policy, and to implement Innovative and locally responsive curricula and pedagogies.” (Lomawaima &McCarty 289).


Reading about Rock Point Community School was an example of a community embracing their culture and having it be apart of their curricula really help with their self achievement. Navajo students who learned the to read in Navajo first actually scored better in reading on the Stanford Achievement Test than Navajos students who were in a schools just teaching English. A benefit when learning in your native language, a sense of pride leading to success, you feel good about yourself and your learning.


Sometimes a students' language may not be considered “correct” in the terms of Standard English so Lisa Delpit brings up the question, what should teachers do? Delpit says over correcting could discourage a student from reading at all. “Forcing speakers to monitor their language typically produces silence” (Delpit 32) I believe it is important to allow students to express language their own way but still be able to understand meaning of what you are saying, writing or reading. It’s about comprehending ideas. Delpit suggests that we as teachers need to provide students with access to other language forms. We should not be put all our focus on language form so that academic and moral content does not become an unimportant factor. A standard language is needed but does not define what intelligence is, they are still competent to learn.