Indigenous Languages: From Policy and Planning to Implementation and Assessment (edX)

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

What you'll learn

- Policies and frameworks that impact Indigenous language use, linguistic rights and access to resources

- How to plan, develop, implement and assess Indigenous language projects for different contexts

- Case studies from Indigenous language scholar-educators and community members that offer insight into specific language initiatives, projects, programs, etc.

Syllabus

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

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

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

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