My learning outcomes
I take pride in everything I put my mind to; this was probably one of the hardest classes I have taken in my master's, plus my undergrad. I feel that it was harder because I didn't have classmates in person or on Zoom to connect with. I usually thrive in these kinds of classes as well because I like to challenge myself and make things interesting for myself, although this class brought on a lot of thinking and understanding of myself. I realized that I need to learn to take steps back, especially if I am not in a good headspace for learning something so important to me. I love learning, and learning my language is an ultimate gift, as I have had many family members being stripped of their language in Eurocentric school systems, and it's funny; this is a class that actually wants us to reclaim languages, especially ones that mean a lot to you. I also want to acknowledge that I wouldn't have pushed myself so hard if it weren't for Bonnie Norton Pierce's reading, which made me rethink that I couldn't do it because of all the obstacles and hardships I have overcome these past few weeks. I identified with Pierce's objectives 3 and 5, which both connected with my learning and my connection to my classmates. I understood the importance of blogging and documenting my language journey, as well as connecting with my classmates and sharing my progress with my classmates and best friends, Katelyn and Crystal.
Social Identity, Investment and Language Learning
Whether I was having a bad day or not feeling like I should practice, I sought out why I was doing this. What is the motivating factor that has me striving for SLA? At the beginning of the class, I found myself using every excuse in the book that I wasn't going to be able to motivate myself to achieve my goals in language acquisition. Although I know for a fact that I have a supportive family and learning environment that will help my success within SLA. I find that there will always be those days when I can't get the motivation to learn something, but I do know that a mixture of motivation, a healthy, loving learning environment, and learning to invest in my own learning can help. Using my social identity has allowed me to fully understand that when I use the term motivation, I must turn that thinking into an investment. I want to take charge of my own investment in myself and explore my learning and share it through this blog and the reflection aspect of this class.
Revitizilation
Finding one's voice and their ability to speak up for themselves and their identity has once been a part of who I was; there was no way that I was going to go out of my way to learn something new, let alone be an advocate for language revitalisation. Since I was midway through my master's, I knew that I wanted to shift my focus to language revitalization in a community; the community that I have an influence on and that I can openly help and support is my school community. Not only is the school my second home, but it's also my daughters' second home. I know I need to be an advocate for the language in and out of the school. I know that getting people to see the importance of the language might be tough, as there is a different dialect here in Keeseekoose First Nation, and it might deter our Anishinaabe people from wanting to learn due to being scared, maybe? I could vouch for that idea, as I was always intimidated by learning this language and speaking it in front of a lot of people. This is a fear many might have with learning something that is foreign to them.
Connection- Redesigning Indigenous Language Revitalization
When reflecting and working towards my completion of this assignment, I knew I had to draw from the article "Redesigning Indigenous Language Revitalization". I know how important connection to community is and the importance that language has to one's own spirituality and culture. While learning the language, I came to know that what I have read is the importance of connection not only with the student and the learners, but also with the community. Every community that I have taught in or visited has one common factor, and that's community. Every school has an opportunity to create a safe place for students to learn the language; this can be done through language festivals and resources ( in collaboration with the elders and knowledge keepers). I hope we will come to a time where we understand the importance of one's languages, especially those of oppressed groups, such as First Nations. I want to acknowledge, from the article, the use of projects that support language revitalization through language acquisition. In my home community, we have a project that offers a mentorship program; this allows younger community members to be supported by elders or fluent speakers. Remember that there are always protocols and reciprocity when we are engaging in language learning from knowledge keepers.
Smart Goals and Language Acquisition
Smart Goal: I will learn and correctly identify, pronounce, and use 30 household-item vocabulary words in Anishinaabemowin and be able to ask for these items specifically. I will master 30 household item words by demonstrating recognition, pronunciation, and recall of all vocabulary without labels or prompts. I will practice for 30 minutes each day using a combination of FHQ language apps, YouTube videos from Lorena Cote and Natalie Langan, and an Anishinaabemowin language book by Lynn Cote and Margaret Cote. By practicing household vocabulary daily, I will not only strengthen my everyday language skills but also increase my confidence in using Anishinaabemowin at home with my family. Within 3 weeks, I will master the 30 household-item words and be able to ask for each item specifically in my everyday life with my family.
As this is my last post, I want to thank everyone who has helped me on this journey and who will continue to help me reclaim my language. I know that I need to motivate; I mean, invest in my own learning. I know that I am culturally driven to obtain my language, knowing that it's deeply rooted in who I am as an Anishinaabe/Nehyiwa iskwew. I want to be able to share this gift and bring reciprocity to others, current and future. I feel that there is so much more to understand with learning the language, and one's desire to learn. Although no matter what your reasoning, there will always be a way to learn it, I know factors such as desire or enjoyment, community and benefits drive me to reclaim my language. I want to pursue the language more in the years to come; I want to use resources such as my father-in-law to help me get at least semi-fluent in the language. Lastly, I want to do it for my family and my son. I want to show them that perseverance can get you anywhere; you have to believe in yourself, and that goals one sets for themselves are truly obtainable. All you have to do is put your mind to it and learn to reflect. Journaling really does save you; it helps get your thoughts out and gives you something to look back on.
-Chi-migwetch