Proceedings published July 2012 kellogg.nd.edu/STLILLA
The Importance of Technology in the Revitalization of Indigenous Languages from Chile Elizabeth J. Quintrileo Llancao
Elizabeth J. Quintrileo Llancao is a teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL). She
started to study the Mapuche language in the graduate program of linguistics at Universidad de Concepción, Chile, where she got her master’s degree in linguistics. Her main fields of study are ethnolinguistics, sociolinguistics, Mapundungun phonology and applied linguistics. In the context of applied linguistics, she is currently working with Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) methodology to contribute in the teaching and learning process of
Mapudungun as a second language. At present she is a PhD candidate in the graduate program of linguistics at Universidad de Concepción, Chile. Her research deals mainly with the integration and use of technology for the revitalization of the indigenous languages of Chile.
Abstract
This work deals with the incorporation of technology into the process of revitalization of one of the indigeneous languages from Chile. The language we are attempting to revitalize is
‘Mapudungun’, which is the language that is still spoken by the Mapuche people. As other indigenous languages, Mapudungun is going into a process of demise, nevertheless, we believe that the use of technology would help to teach this language as well as create a good source of knowledge to learn about the Mapuche culture and language. Therefore, in this work we will present a brief description of the e-learning platform for teaching Mapuzungun as a second language.
STLILLA-2011 Proceedings Quintrileo Llancao 1
The Importance of Technology in the Revitalization of Indigenous Languages from Chile
This work deals with the revitalization of the Mapuche language. This language is spoken by Mapuche people, an indigenous group from Chile, and is called ‘Mapudungun’.
Los mapuches llaman a su lengua mapudungun, palabra que significa literalmente “el habla—o la lengua de este país—o de esta tierra”, formada sobre las palabras mapu “tierra, país” y dungu “habla, lengua”. Como denominación alternativa es muy usado el sustantivo verbal correspondiente: mapudungun “el hablar de esta tierra”. (Salas 1992: 57).
According to Lagos 1981, the Mapuche people are one of the biggest indigenous groups of Latin America making Mapudungun one of the most important indigenous languages:
Se trata de la lengua vernácula más importante, tanto en el número de hablantes, como por las variedades dialectales que presenta, además de los factores históricos, lo cual ha permitido que sea la lengua indígena más estudiada. (Lagos 1981: 225).
Currently, there remain some regions in Chile where this language is still spoken by certain communities, for example, Sara de Lebu, Los Alamos, Piedra Alta, Isla Huapi, etc. In spite of the fact that this indigenous language is considered one of the most important due to
characteristics such as numbers of speakers and dialectal variations, investigations have
proposed that this language is loosing its vitality. For example: Gundermann et al, (2009) states: Lo que importa destacar es que el proceso en que se encuentra la lengua
mapuche hoy puede caracterizarse según un conjunto de tendencias que la dirigen hacia su desaparición. Así de desprende del análisis de información correspondiente a dimensiones cruciales para la reproducción de una lengua: la disminución de los haberes o capital lingüístico que toma características dramáticas en algunas zonas; la paulatina interrupción de la transmisión de la lengua; las modalidades recesivas del uso del
mapudungun e incluso las actitudes ambiguas de los propios mapuches respecto de su idioma. (Gundermann et al, 2009: 51).
Apart from the problem of Mapudungun vitality, the teaching and learning process of this language is also another matter that is affecting the use or revitalization of this language. Unfortunately, so far, there is no kind of model or specialized methodology that exists to teach and learn the indigenous languages from Chile:
La planificación contempla por lo general la incorporación de elementos culturales sólo a nivel particular y descontextualizado como vocablos, números y, en segunda prioridad costumbres y “tradiciones” […]. Los datos entregados en relación a la incorporación de lengua en la enseñanza pone de manifiesto la lejanía de las actuales prácticas pedagógicas del cumplimiento de uno de los objetivos centrales en la EIB [Educación Intercultural Bilingüe], cual es el bilingüismo y el rescate de la lengua indígena y/o local. Los profesores, por lo demás, no parecen contar con herramientas adecuadas para enseñar la lengua, es decir, no aplican una metodología especialmente diseñada para este propósito y en buena medida no aprovechan los recursos que tienen a su alcance, como láminas
bilingües, los diccionarios o los textos del Mineduc, ni tampoco los mismos conocimientos de los niños. (Huenchullán et al, 2005: 53).
Considering, therefore, the problems related to the vitality of this language and the lack of teaching methodology, we began designing a project that contributes to the revitalization of this language, starting by designing a teaching-learning model. Consequently, the model is based on Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) since we propose that the integration of
technology would effectively contribute to the learning of Mapudungun.
In the 2011 Symposium for Teaching Indigenous Languages of Latin America (STILLA) we presented part of the project that will be carried out during the next two years. As previously mentioned, the purpose of this project is to design a teaching learning model based on Computer Assisted Language Learning to teach this language. For this purpose, we will develop and
STLILLA-2011 Proceedings Quintrileo Llancao 3 implement an e-learning platform using an online tool developed by Centro de Formación de Recursos Didácticos (CFRD), which is a center specialized in developing e-learning platforms. The e-learning platform for the teaching and learning of Mapuzungun will then be developed on the Ambiente de Recursos para el Conocimiento Online platform (ARCO).
In this project we propose that the learning of Mapudungun will be more effective since all learners, or those who may be interested in learning this language, will have access to online resources and media to know more Mapuche culture and language.
We will describe the design and contents of this e-learning platform as follow:
This e-learning platform for the teaching and learning of Mapudungun language will contain all aspects related to the grammatical structure of the language as well as cultural features and vocabulary.
The contents of the platform will be presented on the screen, nevertheless, videos of interviews will also be good sources to learn not only about the language but also about the culture.
Finally, this e-learning platform will give the learners the possibility to practice the language through exercises.
STLILLA-2011 Proceedings Quintrileo Llancao 5 Ultimately, we can conclude by saying that we are very positive about the use of this platform. The idea is for more people to have access to Mapuche knowledge. This is why we consider the contribution of technology a very important aspect in the process of the
The 2011 Symposium for Teaching and Learning Indigenous Languages of Latin America (STLILLA) was the second in a biennial series of symposia organized by the Association for Teaching and Learning Indigenous Languages of Latin America (ATLILLA). The Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame hosted STLILLA-2011 in collaboration with partner institutions.
