A Model to Share:
Using Technology to Support Endangered Tribal Languages and Cultures
Abstract: The place of technology in the preservation and revitalization of indigenous languages is still being determined. Native American communities are experimenting with software and Internet applications to support these endangered languages. In January of 2003, under the auspices of a collaborative grant between the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) and the University of Arizona, with funds provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a project was implemented to train tribal members in the use of selected technologies that support language revitalization. The goals of this project are: 1) to train CRIT speakers of Mohave and Chemehuevi in the use of software and Internet tools which will support preservation and pedagogy related to these languages 2) to use this training episode as a model for training others and 3) to disseminate information about technology and training through a course at the American Indian Language Development Institute and a web site.
Background
The Colorado River Indian Tribes Reservation (CRIT) is located on the Colorado River, just south of Lake Havasu on the Arizona California border. CRIT is home to four culturally and linguistically different tribes: Mohave, Chemehuevi, Hopi and Navajo.
Support for Mohave language work at CRIT has typically been through grants obtained by linguists. Three years ago, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided tribal libraries in Arizona and New Mexico with state-of-the-art computers. The CRIT library, under the direction of Mrs. Amelia Flores, received four new computers and began to train tribal members in their use. This made it possible to experiment with technologies for preserving and teaching the Mohave language. Mohave was particularly adaptable to computer work because the orthography developed by Pamela Munro in 1976 contains no diacritics, other than the glottal stop easily represented by the ‘apostrophe’ on any computer keyboard.
The Need
Mohave, a Yuman language, is spoken by just 40 fully fluent speakers at CRIT (there are approximately 25 more fluent speakers at the Fort Mojave Reservation near Needles, California). Most of these speakers are at least age 70 or older. A number of efforts are currently underway aimed at both the preservation and revitalization of Mohave in this community. Most previous work on the Mohave language was accomplished by Pamela Munro who completed a book, Mojave Syntax (1976), and the dictionary, A Mojave Dictionary (1992). The tribal members rely on these sources of language information consistently when working on all language projects. Chemehuevi is currently spoken by only about 10 fluent speakers, and as with Mohave, they are 60 years or older. The need to take action on these two most critically endangered languages of the four CRIT cultures was apparent.
Partners
In addition to the CRIT members, partners at the University of Arizona were enlisted to provide assistance with the technology and language instruction tools. The Critical Languages Program at the University of Arizona has developed the MaxAuthor program, a free resource for creating instructional modules for uncommonly taught languages. The Learning Technologies Center at the University of Arizona provided the specifications for the laptops that were ordered, and customized and configured the laptops once they arrived. The Learning Technologies Center also provided the space to hold the initial training sessions. Also contributing to the project are the Departments of Linguistics, Anthropology, and English at The University of Arizona.
Technology Used
With the funds provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, technology was purchased that was distributed to the six CRIT tribal representatives; three fluent Mohave speakers, and three fluent Chemehuevi speakers. The laptops that were purchased for the grant were distributed to the six tribal members for the duration of the grant, and will then be housed at and managed by the CRIT Library in Parker, Arizona after the formal conclusion of the grant.
The laptops that were purchased were Dell Latitudes with the following hardware: External mouse, mouse key pad and ‘eraser’ mouse, Network Lan Port, Modem/phone port, Removable floppy drive, Removable/extra battery, DVD player/CD read write drive, External power supply, Video adaptor, Built in microphone and speakers, Headphones with microphone.
In addition to Windows XP OS and Microsoft Office programs and Internet Explorer that were installed on the laptops, specific software was acquired to support the goals of the grant. The following software was installed on the laptops:
- Max Author. This program is a computer-assisted language learning software program for language languages that are rarely taught, created by the Critical Languages Program at the University of Arizona. MaxAuthor has been used to create language lessons in more that forty-seven languages, including Navajo, O’odham, Southern Paiute, Mojave, Yaqui and Ojibwe. Lessons can use audio, video, footnotes and graphics. This program is well tested and provides many useful modules for language teaching and preservation, and is free.
- The MOO. The MOO is a “multi-user, object oriented” meeting or conference space that is accessed through the Internet. People can log in at the same time and send each other messages about the project. This is used for discussions of how the work is going and m anyone on the project will be able to talk to some or all of the others from any Internet connected computer. People need to be logged in at the same time for the chat functions to work. Our project’s MOO work will be based in the University of Arizona’s licensed OldPuebloMOO.
- Multimedia Conferencing. Multimedia conferencing using voice based message software that is web based was explored for its use in teaching languages. Software originally developed as a second language acquisition teaching tool that provides for an online recreation of a language lab situation. The technology is asynchronous, so that students do not have to be online simultaneously to participate. The structured environment enables language lessons to be created where instructors post written and spoken instructions for student assignments, and students respond by recording their own voice to a board. The auditory feedback provided by this method is an important teaching concept, and can recreate the functions of a language lab through distance and distributed education. We are exploring this option further with the latest conferencing technology.
- CoolEdit2000. CoolEdit is a commercially produced software program that is used to record and edit sound files. This easy to use software was installed on the laptops to provide for an environment that could be used by the participants to create their own voice recordings. Cooledit can also be used to digitize sound files from cassette or reel-to-reel tapes. Once digitized CoolEdit can then be used to remove static and to do other editing functions.
This software ensemble enables speakers of the endangered languages to record, preserve and digitally manipulate examples of their language in use. The video component adds important visual and cultural context. Project participants will be able to create audio and video files for the website and CD ROM versions of the language lessons for members of the CRIT community.
Figure 1: Customized desk top of a laptop provided to participants.
Before the participants arrived at the Learning Technologies Center of the University of Arizona for the first part of the training, the Dell laptops were customized by installing software that would be used in the training. CoolEdit and MaxAuthor were installed on each laptop, along with Adobe Photoshop, and icons for these were placed on computer desktops, along with MSWord, Internet Explorer, Windows Media player, My Computer and the Recycle bin. A customized manual was developed for the participants, containing basic information on the laptops and tutorials for each of the computer programs that were being used for the project. The logo of the Colorado River Indian Tribes was also placed on the desktop as the background image. Each of the six laptops, and the seventh for PI Sue Penfield was given a different desktop background color.
Training Schedule
The training schedule was planned as follows: three days of hands on training at the University of Arizona Learning Technologies Center at the beginning of the grant. This would be supplemented by follow up training at the tribal library in Parker, Arizona in the subsequent six months. Parker, Arizona is about a four-hour drive from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. The tribal participants in this program are community members, all of whom work at least part time, and therefore would have to take time off of work and away from their families to participate in the training in Tucson. Transportation and housing costs for the training in Tucson were covered by the grant.
The training at the University of Arizona took place on January 30th, 31st and February 1st. The presentation area of the Learning Technologies Center that was used for the first training is not totally closed off from the rest of the Center. Prior to the arrival of the CRIT participants, PI Sue Penfield sent a message to the members of the Learning Technologies Center to outline some considerations when the CRIT members were in the training. This memo outlined showing respect for the CRIT members by respecting their space and privacy, and by not interrupting them during discussions.
The first session began with one of the tribal members invoking a Chemehuevi blessing for the project. The first morning involved introductions of all participants from CRIT and from the University of Arizona. The participants were provided with an overview of the project and then were given the Dell laptops to unpack. Many of the participants were novices at using computers, and in order to provide them with a feeling of competence the sessions were begun with them setting up the laptops: turning on the power, plugging in external power and the mouse, along with the headphones with microphone.
The training in Tucson provided information on basic computer skills, while at the same time training participants to use the technology that would allow them to create language lessons on their own when they returned to their communities. The first training issues that were addressed were on using PowerPoint to create language lessons. CoolEdit was used to create sound files. The sound files were then integrated along with images into a PowerPoint instructional lesson. Print copies of coloring books of Mojave and Chemehuevi were available from the Tribal Library, and the images in these were scanned and made available to the CRIT participants.
Figure 2: Mohave coloring book image and sound file created with CoolEdit in a slide created using PowerPoint.
The applications of these basic technologies to create immediate successes for the participants provided for a high level of morale and motivation. In planning for the initial training it was considered to concentrate on more basic computer skills, instead of concentrating on the tools to create basic language lessons from the outset. In retrospect this was the correct decision. The ability for participants to record and hear their own language as an audio feedback had a great impact on the participants’ motivation. Throughout the initial training session we continued to demonstrate and instruct on more advanced tools for the creation of language lessons, while letting the participants to proceed at their own pace with their hands-on instruction.
Figure 3: Participants at the Tribal Library in Parker, Arizona.
Follow-up sessions for training and updating CRIT participants took place in Parker in March 2003 with members of the training team traveling to the Tribal Library in Parker, Arizona. It was found that participation by Tribal members at the training sessions in Parker was not as viable. With the demands of family and work so close at hand, it was much harder for CRIT members to attend the sessions in Parker. It was decided to hold another training session at the University of Arizona in June 2003 as a way of maintaining a high level of involvement.
What We Learned
While the project has not yet been completed, the general consensus is that the program is a success and will have an impact on the teaching and preservation of Mojave and Chemehuevi. As a conclusion here are some of the observations of the trainers and support personnel:
- Having the CRIT participants begin to immediately use the recording and imaging technology created a high level of interest and was a successful strategy. It is the consensus that if we had begun with basic computer skills (file systems, using right mouse clicking) that we would not have been as successful.
- Providing material to the participants that was familiar to them and in their own language was also an important motivating factor, such as the Mojave and Chemehuevi coloring books.
- Letting participants concentrate on the technology that they were comfortable and successful with and interested in was an important motivation factor. One of the participants created on his own video recordings of himself speaking in his language providing basic language information.
- Support for the technology could have been better planned. While the library in Parker has been providing support, we found that some participants were not asking for help with technology problems once they had returned to their homes, and only informed us of issues at the first follow-up session, almost 2 months after the initial training. Providing support from the University of Arizona was also not practical, considering the distance to being able to have a face-to-face consultation. To assist with this, the University of Arizona team made sure all CRIT participants had email accounts. Communication between participants and the University team was facilitated with email, and some questions were answered using email. A project listserv supports both teams and serves as a clearinghouse for information, questions and progress reports.
Conclusion
The participation by highly motivated individuals to use technology for the teaching and preservation of their language can be done using the latest, but fairly simple and inexpensive technology. The quick successes that happened using the technology allowed for more training time to be spent on discussing and illustrating the issues around language instruction. The dissemination of information is being accomplished through the web site, a listserv for discussion of indigenous languages and technology ILAT@listserv.arizona.edu, and a course offered at the American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI) in the summer of 2003 which may result in an on-line course for college credit. This summer institute (AILDI) brings together members of many different Native American communities for the purpose of receiving training in linguistics, language learning and language teaching for the purpose of language revitalization.
References
Munro, Pamela. 1976. Mojave Syntax. Garland Studies in American Indian Linguistics. New York: Garland Publishing.
Munro, Pamela, Judith Gray and Nellie Brown. 1992. A Mojave Dictionary. Department of Linguistics, University of California, Los Angeles.
Download this article as a pdf file HERE.
Penfield, Susan D., Phil Cash Cash, Garry J. Forger, and Maureen Salzer. (2004). A Model to Share: Using Technology to Support Endangered Tribal Languages and Cultures. University of Arizona, Tucson.