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Language Testing and Assessment pp 287–301Cite as

Language Assessment in Indigenous Contexts in Australia and Canada

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Language and Education ((ELE))

Abstract

Here we present a brief portrait of language assessment in Indigenous contexts in Australia and Canada – two countries who, despite their distance, share important similarities in terms of their historical mistreatment of Indigenous peoples and their languages. Fortunately, both countries are currently experiencing renewed and increasing interest in Indigenous language revitalization. An examination of public school curricular documents in Canada reveals increased attention to development of more Indigenously-informed and innovative assessment practices. In Australia, while there are community-based programs specifically tailored to language revitalization, formal language teaching contexts programs are still geared towards students meeting specific linguistic criteria. However, both contexts reveal a growing acknowledgment of the importance of community involvement in assessment. An examination of both contexts also reveals the challenge of effectively communicating to non-Indigenous educators, policy makers, and other audiences about Indigenous approaches to language assessment.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The state of revitalization efforts of Canada’s indigenous languages is covered in greater detail elsewhere in this Encyclopedia (Also see Onowa McIvor and Teresa L. McCarty).

  2. 2.

    In this chapter, the terms Indigenous and Aboriginal are used interchangeably to refer to the First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in Canada. In Australia, following Hudson et al. (2010), the term Indigenous refers to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people; Aboriginal refers to Australian Aboriginal people.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute, University of Ottawa, 70 Laurier East Suite 121, K1N 6N5, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Beverly Baker

  2. Research Unit for Indigenous Language, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne, School of Languages and Linguistics, Room 620, Babel Building, 3010, Parkville, VIC, Australia

    Gillian Wigglesworth

Authors
  1. Beverly Baker
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  2. Gillian Wigglesworth
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Correspondence to Beverly Baker .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Elana Shohamy

  2. School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Iair G. Or

  3. Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Stephen May

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Baker, B., Wigglesworth, G. (2017). Language Assessment in Indigenous Contexts in Australia and Canada. In: Shohamy, E., Or, I., May, S. (eds) Language Testing and Assessment. Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02261-1_20

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