Learning through an Aboriginal Language - The Impact on Students’English and Aboriginal Language Skills

Oct 15, 2026

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Aboriginal communities across Canada are implementing Aboriginal language programs in schools. This study examines how learning through an Aboriginal language affects students’ English and Aboriginal language skills by comparing a Mi’kmaq immersion program with a Mi’kmaq second-language program. Students in immersion showed stronger Mi’kmaq language skills than students in the second-language program, while English outcomes were ultimately the same across both groups. Immersion approaches can both revitalize threatened languages and support success in mainstream society.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Language extinction and the role of revitalization

Aboriginal-language programs in schools

Immersion versus second-language instruction

Purpose and research focus

Learning through an Aboriginal Language: The Impact on Students’English and Aboriginal Language Skills Esther Usborne Université de Montréal Josephine Peck Wagmatcook School Board Donna-Lee Smith McGill University Donald M. Taylor McGill University Authors’Note This research was supported by funds from the Mi’kmaq Kina’matnewey. The authors would like to thank all the students who participated in this research and the testers who collected all the data. Abstract Aboriginal communities across Canada are implementing Aboriginal language programs in their schools. In the present research, we explore the impact of learning through an Aboriginal language on students’English and Aboriginal language skills by contrasting a Mi’kmaq language immersion program with a Mi’kmaq as a second language program. The results revealed that students in the immersion program not only had stronger Mi’kmaq language skills compared to students in the second language program, but students within both programs ultimately had the same level of English. Immersion programs can simultaneously revitalize a threatened language and prepare students for success in mainstream society. Keywords: Aboriginal language, bilingual education, immersion, language of instruction CANADIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 34, 4 (2011): 200-215 ©2011 Canadian Society for the Study of Education/ Société canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation Résumé Des communautés autochtones partout au Canada mettent en œuvre des programmes de langue autochtone dans leurs écoles. Dans la présente recherche, nous explorons l'impact del'apprentissage à travers une langue autochtone, sur les compétences des élèves en langue anglaise et autochtone, en comparant un programme d'immersion en langue Mi'kmaq, avec un programme en langue Mi'kmaq comme langue seconde. Les résultats ont révélé que non seulement les étudiants du programme d'immersion avaient des compétences plus solides en langue Mi'kmaq que les étudiants du programme de langue seconde, mais aussi que les étudiants au sein des deux programmes avaient le même niveau d'anglais. Les programmes d'immersion peuvent simultanément revitaliser une langue menacée et préparer les élèves à réussir dans la société . Mots-clés: langue autochtone, éducation bilingue, immersion, langue d'enseignement Learning through an Aboriginal Language: The Impact on Students’English and Aboriginal Language Skills Introduction The celebrated Canadian anthropologist Wade Davis compared the extinction of a language to the extinction of a species. Davis (2009) argued that “language is an old-growth forest of the mind,” and that the death of a language is equivalent to the death of a fertile, intricate, and incredibly valuable way of being (p. 3) . In Canada, Aboriginal languages, once complex vehicles for communicating rich and unique cultures, are under severe threat. Of the 53 Aboriginal languages that are currently spoken in Canada, only three are thought to have a good chance of survival: Inuktitut, Cree, and Ojibway (Norris, 2007) . Furthermore, only one in four Aboriginal people in Canada currently speak an Aboriginal language (Norris, 2007) . The Aboriginal languages that have survived a destructive colonization process are now increasingly threatened by the rising power and prevalence of English information technologies and by the general dominance of English and French in modern Canadian society. According to Davis (2009) and others (e.g., Berger, 2006 ; Simon, 2010), the revitalization of Aboriginal languages is currently one of Canada’s most important challenges. Aboriginal communities in Canada have responded to this challenge and are working towards revitalizing—and in some cases, re-learning—their Aboriginal tongue. One of the most promising methods of language revitalization is through the inclusion of the Aboriginal language as a language of instruction in schools. In the case of a threatened language, teaching young st

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the research?

To explore how learning through an Aboriginal language influences students’ English and Aboriginal language skills by comparing two Mi’kmaq program types.

How did the immersion program affect students’ Mi’kmaq language skills?

Students in the immersion program had stronger Mi’kmaq language skills than students in the second-language program.

Did the two program types lead to different English outcomes?

No. Students in both programs ultimately had the same level of English.

Oct 15, 2026

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