Teaching and learning an ethnic minority language at university level: the case of Dusun in Brunei
This article investigates the teaching and learning of an ethnic minority language at tertiary level as a strategy for language maintenance and revitalisation. We offer a case study of the Dusun language, which is taught as a breadth/elective course at the Language Centre in Universiti Brunei Dar...
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Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2018
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/13590/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/13590/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/13590/1/23449-69276-1-PB.pdf |
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ukm-135902019-10-26T22:50:47Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/13590/ Teaching and learning an ethnic minority language at university level: the case of Dusun in Brunei Najib Noorashid, McLellan, James This article investigates the teaching and learning of an ethnic minority language at tertiary level as a strategy for language maintenance and revitalisation. We offer a case study of the Dusun language, which is taught as a breadth/elective course at the Language Centre in Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Although the initial purpose of introducing ethnic language courses was to encourage students to be familiar with the practices and the cultural knowledge associated with the community of users, their role in language maintenance is also worthy of investigation. The research methods include classroom observations, a questionnaire survey and analysis of examination results. The observation and the survey assist in the understanding of students’ reactions to the curriculum. We find that offering Dusun as a credit-bearing language module (course) has generated interest among both students and the wider Brunei community. Those from Dusun family backgrounds taking the module are a minority: most students have no family connections with Dusun. The implementation of the curriculum remains problematic, and there are issues resulting from the need to meet the formal requirements and academic expectations of the university administration in terms of coursework and examinations. The absence of dictionaries, grammars and other pedagogical materials means that Dusun language teachers are obliged to develop their own materials and resources. We argue that offering Borneo minority indigenous languages at tertiary level may not in itself maintain or revive the language in question, but is one strategy, along with several others, which may help towards maintenance and revitalisation. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2018-02 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/13590/1/23449-69276-1-PB.pdf Najib Noorashid, and McLellan, James (2018) Teaching and learning an ethnic minority language at university level: the case of Dusun in Brunei. GEMA ; Online Journal of Language Studies, 18 (1). pp. 217-233. ISSN 1675-8021 http://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1073 |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Local University |
| institution |
Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia |
| building |
UKM Institutional Repository |
| collection |
Online Access |
| language |
English |
| description |
This article investigates the teaching and learning of an ethnic minority language at tertiary
level as a strategy for language maintenance and revitalisation. We offer a case study of the
Dusun language, which is taught as a breadth/elective course at the Language Centre in
Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Although the initial purpose of introducing ethnic language
courses was to encourage students to be familiar with the practices and the cultural
knowledge associated with the community of users, their role in language maintenance is also
worthy of investigation. The research methods include classroom observations, a
questionnaire survey and analysis of examination results. The observation and the survey
assist in the understanding of students’ reactions to the curriculum. We find that offering
Dusun as a credit-bearing language module (course) has generated interest among both
students and the wider Brunei community. Those from Dusun family backgrounds taking the
module are a minority: most students have no family connections with Dusun. The
implementation of the curriculum remains problematic, and there are issues resulting from
the need to meet the formal requirements and academic expectations of the university
administration in terms of coursework and examinations. The absence of dictionaries,
grammars and other pedagogical materials means that Dusun language teachers are obliged to
develop their own materials and resources. We argue that offering Borneo minority
indigenous languages at tertiary level may not in itself maintain or revive the language in
question, but is one strategy, along with several others, which may help towards maintenance
and revitalisation. |
| format |
Article |
| author |
Najib Noorashid, McLellan, James |
| spellingShingle |
Najib Noorashid, McLellan, James Teaching and learning an ethnic minority language at university level: the case of Dusun in Brunei |
| author_facet |
Najib Noorashid, McLellan, James |
| author_sort |
Najib Noorashid, |
| title |
Teaching and learning an ethnic minority language at university level: the case of Dusun in Brunei |
| title_short |
Teaching and learning an ethnic minority language at university level: the case of Dusun in Brunei |
| title_full |
Teaching and learning an ethnic minority language at university level: the case of Dusun in Brunei |
| title_fullStr |
Teaching and learning an ethnic minority language at university level: the case of Dusun in Brunei |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Teaching and learning an ethnic minority language at university level: the case of Dusun in Brunei |
| title_sort |
teaching and learning an ethnic minority language at university level: the case of dusun in brunei |
| publisher |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| publishDate |
2018 |
| url |
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/13590/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/13590/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/13590/1/23449-69276-1-PB.pdf |
| first_indexed |
2023-09-18T20:05:12Z |
| last_indexed |
2023-09-18T20:05:12Z |
| _version_ |
1777407111656898560 |