Bininj Kunwok Language chosen for pilot program

Charles Darwin University are currently running an online pilot course with the Bininj Kunwok Language Group.

Charles Darwin University (CDU) is currently working with West Arnhem’s Bininj Kunwok Language Group to develop an online language course in Bininj Kunwok.
The course is a pilot program by CDU which is working to produce a digital ‘shell’ website through which Indigenous authorities can share their language and culture with university students.
As a group which has already been sharing language materials online, the Bininj Kunwok Language Group was selected to develop this pilot program with CDU, working with linguist Murray Garde of ANU.
More than 150 people expressed an interest to be volunteer learners of the Bininj Kunwok course which consists of four units covering cultural information, grammar, reading, vocabulary, useful phrases, pronunciation and an activity.
A committee of Bininj authorities has been overseeing the project and contributing short videos and audio recordings as online learning materials for the course which began in September and will finish at the end of November.
Ngalwakadj Jill Nganjmirra said, “We are proud of our language and want to help other people to learn”.
CDU’s Cathy Bow, who is the main coordinator and designer of the online course, said the research will involve getting feedback from those involved in the course to see what works well and not so well.
The online ‘shell’ website can then be shared with other groups interested in developing similar courses. Discussions with universities will establish how such resources can be incorporated into tertiary courses.
The research is funded by the Australian government’s Office of Learning and Teaching.
More information on the Bininj Kunwok Language Group is available at bininjgunwok.org.au website and the Bininj Kunwok Language Group Facebook page.