Volume 20 Number 1
October 1980

THE increase of bilingual programs over the past years may be a visible sign of what Hockett has termed a "reduction of the heat under the American melting pot" (see Note 1). Such programs are far from uniform, since there is no consensus as to the definitions or goals of bilingual education. The questions involved become more difficult, since language cannot be separated from content - if "Dick and Jane" speak Navajo, a program using such materials could be viewed as a bilingual-monocultural program (see Note 2).

The situation of the children for whom a program is designed must be the determining factor in the conception and production of the materials for the program. In this article, the production of materials for an experimental course that was to teach White Mountain Apache literacy will be described (see Note 3).

The White Mountain Apache Tribe on the Fort Apache Reservation in Arizona has a tribal enrollment of approximately 8,000 members. Many of the children’s first contact with the English language comes in the Head Start and day care programs. Although there are not yet any statistics available, people connected with the Head Start program feel that there may have been a slight increase in children’s knowledge of English over the past years. In the year 1977-1978, 137 children were enrolled in Head Start. A survey done in 1977 indicated that 74% of the 928 school children in the elementary grades do not use English as their primary language. Thus, the great majority of the children is forced to learn to read and write a language they seldom use.

Many reasons make it seem more advantageous that children learn to read and write their native language before they are taught to read and write English. A number of problems the children encounter in school probably are due to the fact that they are receiving instruction in their weaker language (see Note 4). But even if viewed only from the standpoint of learning to read and write, it could well be advantageous to begin with White Mountain Apache. Since the writing system is, to a large degree, phonemic, it is easier to learn than English orthography. If the children "sound out" a word, and if they "sound it out" correctly, they will recognize and understand it.

Assuming that a child comprehended the words he read in an English primer, it is still quite possible that he has not understood what the words mean. The cultural content of the English primer may be so different from anything he has yet experienced or learned to understand that he is not in a position to "make sense" out of what he reads. This point is well made with regard to Navajo children in "Sally, Dick and Jane at Lukachukai" (see Note 8) and much said therein applies to White Mountain Apache children. These children are not only unfamiliar with big city life (street lights, sidewalks, skyscrapers, etc.), they know little or nothing about the values and attitudes on which the materials have more or less unconsciously been based (see Note 9).

If the materials developed for a bilingual program are to be truly suitable for the children, the direction and decisions of the native speakers of the language are absolutely necessary. The linguist is the technician who contributes the form (see Note 10).

The White Mountain Apache Tribe instituted a Language Committee to oversee and direct the development of materials, which were then to be tested in an experimental course during the summer of 1978. The Johnson-O’Malley program funded a six-week summer school, which was conducted in the elementary school in Whiteriver. It was decided that the instruction should be at the sixth grade level. The prepared materials were based on the assumption that the White Mountain Apache speakers using them were already literate in English.

Frequency was one factor in deciding the order of introduction of the graphemes and digraphs. Since the material was being prepared for people literate in English, the equivalence or similarity of the sounds represented was also taken into account. Those graphernes representing the same sound in both languages were introduced first. It was necessary to alter the order that was arrived at in this fashion in the case of the vowels i, ii, e, and ee, since it was feared that the children might confuse them on the basis of their knowledge of English orthography. Only i and ii were introduced in the first 15 lessons. It was assumed that the two consonants not used in English, and !, would present little difficulty, and they were introduced at an early stage.

Emphasis was placed on "sounding the words out." New words were introduced in this fashion and many of the exercises were directed towards developing this ability. This is particularly important for two reasons. First, since it is only now becoming a written language, no standard has yet been established. Words are written as they are spoken, and, due to dialect and regional differences, the same word is often spoken differently. Until the Language Committee has standardized the written forms, it is a necessity that the same word be recognizable in different forms. A second reason for this procedure is that the language in question abounds in verb forms, some differing from others (with dissimilar meanings), for example, by only the length of one vowel.

In no case was a translation given. The goal of the materials was to teach reading and writing in White Mountain Apache and translations were not viewed to further this aim. Since there is no equivalent of the infinitive verb form in the language, usage of introducing the third person singular was followed.

Several factors influenced the choice of vocabulary items in the materials. Attempts were made to use words that are part of the basic vocabulary, inasmuch as these items tend to have the advantage of being short. In particular, emphasis was placed on body parts, and plant and animal names. This reflected the concern of some of the people that the children were no longer learning these basic items or were confusing them. Although Gudschinsky (see Note 12) for example, opposes the introduction of unknown words in primers, the different nature of the target group in this case makes such a procedure justifiable. Furthermore, the teacher, who used the White Mountain Apache language throughout, told the children a great deal about the characteristics and uses of the objects that were new to them, and in so doing was able to imprint the object and the new word. This was part of the attempt to develop a style of working with the children that was closer to the socialization they had received, since it was felt to be untenable to teach the children a part of their own culture with the methods of a foreign one (see Note 13).

Many and varied exercises were incorporated into the materials. Recognition and production are two steps in the learning process, and the first must be developed before the second can be successful. For this reason, a great deal of repetition in reading and use of words preceded exercises that called for production. The exercises were of considerable length, since it was a goal to have enough material for those children who work quickly while others worked at a slower pace or in groups. By the time the first children were finished with all of the material in one exercise, the whole group together with the teacher would proceed to the next item. The amount of repetition was sufficient, even for the students who finished only half of the exercise.

The basic concept of the prepared materials was to have a set of progressing lessons and accompanying exercises. This material is supplemented with easily read booklets introduced at the various stages. Each lesson constitutes a unit. As new materials are produced, they can be used at the discretion of the teacher any time after the presentation of the necessary vocabulary has been concluded.

Though there was considerable variation, the general lesson plan was:

1. Review of new words presented in the previous lesson

2. Exercise (or sound test)

3. New words using graphemes or digraphs already introduced

4. Exercises

5. New graphemes or digraphs

6. Exercises

All graphemes and digraphs used in the White Mountain Apache orthography were presented in 17 lessons.

1. The review of the words from the previous lesson was given in the form of a list. The teacher read and discussed the list with the students. The list proved of value to the students while they were working on the various exercises and they often referred to it.

2. There were a variety of exercises on recognition of how sounds of the language are transferred into writing. The first was a list of word pairs or groups The teacher read one of them and the students were to mark the word she had said. Many of these groups of words were based on minimal pairs (gad / gah (cedar tree/rabbit)) or near minimal pairs (gad / k’ad (cedar tree/soon)). This method was preferred over dictation, since it required only recognition, not production

3. In the first lessons, new words using graphemes and digraphs with which the children were already familiar were introduced with a picture and the accompanying word, which was then used in one or two sentences.

4. In each lesson, various kinds of exercises were used. The children were free to work on them alone or in groups, as they chose. These included: Crossword puzzles- For example, to impress the idea of the glottal stop, it would substitute as a letter filling one box of the puzzle. Word search games-A box like a crossword puzzle filled with letters, wherein the words listed above the box were to be found and circled. Word-picture matching-A page had perhaps six words and five pictures, whereby a line was to be drawn from the word to the corresponding picture. Fill-in-the-blanks were done in two forms, either with the pictures or with the words at the top of the page, and these were to be written in the appropriate sentences.

True or false sentences- Sentences were given with two similar sounding word in one position. The children were to choose the appropriate word.

Sentences were written so that there were no spaces between the words, and they were to be rewritten with the proper spaces. Sentences were written with spaces between each syllable, and they were to be rewritten leaving spaces only between the words.

Vocabulary grouping- For example, body parts or plant names. Scrambled letters—Several words were given, but written incorrectly. The children were to figure out which word used those letters and to write it next to the scrambled form. The first letters of the words, when correctly written, and read down the page, spelled another word or a sentence. (For example, kina was to be unscrambled to read naki (two), and the letter n was used in a sentence together with the other first letters.)

6. One or more of the exercises described in number 4 above were used to conclude the lesson.

In addition to the lessons, other materials were prepared, among which was a calendar with interchangeable dates. The numbers were written out in Apache, and they could be placed as necessary for each month.

Games were also prepared. A memory game was made, where half of the cards had pictures of objects and the other half the names written out in White Mountain Apache. All of the cards were placed face down on the table and the children were allowed to turn over two cards each time they had their turn to play, and to keep them if they formed a pair.

A picture dictionary was made with the words of the first 14 lessons. This was introduced together with a game similar to Scrabble, and the dictionary was of help to them in playing the game. Further games include one like Word Lotto (see Note 14).

Despite the problems inherent in a course held during the summer and of such short duration, the results of this experimental course were encouraging. The children were excited about the prospect of learning to read and write their own language. The materials were prepared in the school, and the children came by to talk to those working on the materials and to have lessons they had missed repeated with them. And they continued playing some of the games after the formal class period had ended.

The children had no difficulty comprehending that their own language could be written and showed in many ways that they felt that what they had learned was useful. Long after the end of the summer school, they could be heard spelling words for each other or for non-Apaches in play situations.

There are many advantages to achieving primary literacy in the native language. Those who maintain that literacy in two languages places a great burden on the children have not substantiated this. And it would seem that, given the fact that the children are already bilingual or are becoming so, the added step of becoming literate in the language they use most frequently and know best could be of great value.

The majority of people who become literate do so in their native tongue with materials prepared for them and geared to their command of the language. It would help White Mountain Apache children to know what reading is before they attempt it in a foreign language.

Finally, there are obvious advantages to be gained from teaching children to be proud of their language and careful in their use of it. Grammar has been taught in schools for as long as they have existed. People who have a deep awareness of their own language and take it seriously tend to transfer this understanding to other languages they learn. In this manner, the advantages of truly bilingual programs can be reflected both in the children’s use of their native language and in their use of English.

1. Lambert, WE., "A Social Psychology of Bilingualism," Journal of Social Issues, 23,1967,p. 108.

2. Serdychenko, G.P., "The Linguistic Aspects of Bilingualism," Report on an International Seminar on Bilingualism in Education, arranged by the U.K. National Commission for UNESCO. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1965, p. 138.

3. In connection with field work made possible by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Wi 154/10), the author was able to be present in Whiteriver, Arizona, during the summer of 1978. The White Mountain Apache Tribe made it possible for me to participate in the development of the materials.

4. Macnamara, J., "The Effects of Instruction in a Weaker Language," Journal of Social Issues, 23, 1967, pp. 121-135.

5. Rojas, P.M., "Reading Materials for Bilingual Children," Elementary School Journal, 47, 1946, pp. 204-211.

6. Ibid., p. 208.

7. Sapir, E., "The Function of an International Auxiliary Language," Edward Sapir, Culture, Language and Personality, Selected Essays, Mandelbaum, (Ed.), Berkeley/Los Angeles: 1970, pp. 51-58.

8. Evvard, E. and G.C. Mitchell, "Sally, Dick and Jane at Lukachukai," Journal of American Indian Education, Vol. 5, No. 3, May, 1966, pp. 2-6.

10. For the rule of linguistics in the development of materials, see Ives, S. and J.P. Ives, "Linguistics in School Programs" (Yearbook of the National Society of the Study of Education, 69.2). Chicago, 1970, pp. 243-263, and Gudschinsky, S.C., "Literacy: The Growing Influence of Linguistics," Trends in Linguistics State-of-the-Art Reports 2. Mouton: 1976, pp. 15-18.

11. See for example, Gudschinsky, S.C., op.cit., pp. 47-50, and Gudschinsky, S.C. Handbook of Literacy. Summer Institute of Linguistics: 1967, pp. 44-54.

12. Gudschinsky, S.C., Literacy: op.cit., p. 54.

13. For discussions of differences in learning techniques and consequences, see Philips, S., "Acquisition of Roles for Appropriate Speech Usage" in Abrahams, R.D. and R.C. Troike (Eds.), Language and Cultural Diversity in American Education. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: 1972, pp. 167-183; and Polacca, K., "Ways of Working with the Navajos Who Have Not Learned the White Man’s Ways," Journal of American Indian Education, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 6-16.

14. For a description see Townsend, E.M., "The Construction and Use of Readers for Aymara Indians," Fundamental and Adult Education. IV 4, 1952, pp. 21-25.

Marie-Louise Liebe-Harkort, Ph.D is presently working for the White Mountain Apache Tribe through the Universität Kiel for the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.