EDLA538 English CPA 1 – Assignment 3 Sarah Dowswell S00256997

Activity 3 – ATSI Cultures & Aboriginal Poetry

B. Use language to shape and make meaning according to purpose, audience and context
EN5-3B: selects and uses language forms, features and structures of texts appropriate to a range of purposes,
audiences and contexts, describing and explaining their effects on meaning
Students:
Develop and apply contextual knowledge
§ analyse a range of texts that include the use of Aboriginal dialects and Aboriginal English
D. Express themselves and their relationships with others and their world
EN5-8D: questions, challenges and evaluates cultural assumptions in texts and their effects on meaning
Students:
Engage personally with texts
• create texts to demonstrate their view of the world with reference to the texts of other cultures
• analyse and explain the ways in which particular texts relate to their cultural experiences and
the culture of others
Respond to and compose texts
• explain and analyse cultural assumptions in texts, including texts by and about Aboriginal
Australians
• analyse and describe the ways texts sustain or challenge established cultural attitudes and
values

Rationale
The purpose of this two-part activity is to address CCP and to engage ATSI students in a
meaningful way that affirms Indigenous cultural identity, given that “cross-cultural understanding
(‘reconciliation’) among all students cannot be achieved without making a place for Aboriginal
voices in the classroom.” (Shipp, 2012, p. 22). By applying the cultural studies and critical literacy
models of English teaching (Macken-Horarik, 2014), students dissect the usage of Aboriginal
English (AE) across two textual mediums: spoken word poetry, and written poetry. These models
foster higher-order thinking on two fronts. Firstly, students are confronted with notions of power,
namely considering historical and contemporary influences of Standard English (SE) on equity and
social justice. Secondly, students must reconsider AE and its dialects as a valid language choice to
express complex ideas, values and meanings in a range of contexts.

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EDLA538 English CPA 1 – Assignment 3 Sarah Dowswell S00256997

Students are to analyse the features of AE and the ways in which meaning is communicated for
different purposes, audiences and contexts. Differentiated teaching strategies challenge non-
Indigenous students to use AE in the construction of a group poem. For ESL/CALD students,
subtitles and comprehensive explanations of key terms will be provided in small-group discussions.
Terms can be translated into native languages where appropriate, using Google translate. For ATSI
students, this activity provides an opportunity for greater scaffolding of literacy skills and
contextual skills teaching, as well as providing an appropriate cultural space in which they can
share their culture and language (Allington, 2002, Gray & Cowey, 2000; Gray, 2007; Mullin &
Oliver, 2010, cited in Shipp, 2012, p. 23).

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EDLA538 English CPA 1 – Assignment 3 Sarah Dowswell S00256997

Activity 3 – ATSI Cultures & Aboriginal Poetry

Part 1
As a class, students watch a spoken word poem delivered by Melanie Mununggurr-Williams
(Guardian Australia, 2018). Students are provided with a scaffold to assist with note-taking
(differentiation – support & core):

1. What are the main messages communicated by the speaker in the poem?
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2. What Aboriginal English (AE) phrases and/or words are used?

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3. How do the AE phrases and/or words convey the main messages?

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EDLA538 English CPA 1 – Assignment 3 Sarah Dowswell S00256997

Extension
4. Consider the speaker’s use of Standard Australian English (SE) and AE.
Analyse the ways in which language choices influence:
§ the audience’s perception of the speaker;
§ reception of the main message(s); and
§ further opportunities for meaningful dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
Australians.
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EDLA538 English CPA 1 – Assignment 3 Sarah Dowswell S00256997

Part 2
Students are divided into groups of three. They are provided a copy of a poem from the Red Room
Poetry website (Red Room Poetry, 2019). Each group is assigned a stanza (examples below):

Part 3
The teacher explains background of the task, namely:
• The poem forms part of a project that aims to teach poetry in ATSI languages;
• Melanie Mununggurr-Williams is one of several Aboriginal elders who is contributing to the
project; and
• The poet, Joel Davison, is a Sydney Aboriginal (Gadigal) man who writes in this dialect.

Part 4
The teacher instructs students to examine their stanza in their groups. Students must:
• Compare and contrast the ways in which the English translation of the Aboriginal language
shapes the meaning of the poem as a whole;
• Discuss the use of poetic techniques to generate meaning, purpose and effect;
• Propose three reasons why representation of Aboriginal languages and dialects enriches the
study of English as a language and a subject; and
• Analyse the ways in which cultural assumptions about, or attitudes towards, Aboriginal
Australians are challenged in the poem.

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EDLA538 English CPA 1 – Assignment 3 Sarah Dowswell S00256997

Differentiation
• ATSI students can use the English translation in their stanza and translate it into their
Indigenous language and/or dialect, and compare the differences in sound between the
Gadigal language/dialect and their own.
• ESL/CALD students can discuss how Indigenous languages sound when spoken aloud and
compare with translations of the English lines of the poem with their first languages.
• Extension students may access an Aboriginal dictionary (see for example University of New
South Wales (UNSW), n.d.). They can use the dictionary to create their own poem in the
Dharug language/dialect that mimics that of Davison’s.

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EDLA538 English CPA 1 – Assignment 3 Sarah Dowswell S00256997

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