Successful Gangalidda language learning model pitched across QueenslandBy Maddie Nixon and Zara MargolisABC North West QldTopic:Education1h ago1 hours agoMon 12 May 2025 at 11:29pmGangalidda teacher Mayarr Yanner has started translating stories into the language. (Supplied: Michael Vesotsky)abc.net.au/news/indigenous-language-taught-in-outback-classrooms/105280598Link copiedShareShare articleWhen Mayarr Yanner attended primary school more than a decade ago in Queensland's Gulf of Carpentaria she was taught Japanese.Her peers at Burketown State School, most of whom were Aboriginal, asked why."We all used to ask, 'Why are we learning Japanese?' None of us are going to go to Japan," Ms Yanner said.As a high-schooler at boarding school on the Gold Coast her peers asked if she knew her Indigenous language from back home."I would say, 'I know a bit', but I wish I had the privilege of saying that I'm fluent in it," she said.Karen Ford and Mayarr Yanner have worked together to develop learning material. (Supplied: Chris Ford)Now 22 years of age, Ms Yanner has returned to Burketown and not only does she know much more of the Gangalidda language — she teaches it.Her role as partnership initiative officer and language teacher at Burketown State School includes delivering the Gangalidda language other than English (LOTE) program.Language used everywhere, every dayKaren Ford is head of curriculum at Burketown State School where more than 90 per cent of students are Indigenous.Working closely with the community, she co-designed the Gangalidda LOTE subject within the Australian curriculum."We really needed to make sure we had all the protocols right," Ms Ford said."It acknowledges that the ancestral owners of the language are the teachers of the language, and therefore it needs to be taught in Indigenous ways of knowing and learning."Mayarr Yanner has used the Gangalidda dictionary to develop her classroom materials. (Supplied: Mayarr Yanner)The school started teaching non-assessable content in 2017 and developed an official curriculum by 2019.The program has been cemented this year by hiring Ms Yanner, a Gangalidda woman, as its language teacher.LOTE lessons are on a Monday, but the language is on display every day."If you walk around Burketown State School you'll see not just English names for things but you'll also see them in language," Ms Ford said.In early primary, students learn key words and phrases:gayi — hellomayara — friend/countrymenngada — my name is …Munkubayi — BurketownFor upper primary they have developed a junior ranger program, where Indigenous rangers deliver activities using the Gangalidda language on country.This extends to the school's cultural sustainability garden, where they learn about medicinal plants and bush tucker.More schools to followThe Burketown State School program is being presented across Queensland as a model for other schools to consider.School staff recently travelled to the 2025 Gimuy First Nations Languages Workshop in Cairns and will soon attend the North Queensland Region Partnership Initiative Conference Townsville to encourage other schools to develop their own Indigenous LOTE programs.Murrandoo Yanner speaking at the 2025 Gimuy First Nations Languages Workshop. (Supplied: Michael Vesotsky)As of 2024, 152 state schools were investigating, developing or implementing an Aboriginal language program or a Torres Strait Islander language program, according to the Department of Education.Mossman, Yarrabah and Aurukun state schools all teach an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language.An ancient dictionaryElder Murrandoo Yanner, the lead cultural consultant for the program, said a decades-old Gangalidda dictionary was crucial to its development.More teacher training on Indigenous languagePhoto shows A group of pre primary students sit on the mat with their teacher smiling at the cameraSince the early 1990s Aboriginal English has been recognised as one of over 160 official dialects of English."We had a lot of fluid speakers still in the tribe in the 1990s. Before they passed on we had our dictionary recorded, both in writing and recording, for the proper pronunciation," Mr Yanner said."A lot of senior elders from the Gangalidda people over the years … contributed."The dictionary is comprehensive, including many variations that exist in the Gangalidda language."There's not a single word for crocodile — [there's] a crocodile, a female crocodile, male crocodile, saltwater crocodile, fresh crocodile, juvenile crocodile," Mr Yanner said.Language is sacred to Mr Yanner and the Gangalidda people."If you're on Gangalidda country and you speak Gangalidda, it unlocks all these magical things on country because that country recognises the language that belongs to it," he said.The Gangalidda language on display on the school's totems. (Supplied: Chris Ford)A spokesperson for the Department of Education said teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages could help increase school attendance and improve academic engagement — a sentiment shared by Mr Yanner."I think we'll make better, brighter children … for this community," he said.Seeing his daughter Mayarr Yanner return to Burketown to teach the language has filled him with pride."Language is a part of our culture, and my identity, so it feels good to be able to reconnect," Ms Yanner said.ABC North West Qld — local news in your inboxGet our local newsletter, delivered free each TuesdayYour information is being handled in accordance with the ABC Privacy Collection Statement.Email addressSubscribePosted 1h ago1 hours agoMon 12 May 2025 at 11:29pmShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesSussan Ley is the new leader of the Liberal party, PM's new ministry being sworn inLIVEPhoto shows A close-up of Jim Chalmers in front of a black background. 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