The Language Bundle

An Indigenous approach to language acquisition in the home

My design practice seeks to improve the experience of Indigenous language reclamation through the development of informed design processes that center the Indigenous perspective and experience in language acquisition. Research conducted within the MDes program exposed opportunities for design research to advance approaches to language acquisition for Indigenous learners. Existing research in the field of Indigenous language revitalization tends to focus on approaches based in eurocentric thought. My design process centres Indigenous understandings of language to improve the experience of language learning for Indigenous peoples seeking to reclaim their ancestral language(s). Research resulted in my thesis project entitled, The Language Bundle, an Indigenous approach to helping Indigenous second language learners build a relationship with their ancestral language. The Language Bundle focuses on promoting and normalizing the use of the Dakelh language in the home through learning activities and materials.