Two voices, one paper: Using storywork to reassess the impact of academic language on “English Learners” in Alaska

Abstract

In this paper, featuring a collaboration between Ève, a white applied linguist from Réunion Island, and Giovanna, an Indigenous Yupik undergraduate student from Mountain Village, we offer perspectives from Alaska on the topic of academic language. Academic English has served as a tool to further marginalize Alaska Native students, who make up a large segment of the student population designated as English Learners in Alaska. After providing background information on the linguistic landscape of Alaska, we discuss considerations for the academic language construct, and end with implications for assessment, suggesting ways to indigenize our approach to language assessment.