Cover not available

Article published In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics: Online-First Articles

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB

Gumbaynggirr Daari ‘Gumbaynggirr strong’

Perspectives of students and adults in a Gumbaynggirr led school and preschool context

 | Western Sydney University
ORCiD logo with link | Western Sydney University
ORCiD logo with link | Western Sydney University
ORCiD logo with link | Western Sydney University
 | Western Sydney University
ORCiD logo with link | Western Sydney University
Open Access logo
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with Western Sydney University.

Published online: 15 December 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.25051.ber
Abstract
The Gumbaynggirr Daari Research Project provides an empirical investigation of community-driven educational initiatives in two NSW schools that aim to serve revitalisation goals while meeting mainstream educational requirements. This project was developed in partnership with the NSW Aboriginal Languages Trust (ALT), Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom School (GGFS), Kulai Preschool (Kulai), and Western Sydney University (WSU). The study employed Indigenous Knowledge Research (IKR) methodologies, featuring adult and child yarning sessions to explore how the revitalisation of Gumbaynggirr language and culture contributes to the emergence and ongoing development of culturally responsive educational contexts at Kulai and GGFS.
This multi-generational case study approach captured perspectives from Elders, community members, teachers and students, providing a viewpoint rarely found in current Australian language revitalisation research. Four broad themes encapsulated by the term ‘Gumbaynggirr Daari’ (Gumbaynggirr Strong) — ‘Gumbaynggirr language,’ ‘cultural literacy,’ ‘wellbeing,’ and ‘identity’ — underpinned the study. Sub-themes emerging from the data demonstrate that language revitalisation operates as a dynamic, interconnected process arising from the specific histories and aspirations of the local language community. This research contributes significant empirical evidence illuminating the historical trajectory and current expressions of First Nations language reclamation, offering insights for other First Nations communities developing similar culturally responsive educational approaches.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Context of the study: Background to Kulai and GGFS
    • 2.1Kulai
    • 2.2GGFS
  • 3.Research question
  • 4.Methods
    • 4.1Indigenous methodologies
    • 4.2Ethics
    • 4.3Participants
    • 4.4Yarning methodology
    • 4.5Session types
      • 4.5.1Adult Yarning Groups and Individual Yarnings
      • 4.5.2Child Yarning (Kulai and GGFS)
    • 4.6Analysis of data
  • 5.Analysis and discussion
    • 5.1Intergenerational transmission of knowledge
    • 5.2Language learning across the Gumbaynggirr community
      • 5.2.1Opportunities for adults to learn Gumbaynggirr
      • 5.2.2Gumbaynggirr language learning in mainstream schools
    • 5.3On Country — contextualised learning
      • 5.3.1Wajaada — partial learning on Country
    • 5.4Language teaching and learning strategies
      • 5.4.1Accelerated Second Language Acquisition (ASLA)
      • 5.4.2Story
      • 5.4.3Bilingual vs immersion approach
    • 5.5Role of families
    • 5.6Nurturing environment
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (30)
References
Angelo, D., O’Shannessy, C., Simpson, J., Kral, I., Smith, H., & Browne, E. M. (2019). Well-being and Indigenous Language Ecologies (WILE): a strengths-based approach: Literature review, National Indigenous Languages Report, Pillar 2. Report prepared for the Department of Communication and the Arts. Canberra: ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian National University. [URL]
Australian Government Department of Education. (2022). Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Australian Government Department of Education for the Ministerial Council. [URL][URL]
Berger, D., Disbray, S., Crump, D., Filmore, N., Meakins, F. & Bracknell, C. (2024). Literature Review: First Nations Language Education in NSW — Gumbaynggirr Daari Research Project [unpublished manuscript]. NSW Aboriginal Languages Trust.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bessarab, D., & Ng’andu, B. (2010). Yarning about Yarning as a legitimate method in Indigenous research. International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies, 3(1), 37–50. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dean, C. (2010). A yarning place in narrative histories. History of Education Review, 39(2), 6–13. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Denzin, N. K., Lincoln, Y. S., & Smith, L. T. (2008). Handbook of critical and indigenous methodologies. SAGE Publications, Inc., Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Devlin, B., Disbray, S., & Friedman Devlin, N. (Eds.). (2017). History of bilingual education in the Northern Territory: People, programs and policies. Language Policy: Vol. 12. Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
First Languages Australia. (2023). Jintangka marlpa jungu nyinanjaku: What is bilingual education? Report retrieved August 9, 2025 from [URL]
Firdaus, T. A. (2024). Accelerating Second Language Acquisition for Effective Strategies for Student. Jurnal Pendidikan Indonesia, 5(10), 1002 — 1013. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hart, M. A. (2010). Indigenous worldviews, knowledge, and research: The development of an Indigenous research paradigm. Journal of Indigenous Voices in Social Work, 1(1), 1–16. [URL]
Hobson, J., Lowe, K., Poetsch, S., & Walsh, M. (2010). Introduction: Re-awakening Australian Languages. In J. Hobson, K. Lowe, S. Poetsch, & M. Walsh (Eds), Re-awakening languages. Theory and practice in the revitalisation of Australian languages (pp xxv–xxix). Sydney University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Itania, A. (2014). Learning Strategies Used by the Student of Acceleration Class in Speaking English at MAN 3 Tulungagung. Implementation Science, 39(1), 1–15.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jadue Roa, D. (2017). Ethical issues in listening to young children in visual participatory research. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 21(3), 332–345. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Janis, I. L. (1972). Victims of groupthink: A psychological study of foreign- policy decisions and fiascoes. Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kovach, M. (2010). Conversational method in Indigenous research. First Peoples Child & Family Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Honoring the Voices, Perspectives, and Knowledges of First Peoples through Research, Critical Analyses, Stories, Standpoints, and Media Reviews, 5(1), 40–48. [URL]
(2020). Leader influence: A research review of French & Raven’s (1959) Power Dynamics. Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 13(2), Article 15. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kazar, S. A. (2013). Accelerating English Language Learning: Classroom Tools and Techniques.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
LaVeaux, D. & Christopher, S. (2009). Contextualizing CBPR: Key principles of CBPR meet the Indigenous research context. Pimatisiwin, 7(1), 1.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Leeson, S., Smith, C., & Rynne, J. (2016). Yarning and appreciative inquiry: The use of culturally appropriate and respectful research methods when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in Australian prisons. Methodological Innovations, 91. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lowe, K., & Walsh, M. (2009). California down under: Indigenous language revitalization in New South Wales, Australia. In W. Leonard, & E. Gardner (Eds.), Language is life: proceedings of the 11th Annual Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Conference (pp. 100 — 115). University of California, Berkeley. [URL]
Porsanger, J. (2004). An essay about Indigenous methodology. Nordlit, 8(1), 105–120. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sheehan, N., & Walker, P. (2001). The Purga project: Indigenous knowledge research. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 29(2), 11–17. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sheehan, N. W. (2011). Indigenous knowledge and respectful design: An evidence-based approach. Design Issues, 27(4), 68–80. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Smith, L. T. (2021). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Zed Books. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sullivan, S. (2022). Accelerated Second Language Acquisition and Endangered Language Revitalization. [URL]
Walter, M., & Suina, M. (2019). Indigenous data, Indigenous methodologies and Indigenous data sovereignty. International Journal of Social Research Methodology: Theory & Practice, 22(3), 233–244. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Webb, C. (2021). A Language Community Perspective on Adopting Accelerated Second Language Acquisition (ASLA) as the Primary Teaching Method of Gumbaynggirr. [URL]
Warner, S. (2001). The Movement to Revitalize Hawaiian Language and Culture. Hinton, L. & Hale, K. (Eds) in The Green Book of Language Revitalization in Practice. Academic Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Williams, D. H., & Shipley, G. P. (2023). Indigenous research methodologies: Challenges and opportunities for broader recognition and acceptance. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 111, 467–500. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Windchief, S. & Cummins, J. (2021). Considerations Indigenous methodologies: Bicultural accountability and the protection of community held knowledge. Qualitative Inquiry, 28(2), 151–164. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue