Tag Archives: Univeristy

Module 1: Post 5: Hawaiian Language Immersion

I have been gaining interest in language revitalization.  One of the most successful places in creating a language revolution is Hawaii.

This website is a news article featuring some of the first graduates from Nawahi, the first Hawaiian Immersion University.  It began as a pilot program driven by Hawaiian activists, the entire curriculum was instructed in Hawaiian but there would not be fully qualified professors teaching when the University first started in 2001.

The article focused on a girl named Kuuwehi Hiraishi, who is currently 28.  It is difficult enough graduating from an English program to find jobs in your qualified field.  However Hirasihi was able to graduate in journalism and found a job as a news reporter with the Hawaii News Now Sunrise newspaper in the Hawaiian language news segment.

In an interview with Hiraishi, she was proud  to say she is able to use her language in her career and  the skills she learned in University.  She was also confident to say that she thinks careers in her language will become more and more available for students as they graduate from Nawahu University.

Hawaii has used technology as a way to help revitalize the Hawaiian language.  This example allows hope for other Indigenous cultures to create educational programs in their own language and use technology such as radio broadcasting to keep their languages from disappearing.

http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/March-2012/Na-Puka-Kula-Hawaiian-Immersion-Graduates/index.php