Yalbilinya

Yalbilinya: The First Nations Languages Education Workforce Strategy (2023) was the culmination of a three-year research project that looked at the needs of language educators. The research project examined some transformative and innovative teaching programs in various communities. Central to all First Nations language learning activities is their dependence on a small, passionate and highly skilled network of language educators who are entrusted by their communities to share and transfer their ancestral languages, and the knowledge contained within. With only a few people recognised in each Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to perform this role, the need for support infrastructures both within communities and the education sector is urgent. This article expands on programs shared by three communities, from the Yawuru, Pertame and Dharug communities in their own voices. Foregrounding these stories in research that demonstrates the connection between language and wellbeing, we argue for investment in Indigenous language workforce planning. The Yalbilinya project provides a platform for communities to share their own strategies of language strengthening and is extended in this paper to emphasise the need for investment in adult language learners to enable progress towards the self-determined aims of each community.