Australia prides of being home to two indigenous peoples, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; each comprising of diverse nations that follow different cultures and traditions (Communicating positively: a guide to appropriate Aboriginal terminology, 2004). Before European Invasion, each nation of the Aboriginal people spoke in their unique language whose terminologies were defined by their traditions. The invasion however not only stripped the Indigenous people of their land but also eroded them of their traditional languages.

According to Communicating positively: a guide to appropriate Aboriginal terminology (2004), the Aboriginal people were forced to speak English which caused an enormous erosion of their culture. However, the Aboriginal Community and Development Program (ACMDP) brought new hope for the Aboriginal language, upon adopting the ‘Aboriginal Terms of Reference’ (Oxenham, 1999). These reference terms have been instrumental in imparting the education curriculum in Aboriginal learning institutions.

Since the inception of the ‘Aboriginal Terms of reference,’ I have developed a great knowledge of the traditional Aboriginal language which I, as an educator, shall impart to the modern Aboriginal students. To begin with, I have learned different traditional Aboriginal terminologies, values and principles and therefore, when teaching about the historical and modern policies and cultures of the Aboriginal people to students, I shall compare the definition of certain terms in both modern and traditional concepts of the Aboriginal people. An example of such would be the term ‘nation.’ While nation in the modern context refers to a country, the Aboriginal people view the term as a group of culturally distinct individuals from a particular area (Communicating positively: a guide to appropriate Aboriginal terminology, 2004). Moreover, in my pedagogy, I shall venture into the traditional structure of the Aboriginal people characterized by clans, communities, nations, mobs, and tribes to educate my students on their historic structures. My experience has further taught me that Traditional values and principles were quite effective among the Aboriginal people, and as a result, I shall impart relevant ones into my teaching curriculum.

Diversity in the languages of the different nations among the Aboriginal People shall prove a challenge in the imparting indigenous education among my students of both indigenous and non-indigenous ancestry. As a result of this, my teaching technique shall be based on commonality. According to Yunkaporta (2009), although the Aboriginal languages are distinct and possess their structures and values, they also have a lot in common. Moreover, the Aboriginal idea of balance advocates for finding a commonality with non-Aboriginal members too. This shall be enforced using some of the ways provided by Yunkaporta (2009).

The first way entails story sharing and shall involve granting an opportunity to all students to share their unique stories based on their background and culture. Secondly, I would develop a map to guide the students on the syllabus for the whole term, to facilitate prior preparation. To ensure that each student interprets and comprehends a concept in their indigenous language, I would employ non-verbal means of communication such as gestures and expressions. I would also apply the use of images and symbols to facilitate individual interpretation based on my student’s distinct backgrounds.

Despite being highly conversant with the Aboriginal traditions, I would employ strategies to ensure that all my students gain quality knowledge in the taught curriculum. This shall be facilitated by minimizing the collision of cultures between my Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal students. While my pedagogy would be of pro-Aboriginal Culture, I would also encourage my Aboriginal students to learn more about the culture and traditions of the non-Aboriginal counterparts, with the aim of increasing their academic knowledge. An integrated teaching strategy would lead to high retention, graduation, and participation of all students, especially those of Aboriginal descent (Coulby et al., 2013).