- [Denise] In Yarrabah, people were forcibly removed from their traditional lands. During the process, they were not allowed to speak their traditional languages. A language had developed in the community, a fusion of standard Australian English and their traditional languages, and it became a creole. In today's context it's called Yarrie Lingo. What is this?

- [Child] Water.

- Yeah? Where is the water? Is she at the beach or something?

- At Back Beach.

- Yeah, your Mum went out Back Beach, hey? Yeah, well that migloo was talking about Back Beach too, but he said it in a different language. Like you sounded like you were talking Yarrie Lingo, 'cause you're a little Yarrie girl, ey? We never correct the childrens when they're speaking Yarrie Lingo because that's the language that they were hearing since they were born, so we keep supporting them. And, bear in mind too, that the children are still developing their first language. So, that is important that they continue to learn through their home language. This is you? 'Cause you speak Yarrie Lingo and you're talking. "That's my brother. He looking at all a rainbow." But the migloo, saying the same thing, what you said, but in English, he's saying it like this. "That's my brother. He is looking at all the rainbows in the sky." It's about us acknowledging the child's first language and saying to them, you know, "You're a Yarrie girl. You live in Yarrabah. This is the language that you speak." And there's nothing wrong with that language. It's not a broken English. It doesn't need fixing. If you are able to speak Yarrie Lingo and standard Australian English at the same time that gives you an advantage. You know, you can tell when a relief teacher walks in and she comes in here and talks standard Australian English, you sort of see a lot of behavior problems being picked up. And they're not naughty, it's just that they haven't understood the teacher's standard Australian English. So that's why it's so important. As you've saw Neradin this morning when she was reading that story, a lot of times while she was reading that story she code switched a lot because there are often big words in those stories and the kids don't understand what that's about and also linking it back to community, their community experiences.

- [Teacher] Where you stay, what's your creek called?

- [Girl] It's in a mangrove. In a mangrove.

- [Teacher] You are so clever.

- [Child] Big dinosaur.

- Hey, look, Austin, say it's in a mangrove. Look. That look like mangrove? Where we get mangrove be where in Yarrabah? Austin, where you see a mangrove?

- [Austin] In the water.

- [Teacher] In the water? Which place? We got lotta mangrove we eh? We Yarrie, eh?

- [Kathryn] We work in three languages. We work in standard Australian English. And I attempt to speak that at all times to try and keep that division of language. Miss May and Miss Mary or Miss Mikley and our other teacher aids speak Yumplatok, which is sort of like the Torres Strait Island Creole, which is used throughout the region. There is also Kuku gal Ya, which is what they call a sleeping language. Some of the elders here speak it. It's part of the revitalization process that we're trying to start to incorporate that.

- What about this one? What's this one?

- [Child] Crocodile. What do we say in Yumplatok?

- [Children in Unison] Crocodile.

- [Kathryn] Crocodile.

- What about in Kuku gal Ya?

- [Children in Unison] Ka Dal.

- [Kathryn] Ka Dal. Well done.

- When we use those three languages, we always present them visually in three different colors. Standard Australian English is always in black. Yumplatok always in blue and the traditional language, Kuku gal Ya is always in red, and that's to try and make that distinction between those languages.

- At last, he felt cool, cool water on his hot, tired sandy body. And as he swam down, down, down, he knew. "It's the sea!" He sang, "It's the sea!"

- [Kathryn] And that's the end of our story.

- [May] Ms. Cathy was talking in English and I was talking in Yumplatok. Some of the things that we shared on the mart is the name of the animal like turtle and in Yumplatok, we speak tortle and in Kala lagaw Ya, that's in other community, we speak warow.

- [Kerri] I try to verbalize whether we're talking English or language, so the children can learn to swap between the two. Can you jiggle around like jellyfish jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, jiggle This time, can you find your own color square and sit down? Also, because Creole is quite similar to English it can be hard for the kids to know when they're hearing or speaking one or the other. So I make a point now saying, shall we sing "Good morning" in English first or language first? It's just a way of getting into their mind that that they're speaking two different languages. In fact, three, most days.