Welcome Sophie!

Sophie Hogarth

Can you please introduce yourself? 

Hello, my name is Sophie and I’m from the beautiful island of Lutruwita (Tasmania). I grew up here but have spent many years working away in Western Australia. I first went here to teach and ended up retraining in linguistics, where I was lucky enough to live on country and work alongside Martu community in Pilbara and the Miriwoong mob in the Kimberely region.

What inspired you to get involved in language work? 

I developed a deep interest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages during my time teaching in a community school in Punmu, located in the western desert. I loved learning how engaged and passionate the Martu community was about keeping language strong for their children and ensuring their children accessed a culturally responsive education. It was during this time that I saw how much children flourished when connected to their language, country, and culture and how critical this was for their wellbeing and identity. Every child has a right to learn and speak their language and, it’s this belief, that motivated me to pursue language work and a career dedicated to preserving and revitalising Australia’s endangered languages.

Can you tell us a bit about your linguistics journey? Or about the language work you’ve been a part of?  

While I was teaching, I enrolled in a Masters of Applied Linguistics online and eventually moved into a language coordinator role at the school. Here I worked alongside an incredible team of Martu teachers to develop a revival language program, as well as strategies to ensure students could learn through their first language too.  My passion for education and working alongside multilingual communities is what attracted me to the Language Nest Program at Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring in Kununurra, where I was employed as Languages Education Facilitator. Here I supported a community of dedicated Miriwoong teachers in the preparation and delivery of Miriwoong language program from Kindergarten to Year 6.

What are your hopes and aspirations for working at Living Languages? 

The two-way learning involved in this role is something I am so grateful for. The opportunity to learn and exchange skills and knowledge with trainees is a prospect I am so excited about.  Along with the awesome team here at Living Languages who bring a wealth and diversity of experience to the organisation. As a team, we are so committed to growing and learning from each other. Working together and sharing ideas is something I find really inspiring and is something I hope to continue fostering in this role.     

You’ve done a range of different work – is there something you’re most proud of? Or could you share a few highlights? 

A huge highlight was supporting a few of the amazing Miriwoong teachers through their Aboriginal Languages Teacher training course, delivered through the Department of Education. The course took nearly three years and they worked so hard! Watching the team develop their language and teaching skills was inspiring, but most beautiful was seeing their belief and confidence in themselves grow - they should be so proud of themselves, and they forever make me smile.