Every few weeks, at least one Indigenous language around the world dies, according to a report from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

More languages are reportedly being lost in Australia than in any other country, with more than half completely lost.

Ms Ellis is a Ngaatjatjarra educator, interpreter and linguist from Western Australia who has received the Australian Research Council Discovery Indigenous Grant to work with the ANU for three years.

In a few months she will assist winners of the ANU's Summer Scholarship program to manuscript dictionaries of several Aboriginal languages.

For the past few years Ms Ellis has been documenting, through audio and video, people speaking her language, and analysing the various speech dialects to save the richness of her language.

She is passionate about encouraging "complementary teaching" for Indigenous students, and said she is "writing up resources that our education department can use in the schools".

Ms Ellis believes Aboriginal children start kindergarten with insight not taught in schools, such as that of space, orientation, kinship, and narrative.

"We want our knowledge and skills to be incorporated with the white man's education," Ms Ellis said.

"You can save a language when you have support from all sides."

Professor Jane Simpson, of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, is also involved with the scholarship program.

It will consist of six dictionary projects that will document the native language, society, natural history, land and cultural traditions.

Dr Simpson believes this work is crucial to save a valuable part of Australia's heritage, and stresses the urgency on the government to fund programs that train language workers, interpreters and language teachers.

"It would give information to people who desperately need it through interpreters … [and] help provide resources for children to enrich their traditional language when at school."

This allocation of funding was a recommendation from an Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies report.

In the long term, Dr Simpson believes the programs would provide the materials for people to study Indigenous languages at a matriculation level.

The ANU's Summer Research Scholarship will run from November 23 to January 22.

Applications are open to all Australia-based university students through the Centre for the Dynamics of Language website