Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Certificate Program in Aboriginal Language Revitalization: En'owkin Center and the University of Victoria

A partnership program of the En'owkin Centre and the University of Victoria, Department of Linguistics and Division of Continuing Studies

Join us for Summer 2009 Courses at the En'owkin Centre,
Penticton, BC and at the University of Victoria, Victoria BC

Build your understanding of language revitalization issues and challenges while developing practical strategies that strengthen your capacity to preserve and revitalize threatened languages. This program is designed to honour traditional knowledge and practices, to recognize and accommodate the realities and needs of diverse communities, and to provide a foundation for both language revitalization activities and for further study in linguistics, education, and/or cultural resource management.

Summer Institutes are designed to bring participants together in dynamic, interactive workshop sessions in the warm and welcoming environment of the En'owkin Centre in Penticton, BC and at the beautiful University of Victoria campus. You can take the two institutes in different years or you can do them back-to-back in a single summer. Completing them back-to-back will enable you to finish the program quickly and is likely to qualify you for educational funding within your community.

Summer 2009 Courses at the En'owkin Centre,
Penticton, British Columbia:

Introductory Linguistics for Language Revitalization
(LING 181, 1.5 units)

This course provides an introduction to topics in the study of language and linguistics as a foundation for understanding language revitalization. Topics include the nature of sound systems and how they relate to orthographies, word structures and dictionaries, sentence structures and understanding texts, meaning and vocabulary, linguistic aspects of language acquisition, and historical change. The course will help develop understanding of the languages targeted for revitalization, and will provide exposure to linguistic concepts and reference materials.

Instructor: Dr. Ewa Czaykowska-Higgins has studied Salish languages since 1981. She is Principal Investigator of the SSHRC-funded Community-University Research Alliance grant for language revitalization in Vancouver Island Salish Communities awarded to the University of Victoria in partnership with the Saanich Native Heritage Society, the Hul'q'umi'num' Treaty Group, and the First People's Heritage, Language and Culture Council. Her recent work has focused on ethical issues in linguistic fieldwork, and on best practices in community-based and community-directed research partnerships. Currently, Ewa is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Victoria and the Academic Advisor for the Certificate in Aboriginal Language Revitalization.

Dates: May 25–30, 2009

Language Revitalization Principles and Practices
(LING 180, 3.0 units)

Explore the profound cultural dynamics associated with language loss, along with contemporary issues, principles, and best practices in the preservation and revitalization of Aboriginal Languages in Canada and around the world. This course explores the social, political, and psychological dynamics that impact Aboriginal languages, along with the factors influencing language maintenance, loss and revival.

Instructor: Iehnhotonkwas/Bonnie Jane Maracle is from the Wolf Clan of the Kanien'keha:ka and was born, raised, and presently resides on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, which is one of eight communities comprising the Mohawk Nation. She is currently completing her PhD at Trent University with her research area being Language Revitalization, and she also teaches in the Faculty of Education, Queens University.

Dates: June 1–13, 2009

Summer 2009 Courses at the University of Victoria,
Vancouver Island, BC:

Language Learning and Teaching in Situations of Language Loss
(LING 182, 1.5 units)

Analyze principles of language learning and language acquisition in situations of language loss, and examine practical and appropriate ways in which a range of formal and informal approaches to language teaching can be utilized in Aboriginal community settings. Course topics include forms of language acquisition, teaching and learning strategies, how strategies are related to community needs and goals, and the role of community and community members in teaching and learning.

Instructor: Dr. Bernice Touchie has been an instructor and Principal for the Ucluelet First Nation. She has been involved with the coordination of language revitalization programs in British Columbia for the Ditidaht and Ucluelet First Nations and the Ha-Ho-Payak Society in Port Alberni, and has managed multi-tribal language revitalization for Nuu-chah-nuulth Tribal Council. She has researched indigenous languages and social development and has published on the Ditidaht (Nitinaht) language and on language learning for First Nations students.
Dates: August 4–8, 2009

Field Methods for Language Preservation and Revitalization
(LING 183, 3.0 units)

This course introduces planning strategies, protocols, and methods of data collection, analysis, and organization appropriate for field activities associated with language preservation and revitalization. Focus on strategies for community involvement, project planning, protocols, ethical and intellectual property issues, use of technology in language documentation, techniques for language study with elders, interview and data recording methods, documentation and database management, and approaches to sharing information.

Instructor: Dr. Strang Burton has been employed with the Stó:lo– Nation language program for over 10 years. He worked with Stó:lo– elders and other staff to help produce two textbooks on the Halq'emeylem language, one digital dictionary, a number of interactive CD-ROMs and courses in the language.
Dates: August 10–22, 2009

Fee: $1,116.20 (includes $916.20 tuition and $200 program and materials fee)

Participation Options

These classes are open to anyone interested in preserving aboriginal languages. You may register in all or a portion of the courses this summer to begin studies in the Certificate program, or take courses on an individual basis for credit or non-credit.F

or more information on the courses and for fees and accommodation information, please visit our website or contact:

Anissa Paulsen
Certificate Program in Aboriginal Language Revitalization
Division of Continuing Studies, University of Victoria
Tel: 250-721-6119
Fax: 250-721-8774
Email: calr@uvcs.uvic.ca
Website: http://www.continuingstudies.uvic.ca/calr

Comments from past participants:

"The program has made a huge difference in my life! I feel the strength that comes with knowledge and I can now go home … to promote revitalization in my community."

"It has re-energized my thought and spirit …"

"Not only have most of the staff graduated or are about to graduate but some of the adult immersion programs here have also benefitted by taking the courses. We have three adult immersion programs running. This program has brought our staff together in our overall vision for our school immersion JK-12 program and has helped us in the development of new curriculum. We are also working closely with other communities and sharing our resources. While we did do this before the course work it has taken on a new importance in our revitalization efforts. Collectively, we are all in this campaign of Revitalizing languages and the CALR program is an excellent start for any Aboriginal language community."

Related Indigenous People's Issues by Keywords



Use the Search Function at the Top to Find More Articles, Fellowships, Conferences, Indigenous Issues, Book Reviews, and Resources

No comments:

Post a Comment

Contribute to Indigenous People's Issues Today

Do you have a resource on indigenous peoples that you would like to share? Indigenous People's Issues is always looking for great new information, news, articles, book reviews, movies, stories, or resources.

Please send it along and we will do a feature. Email it to the Editor, Peter N. Jones: pnj "at" bauuinstitute.com.

Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources

Privacy Policy for Indigenous Peoples Issues Today (http://indigenousissuestoday.blogspot.com)

The privacy of our visitors to Indigenous Peoples Issues Today is important to us.

At Indigenous Peoples Issues Today, we recognize that privacy of your personal information is important. Here is information on what types of personal information we receive and collect when you use visit Indigenous Peoples Issues Today, and how we safeguard your information. We never sell your personal information to third parties.

Log Files

As with most other websites, we collect and use the data contained in log files. The information in the log files include your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as AOL or Shaw Cable), the browser you used to visit our site (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox), the time you visited our site and which pages you visited throughout our site.

Cookies and Web Beacons

We do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site. This could include only showing you a pop-up once in your visit, or the ability to login to some of our features, such as forums.

We also use third party advertisements on Indigenous Peoples Issues Today to support our site. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google AdSense program) information including your IP address, your ISP, the browser you used to visit our site, and in some cases, whether you have Flash installed. This is generally used for geotargeting purposes (showing New York real estate ads to someone in New York, for example) or showing certain ads based on specific sites visited (such as showing cooking ads to someone who frequents cooking sites). Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on this site. Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to users based on their visit to sites on the Internet. Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy.

You can chose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in programs such as Norton Internet Security. However, this can affect how you are able to interact with our site as well as other websites. This could include the inability to login to services or programs, such as logging into forums or accounts.

Thank you for understanding and supporting Indigenous Peoples Issues Today. We understand that some viewers may be concerned that ads are sometimes served for companies that negatively depict indigenous peoples and their cultures. We understand this concern. However, there are many legitimate companies that utilize Google Adwords and other programs to attract visitors. Currently, we have no way of deciphering between the two - we leave it up to the viewer to decide whether the companies serving ads are honest or not.