Tag Archives: university students

MOD #4 POST #5: College/ university Language programs in BC

Although the focus for the final project is K-12 education, I have come across this recent article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ubco-bacheclor-indigenous-language-fluency-program-1.5970694

Armstrong says the Bachelor of Nsyilxcn Language Fluency program she leads is Canada’s first ever degree program taught in an Indigenous language and is critical in keeping the endangered Nsyilxcn language alive.

Students can receive an Indigenous language fluency degree from UBCO in Nsyilxcn, an endangered language spoken among the peoples of the Okanagan Nation. Included in the program are language immersion courses and courses on revitalizing endangered languages. This program is part of a BC government initiative to create academic Indigenous language fluency programs in BC.

After reading the article, I was curious to see what university/ college-level courses are offered in British Columbia. I have come across a few programs and courses offered throughout BC:

The First Nations and Endangered Languages Program at UBC.

Language courses are offered along with language documentation and revitalization courses. By working with the Indigenous community, research into languages and creating educational materials to support Indigenous languages in BC.

https://fnel.arts.ubc.ca/

Indigenous languages program at Nicola Valley Institute of Technology.

Diploma and certificate programs both on-site and in the communities support the retention and maintenance of Indigenous languages. Advanced Diploma in Indigenous Language Teaching can be taken by diploma graduates to prepare students to teach in school settings.

https://www.nvit.ca/programs/indigenouslanguages.htm

Indigenous Language Fluency Certificate at North Island College

Kwak’wala and Nuu-chah-nulth immersion programs are available. Their goal is to support students expand their skills and support language revitalization in their communities.

https://calendar.nic.bc.ca/preview_program.php?catoid=3&poid=358

Indigenous language revitalization at UVIC.

Diploma, certificate, bachelors’ degree, and graduate-level programs available for Indigenous language revitalization. On-campus courses are offered as well as within language communities.

Students in UVic’s Indigenous language revitalization programs:

  • develop practical strategies for Indigenous languages to thrive and flourish

  • build language skills

  • conduct research

  • prepare to be teachers and interpreters

  • connect generations of Indigenous language speakers and educate future generations

  • curate oral histories

  • create new dictionaries, videos and apps

https://www.uvic.ca/education/areas-study/indigenous-language/index.php https://www.uvic.ca/about-uvic/about-the-university/indigenous-focus/indigenous-language-revitalization/index.php

Module 3 – Post 3

Hear the land speak, learn Indigenous ways, be embraced by Mother Earth, news article and YouTube video from the University of Calgary is a few years old but still relevant to the topic of Place Based Learning. The article and video both explain how a group of University of Calgary’s Werkland School of Education undergraduate students were invited to explore the sacred land of Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park. The land is, “A very personal place, a space where, for thousands of years, the Blackfoot people have lived and worked, celebrated and mourned – a place for worshipping and a place that is worshipped.”  I found this article very fitting with the past week’s Discussion 9 conversation that brought up Indigenous courses for university students. These students had a great opportunity to learn about the Blackfoot culture and history from Blackfoot Elder Randy Bottle. This experience allowed the students to learn the stories of Elder Bottles’ people, as well as their history and connection to the land. Elder Bottles says, “The land does speak to you, you just have to listen and to be very observant.” The students experienced floating down the river, hiking to the hoodoos, seeing the petroglyphs and learned about the significance of the land to the Blackfoot people. Within the article is a video of some of the students sharing their hands-on learning experience through a sharing circle. One quote really stood out for me, “It’s one thing to read about Indigenous culture in books, but it’s a whole other thing to be in the space and to learn from someone who is as knowledgeable as Elder Bottle.”

Werkland School of Education. (2017, November, 23). Writing on stone sharing circle. Werkland School of Education. [Video].YouTube. https://youtu.be/2KxpaclaMiI

University of Calgary. (2017, Nov. 23). Hear the land speak, learn Indigenous ways, be embraced by Mother Earth. UCalgary News. https://ucalgary.ca/news/hear-land-speak-learn-indigenous-ways-be-embraced-mother-earth