Undergraduate short program in teaching a second language in an Indigenous context

Published on January 7, 2014

As part of the Yawanda research project: Revitalization of the Huron-Wendat language (Dorais et al, 2007 à 2012), the First Nations Education Council (FNEC), on the initiative of Wendake school and with the collaboration of Pikogan school, asked UQAT in 2007 to develop a training program for teaching a second language in an Indigenous context. This language must be Indigenous and no longer spoken or threatened with extinction.

A program was developed in partnership and had everyone’s agreement. This joint effort provided the backdrop to the work of the core team (Y. da Silveira, G. Maheux, S. Basile, and Y. Sioui) in its interactions with educational representatives from the different First Nation communities (Huron-Wendat of Wendake, Innu of Mashteuiatsh, Atikamekw of Wemotaci and Manawan, Anicipapek of Lac-Simon, Kitcisakik, and Pikogan) who took part in the project. Through this joint effort, educational representatives from these communities had an opportunity to participate in identifying the First Nations’ special needs in terms of what makes up the program, its structure, and how it is delivered, thus helping customize the program to these needs. A memorandum of understanding was signed between UQAT and the FNEC to provide the short program, and an associated bipartite program management committee was set up to oversee it from 2008 to 2011.

The general goal of the Undergraduate short program in teaching a second language in an Indigenous context is to meet the professional needs of teachers who need to develop competencies to teach a second language in a context of diglossia, bilingualism, and biculturalism.

Six Innu and Huron-Wendat students graduated from the undergraduate short program in teaching a second language in an Indigenous context in 2011.

Head of the short program, since 2016: Maria-Lourdes Lira-Gonzales