Creating a Home Kit for Teaching Tłı̨chǫ Language: Starting with Input from Parents and Educators

Main Article Content

Nazila Eisazadeh
Erica McDonald
Shannon Wedawin
Suchitra Yadav
Gloria Francis
Shelley Stagg Peterson

Abstract

Indigenous early childhood educators (ECEs), who are interns in Aurora College’s Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Diploma program, conducted collaborative action research with university researchers to learn about ways to support children’s Indigenous language and culture learning and to gain research experience, skills and knowledge as part of their professional learning within the program and as part of the partnership that the ELCC program has with the University of Toronto’s Northern Oral language and Writing through Play (NOW Play) Partnership Project. The research addresses a legacy of the residential school system and other colonialist policies and practices - that some parents and caregivers of Indigenous children have not experienced intergenerational transmission of their ancestral language and are not fluent speakers. We present the findings of interviews with 18 Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers, parents and ECEs in Denendeh/Northwest Territories. Inductive analysis of interview transcripts revealed four types of language learning strategies that interview participants used with children or had used to learn a language: singing that focuses on actions, rhythm and melody; accessing language through environmental print; accessing a language speaker; and hearing language in context in media and digital apps. From these themes, the ECEs developed experiential-based Home Kits for teaching and learning of Indigenous languages at home.

Article Details

How to Cite
Eisazadeh, N., McDonald, E., Wedawin, S., Yadav, S., Francis, G., & Stagg Peterson, S. (2022). Creating a Home Kit for Teaching Tłı̨chǫ Language: Starting with Input from Parents and Educators. Xàgots’eèhk’ǫ̀ Journal, 1(1), 69–83. Retrieved from https://xagotseehkojournal.com/index.php/xgsk/article/view/4131
Section
Culture, Language, Way of Life