YNLC Activities Report, May 2001 1

This spring has been an exceptionally busy one for the Language Centre, as eight teacher training and literacy sessions were conducted. Four native language teachers and two YNLC staff members also attended the Education Act Review Committee hearings to present their report outlining concerns about the future of native language teaching in the ter-ritory. And work progressed in other areas.

Native Language Teacher Training

Because of unusually high enrollment, YNLC once again offered two Certifi cate training sessions this spring. The fi rst session, held March 26 to 30, was attended by fourteen participants representing fi ve Athapaskan languages. In addition to Yukon participants, two visitors attended from NWT and two from Alaska. One of the visi-tors, Salvador Luke from Dot Lake, Alaska, shared traditional Tanacross songs with the group, while Linda Harvey, who teaches at Hidden Valley Elementary in White-horse, shared Southern Tutchone songs.

New instructor trainee Amanda Sam from Pelly Crossing, who is joining Alyce Joe in team-teaching adult classes in Northern Tutchone, also attended this session.

ACTIVITIES REPORT — MAY 2001

Gordon Joe and Charlene Hume display the prizes they won for humour-in-writing at the April 10-12, 2001, Southern Tutchone Literacy Training session.

YNLC Activities Report, May 2001 2

Amanda is a graduate of the language program at Pelly School, where she was taught by her grandmother, the late Kitty Jonathan, and by Rachel Tom Tom (now retired).

The second Certifi cate training session was held April 23 to 27, with thirteen participants attending representing four Athapaskan languages and Tlingit. Partic-ipants included two visitors from British Columbia, as well as Gerald Dickson of Burwash and Randall Kendi of Old Crow. They will be two of the three certifi cate graduates this June, along with William Firth of Tsiigehtchic, NWT. During the shar-ing session Gerald showed a video in Southern Tutchone he had developed with the co-operation of the community’s elders. The training session ended with an immer-sion-style lesson taught entirely in Gwich’in by Randall Kendi.

Both training sessions focused on teaching methodology, language structure, and professionalism, with a variety of teaching activities being demonstrated and prac-tised. Each session concluded with demonstration lessons taught by the partici-pants.

The Certifi cate course requires three years of training and teaching experience to complete. It is accredited by Yukon College, and graduates of the program receive Yukon College certifi cates.

Community Language Instructor Training

A training session was offered from February 20 to 22 for current and potential lan-guage instructors teaching in a variety of community pro-grams, including daycare and pre-school, adult drop-in, and band offi ce classes. Seventeen participants attended repre-senting both Northern and Southern Tutchone languages, including fl uent speakers, stu-dents, and beginning learners. Participants practised listening exercises, learned instructional techniques, and took part in a variety of teaching and literacy activities.One of the participants, Trish Hirsch, is herself a grad-uate of the native language program in the schools, having studied at F.H. Collins with Margaret Workman. Gerald Dickson works with Trish Hirsch during the Community

Language Instructor Session, February 20-22, 2001.

YNLC Activities Report, May 2001 3

White River First Nation Training Session

A session for White River First Nation participants from both Upper Tanana and Northern Tutchone language groups was held from February 28 to March 2. Seven-teen participants practised listening exercises and language drills, participated in active literacy methods, and discussed kinship charts and family history.

Literacy Training

A Tlingit literacy session was held February 14 to 16, with guest instructor Dr. Jeff Leer from the Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Eleven participants took part in intensive speaking and writing practice, including the development of listening exercises and teaching materials for classroom use, and checked words for the Tlingit dictionary.

A Southern Tutchone literacy session was held from April 10 to 12. The workshop was attended by sixteen people, including fl uent speakers, students, and beginning learners. Activities included listening exercises to practise vowel sounds and tones. Participants also reviewed alphabet charts, practised reading, and translated story books into different dialects.

A Kaska in-service workshop for seven native language instructors and interested community members was held April 18 to 20. Participants practised listening exer-cises and reading, and carried out translations of materials.

A Northern Tutchone literacy session took place from May 9 to 11, with 19 par-ticipants. The sessions focused on translation and reading practice, and on teaching methods connected with literacy.

Participants at the April 2001 Kaska Literacy Session (l-r): Aggie Magun, Josephine Ack-lack, Jo-Anne Johnson, Margaret Workman, Annie Pete, Barbara Morris, Grady Sterriah, Doris Bob and Dennis Porter.

YNLC Activities Report, May 2001 4

School Visits

Jo-Anne Johnson, Rural Programs Coordinator, continued her visits to the com-munities, observing in classrooms and checking materials. From January 22 to 24 she visited Watson Lake together with Doug Hitch, YNLC linguist and computer specialist, who installed Kaska computer story books on the school and band offi ce computers. Jo-Anne met with teachers Barbara Morris and Aggie Magun at Johnson Elementary and Linda McDonald and Mida Donnessey at Watson Lake High School, as well as with school principals. She also met with the education director at the Liard First Nation band offi ce, and visited their daycare language classes.

Urban Programs Coordinator Margaret Workman visited F.H. Collins Secondary and Elijah Smith Elementary to observe classes, and observed language teacher trainees Linda Harvey at Hidden Valley Elementary and Dorothy Bellerose at Porter Creek Secondary.

Presentation to the Education Act Review Hearings

Four native language teachers—Lorraine Allen, Margaret Bob, Linda Harvey, and Barbara Morris—as well as staff members Margaret Workman and Jo-Anne John-son attended the Yukon Education Act Review Hearings on January 10 to present a report they had prepared on the future of native language teaching in the schools. The report outlined the history of aboriginal language instruction in the schools and addressed a number of concerns and recommendations, including the need to create

CYFN Grand Chief Ed Schultz meeting with native language teachers, consulting on the Education Act Review (l-r): Linda Harvey, Ed Schulz, Lorraine Allen, Barbara Morris, Marga-ret Bob, Margaret Workman, Jo-Anne Johnson.

YNLC Activities Report, May 2001 5

more trainee teacher positions and maintain the integrity of existing positions. The committee responded attentively to the report and asked for clarifi cation in some areas. A fi rst draft of the committee’s written report will be available in the near future.

Presentations

On April 6 Margaret Workman and Jo-Anne Johnson made a presentation to French immersion monitors on the work of YNLC and its materials. Participants were shown sample teaching materials and took part in a language lesson in South-ern Tutchone.

Margaret, Jo-Anne and Linda Harvey also made a presentation to the Hidden Valley school committee on April 17 to explain the benefi ts of learning a second lan-guage. Participants took part in a demonstration lesson and were shown sample materials.On May 23, Margaret Workman and Doug Hitch ran a display at the career fair at the conference Centre in Haines Junc-tion. Organized by the Champagne and Aishihik First Nation, the event gave local students from grade 7 to 12 the opportu-nity to learn about careers with a variety of Yukon organizations.On a rainy May 29, Margaret Workman and Jo-Anne Johnson show-cased YNLC’s work in a tent near the barbecue pit at Yukon College. The event was the First Nation Culture & Heritage Lun-cheon, at the national con-ference, Human Rights: Under One Sky, hosted by the Canadian Associa-tion of Statutory Human Rights Agencies.

2000 Graduates of the Yukon College Native Language Instructor Certifi cate program: Mabel Henry, Agnes Winzer, Vivian Smith.

YNLC Activities Report, May 2001 6

Language Conference

From April 2 to 4 Margaret Workman and Jo-Anne Johnson attended Bringing Your Language to Life, a conference on native language teaching techniques with an emphasis on immersion.

Website Update

YNLC’s website is now linked to newspaper articles in local media and also con-tains activity reports about the Centre. Both text and pictures are incorporated into the website: www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/ynlc

New Materials

Demand for teaching materials is increasing, with sales of language lesson tapes and literacy booklets up. Six new versions of Drying Fish and nine new versions of At Home were published this spring, in both story booklet format and on CD. Eleven language lesson booklets in Northern Tutchone, Southern Tutchone, Hän, Gwich’in, and Tlingit have been reprinted with new covers.

A new Tlingit language CD in the Teslin dialect, They Say (Yú.á) recorded by Emma Sam, will be available from Aboriginal Language Services in May. Recording and production of this CD is a combined project of YNLC and Aboriginal Language Services under the “One House of Language” philosophy of the Council of Yukon First Nations. YNLC provided computer expertise and Dr. Jeff Leer of the Alaska Native Language Centre checked the CD for accuracy.

Doug Hitch also worked with computer specialist Felix Vogt on data base pro-gramming. Among other things, this work allows word list sorting of the Tlingit noun dictionary according to the complex Tlingit alphabet. This is the fi rst time anywhere such sorting has been possible.

Graduation

Yukon College will hold its graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 9, 2001. Three certifi cates and one diploma will be awarded to students completing courses at YNLC.

Graduates of the Native Language Instructor Certifi cate Course are:Mr. Gerald Dickson (Southern Tutchone) BurwashMr. William G. Firth (Gwich’in) Tsiigehtchic, NTMr. Randall Kendi (Gwich’in) Old Crow

The graduate of the Native Language Instructor Diploma Course is:Ms. Bertha Moose (Southern Tutchone) Whitehorse

The Centre staff is very proud of these individuals who have worked so hard to complete their training at Yukon College and in their home communities. We join family and friends in congratulating them on their achievements.

At the ceremony, the presentations of documents will be made jointly by Mr. Gerald Brown, Councilor, Champagne-Aishihik FN, and Ms. Betty Sjodin, Gwich’in Elder. Mr. William Firth will offer an opening prayer in Gwich’in and English.