La joie de la correspondance (by Dr Heather Phipps & Stéphanie Pain)

The guest blogger who joins regular BILD member Heather Phipps this week, Stéphanie Pain, tells us that she is “une enseignante et étudiante en Maîtrise à La Cité et à la Faculté d’éducation à l’Université de Regina en Saskatchewan. Je prépare une thèse en études curriculaire sous la direction de Dre Heather Phipps.” Fascinée par les langues, les cultures et civilisations du monde entier, Stéphanie a étudié les langues, lettres et civilisations anglophones à l’Université de Caen et la littérature afro-américaine et la linguistique à l’Université de LaCrosse, Wisconsin, avant de se spécialiser dans l’enseignement. Lorsqu’elle enseignait l’anglais dans un lycée en Normandie, elle s’est intéressée à la question de justice sociale en travaillant dans une classe en décrochage scolaire où elle a compris l’importance de valoriser les intelligences multiples des adolescent.es.  Cette expérience s’est révélée inestimable au cours de ses dix années d’enseignement en Colombie Britannique dans des classes primaires diverses. Au fil du temps, Stéphanie a ajusté son enseignement pour prendre en compte le fait que les élèves ont besoin de vivre en harmonie entre eux, avec la nature et leurs racines culturelles. C’est aussi le cas de ses deux enfants bilingues aux origines multiculturelles. Stéphanie vit désormais en Saskatchewan. Elle est passionnée par la nature, les arts, les sports de plein air, la lecture, les rencontres et l’enseignement !

Quand on reçoit un courrier par la poste ou un paquet, c’est vraiment spécial. On va le garder, le relire et le chérir. C’est quelque chose que nous avons appris à apprécier, surtout que nos familles habitent loin. C’est comme une surprise, un cadeau qui remplit le foyer de bonheur. On a l’impression de se rapprocher par l’entremise des mots, des cartes. Nous partageons ce goût pour l’écriture et les échanges, alors on voulait le transmettre à nos étudiant.es et élèves.

Cette année, avec nos cours en ligne à l’université, nous avons trouvé une façon de ralentir, d’exprimer la créativité, et d’établir des relations humaines plus personnalisées avec un échange de lettres envoyées par la poste. La correspondance entre une classe de 4ème année dans une école fransaskoise et un groupe d’étudiant.es au Bac en éducation française a dépassé nos attentes.

Lettre de Neckency
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¿Buscas libros? You’re in the right place! (by Daisy Martinez)

Instagram: @sk_spanishbookshelf

This week’s blog post includes a linked audio file. Just click on the link below if you would like to hear the post read aloud. Scroll down to read the text.

Our guest blogger this week, Daisy Martinez, tells us: I am currently working as a French Immersion, high school science teacher in Regina Saskatchewan. I completed a Bachelor of Science with a major in Biochemistry at the University of Saskatchewan before completing a Bachelor of Education at the University of Regina. I am currently in my second year of graduate studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina. My interests include heritage languages – particularly, the experiences and perspectives of Spanish speaking parents and their efforts in maintaining the Spanish language. Outside of university, I practice yoga and really enjoy quilting, hiking, and a good game of chess. I live with my husband and our sweet dog, Apollo.

My upbringing in Regina, Saskatchewan was in a bilingual household, and I can affirm that it takes a great deal of effort to prevent heritage language loss in an English-dominant society. My parents (first-generation immigrants from El Salvador) worked tirelessly to ensure that I learned to speak Spanish. To be honest, they worked tirelessly, period. Building one’s life from the ground up, learning a new language, and raising three children is no easy task. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and fortunately, my village was composed of many Spanish-speaking families, which helped me maintain my heritage language.

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On Be(come)ing a Critical English Language Teacher Researcher: A Personal Reflection (by Jennifer Burton)

We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are” ~ Anaïs Nin

It’s 2019. I am a second-year PhD student. I walk into a graduate course in Methods and Curriculum in TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages). This time I am not the student. I stand at the front of the classroom as the instructor. I say the following:

“Your languages and life experiences are welcome in this space—they all count! You are the experts in your own contexts. I am not here to lecture to you at the front of the classroom or to tell you what you must and must not do. I will present the current research in TESOL, and we will discuss the realities of taking up these concepts in your workspace. This will be a conversation.”

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li bon taan kineweytamihk: World Premiere of Riel’s Heart of the North (by Dr Heather Phipps)

Heather Phipps, affiliate BILD member, is now at the University of Regina. We have missed Heather’s blog posts, and look forward to more.

The performance of Riel’s Heart of the North at Conexus Arts Centre was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Dominic Gregorio and to his family.

The dramatic musical production of Riel’s Heart of the North had its world premiere on March 9th, 2019 in Regina, Saskatchewan. This creative work by Métis poet Dr. Suzanne Steele (Gaudry) and composer Neil Weisensel tells the story of Louis Riel (Métis) and in particular “focuses on the beauty and love of the homeland and of its people, the heart of the north”. In the programme for the performance, Dr. Suzanne Steele refers to drawing inspiration from the Métis feminist scholar Dr. Sherry Farrell Racette’s (2004) doctoral dissertation “Sewing ourselves together: clothing, decorative arts and the expression of Métis and Half Breed identity”.  Dr. Suzanne Steele’s (2019) creative work highlights the important role of Michif women in “sewing together” our country. Steele notes: “I devised the central themes of this work—the creating, the mending, the sewing, of the wounded of this world, but most importantly the beauty that comes from the love our women’s hands – this I celebrated.”

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