Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Lessons in the Language -MIP

Reversing the decline of language in First Nations communities
The Mi'kmaq immersion program (MIP) at Eskasoni School in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, [is] now in its 14th year. It started in 2000, and is based on the early exit model of immersion. Starting in kindergarten, students are totally immersed in Mi'kmaw language until Grade 4, at which point they are transitioned into the English program. Within a period of 10 months, they are expected to achieve a level of fluency in English on par with that of the English language program students. The MIP is part of a growing trend in First Nations language immersion, whose aim is to reverse the decline of language in First Nations communities.

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