Language and identity in an Indigenous teacher education program

The Inuit Bachelor of Education (IBED) and the associated Inuktitut language training, developed by the Nunatsiavut Government, has been an opportunity to explore the relationships between cultural identity and learning an Indigenous heritage language as a second language. Language holds the collective knowledge of a group and cultural identity is one's own perception of connection to the group. A group of preservice teachers are being interviewed twice a year for three years. This study uses narrative methods to give voice to the pre-service teachers' experiences through their personal stories of learning Inuktitut. The narratives thus far reflect how language learning may contribute to an increased awareness of, and connection to, one's Indigenous group. The strengthening of cultural identity can enhance wellbeing, which has implications for the learning of these pre-service teachers and the impact on their future students. This is a preliminary report from the on-going research.