Caregivers Intro to Inuktitut

Service Description

This 10-hour introductory course is tailored to the absolute beginner, with very little or no previous knowledge of Inuktitut*. The course is delivered in English. The goal of this course is to promote relationship building and knowledge of Inuktitut in the home, improve pronunciation, and increase confidence to start using some Inuktitut words and terms. It is targeted toward non-Inuktitut speakers providing care for Inuit children and youth, like foster and adoptive parents, as well as caregiving professionals. Content includes: - Relationship building through the use of Inuktitut in the home - Familiarity with and correct pronunciation of common words in the home, kinship terms, diminutives (child-specific or "nursery" words), and elements of nature - Familiarity with geography, dialects, and place names across Inuit homelands - Navigating simple greetings and practising good etiquette in Inuktitut - Tools for good pronunciation - Phonological awareness: develop the ability to “sound out” new Inuktitut words on your own - Introduction to the Inuktut writing system: syllabics and Roman orthography - Cultural competency: understand how speed of speech, eye contact, speech latency and body language fit within language learning and relationship building - Secrets of polyglots: strategies for learning new languages - Resources for further learning *Inuktitut is the Inuit language spoken in the Qikiqtaaluk and Kivalliq regions of Nunavut as well as Nunavik. It is a common form of Inuktut spoken by Inuit in Southern Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba.