Three representatives from Holland College's Adult Education department recently returned from Chisasibi, a community of approximately 3,300 people located in Northern Quebec, where they were investigating the challenges for students in James Bay Eeyou School as they transition from learning in their native tongue to learning in English.

Joy MacDonald, coordinator for Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) and ESL programs at the college, and instructors Kathy Michalisyn and Nan Jeffrey were invited to Chisasibi to gain further insight into the issues that students and teachers alike are attempting to cope with as the children enter Grade 3.

"The school has 1,000 students attending kindergarten through to Grade 11," MacDonald explained. "They study kindergarten and Grades 1 and 2 in Cree, and then switch to English or French at the Grade 3 level," she said.

"This is where the challenges are really tough, as teachers are trying to teach a regular curriculum to students for whom English or French is their second language. We were invited to the school to help the teachers and parents adopt strategies that would help the children during this transitional period."

Chisasibi was originally located on the island of Fort George, but was relocated to the mainland in 1980-81. The community has been undergoing tremendous cultural, economic and social changes since its relocation, MacDonald explained, changes that cause extra stress in the classroom.

"The Cree are fascinating people, very gentle and with a tremendous sense of humour; but at the same time, they are experiencing many frustrations and difficulties as a displaced nation," she said.

The three spent the beginning of their week visiting the classrooms, talking to students, parents and teachers, and getting familiar with the customs of the Cree. They met with parents, and spent two days conducting workshops to teachers in the English program, introducing them to the philosophy and methodology used in Holland College's ESL programs.

MacDonald said the teachers were very receptive to the information, and teachers from the French programs approached her to discuss techniques to help children adapt as they move from their mother tongue to learning in French.

Many schools in northern Quebec have abandoned Cree in the class room, MacDonald said; but the residents of Chisasibi are committed to keeping their language alive. Consequently, although many of the children speak English or French, they are not taught to read or write in either language until they enter Grade 3.

MacDonald doesn't think that the use of Cree for the first few school years is really an issue, though.

"It's not the use of Cree that was causing the problems," she said. "It was the way the students were being introduced to the second language when they entered Grade 3."

The Holland College ESL team have been invited back to Eeyou School in April to find out how teachers and students are progressing, and next fall to meet with teachers of the higher grades.

In this picture: Joy MacDonald, coordinator for Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada and ESL programs at Holland College and children from the James Bay Eeyou School, located in northern Quebec, enjoy a breath of fresh arctic air.