Do Aboriginal students benefit from education in their heritage language? results from a ten-year program of research in Nunavik / Donald M. Taylor, Stephen C. Wright [electronic resource]

A ten-year program of research is described that focused on the merits of a bilingual education program for Inuit children in arctic Quebec (Nunavik). The research involved formal language surveys, and experimental procedures to assess children’ intellectual abilities, their self-esteem, and the consequences of being schooled in their heritage language (Inuttitut) for Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2. The results indicate that Inuttitut is strong in the community but is being undermined by the growing use of English, and to some extent, French. Inuit students perform very well on standardized tests of intelligence, and those exposed to Inuttitut as a language of instruction outperform those in the English or French program. Finally, those in the Inuttitut program are hate only ones to show significant gains in self-esteem.