Buenos Aires, Argentina. With Basque clubs closed by the quarantine, in countries like the ones in the Southern Cone, where the school year follows the natural year and begins after in March/April, the beginning of face-to face classes, including Euskera classes, has been pushed back. It has taken some days, even some weeks, but Basque students and teachers have “worked for it,” facing the end of face-to-face activities, many Basque clubs have adapted and begun their classes, in record time, virtually.
In Argentina, FEVA has provided teaching materials from “Euskara Munduan” for its Basque clubs and teachers, so that they can share it with their students and use it online. Thanks to this, since the beginning of April, many Basque clubs have started teaching online, with others following suit finalizing the technical and material organization, as well as groups according to level.
In Basque club like those in Viedma, San Nicolás, Santa Rosa, Bahía Blanca, Rosario, Buenos Aires (Euskaltzaleak and Laurak Bat), Córdoba (Gerora) and La Plata (both the Euzko Etxea and the lectureship at the UNLP), online courses have already begun.
In Uruguay, courses organized by FIVU and a new online course from the Etxepare Institute have already begun on HABE’s platform. They are also taking advantage of this particular context to organize videoconferences that will include the participation of Basque speakers from places like Barcelona, Madrid and the Basque Country. In Chile, classes haven’t started yet, but they are making advances in solving some of the challenges created by this situation in the best way possible.
The tools used for these online gathering vary including Skype and Zoom, or platforms like uploading material and exercises for students to Moodle or Google Classroom, or simply sending material by mail, and communicating with the groups via WhatsApp. One way or another, each Basque club offers the proposal that best suits its possibilities and those of its students.
Thanks to the Basque clubs’ effort and that of their teachers and students it is possible to continue studying Basque from home during this time of isolation until the confinement ends.
“Thank you to everyone who is participating in this collective effort, with the tools at their disposal, with the common goal and active commitment to our language and culture, that no virus, no matter how Corona, can stop us,” the head of a Basque club told EuskalKultura.eus, proud of the adaptive effort of their youth and older members to face the current health crisis.
NOTE: If your Basque club is also teaching online, please let us know in the comment section.
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