euskalkultura.eus

The intensive Euskara Munduan course began last Saturday in Villa Maria, Cordoba (Argentina) and will run through Saturday at noon leading to the teachers to a meeting as part of the activity.  Supported by HABE and organized by FEVA and the local Euzko Etxea, the barnetegi will gather students and teachers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. 

Villa Maria, Argentina.   Students in the Euskara Munduan program in South America who began training in 2013 have once again met in 2015 and now for the first time in Villa Maria, Province of Cordoba.

The intensive course or barnetegi follows the model of previous events and aims to strengthen the communicative practices, not only in the classroom but also in extra-curricular activities.  That is why during the course they reinforce and practice thematic unites that the students work on week to week online. 

Since 2013 to Present

The Euskara Munduan program that HABE used to train Basque teachers outside of the Basque Country has an Argentina edition from gathers representatives of various Basque clubs in different countries in South America.  As part of the project, the group of students and teachers began their training in 2013 and are now concluding their sixth face-to-face get-together.  Some of the students who began the program, did so without any prior knowledge of the Basque language, while some of the others had some experience with it.  Today, however, the group is now advanced in its euskaldunization and a large of the student are already teaching at their respective Basque clubs.

This is the case of the Basque teacher at the Euzkal Etxea in San Nicolas (Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina), Bego Tisera, who is very satisfied with the course.  “I had expected to learn Euskera, the language of my mother and grandparents, but those were surpassed because of the quality of the program.  Throught the year the rhythm is sometimes hard since it is online, but there are tools to help you.  Also, what I have learned can be shared in by Basque club and that is another incentive.  It is also very gratifying because being a teacher and a student allows me to understand the difficulties that my students experience, because they were the same for me.  It is a huge challenge but if you apply yourself and want to learn, you can.”

Maite Garcia Alava, from Brazil, is a member of the Eusko Alkartasuna in Sao Pablo and is also participating in Euskara Munduan.  She is very happy and also feels that “the course if very good.”  “I learned a lot from the beginning.  The internet program works; and in case you have doubts, the professors are always there to help…My idea is to finish the course so that I can start teaching Euskera in my club, where they haven’t been taught for some time.”

Among the representatives from Uruguayan Basque clubs is Maria Laura Moreno Sasiain, from Haize Hegoa in Montevideo.  In her case, she came to Euskara Munduan after taking a tour in hopes of strengthening and increasing her knowledge.  “I have always wanted to improve my Basque so that I could teach in my club and also encourage others to learn and practice Basque in Uruguay.”  “I think the course are really good, we have all learned a lot in these last two years and a half, and now we are realizing it.  Learning online was not an obstacle; there were times when I would have preferred face-to-face classes, but in general it was clear and not complicates,” Laura explains.

Christian Etxeberria, from the Euzko Etxea in Santiago, Chile also had taken classes before starting Euskara Munduan, but even so, he remembers that it was hard for him in the beginning.  “My expectations, at the beginning, were very high; I thought I would become fluent, be able to talk and make myself understood in Euskera in a short period.  But later, after really beginning the course, I saw how far I was from that.  Not like now since I feel closer, and I can carry on a conversation.  But on the other hand, there is still an emotional side, since we have made friends at all the barnetegis who all had the same goal to learn and now we are all together and all on the same path.”

Teaching Day

The sixth barnetegi of the 2013-2016 Euskara Munduan program will conclude this Saturday at noon to become then a teachers meeting.  The teaching day will also take place at the Euzko Etxea and will include the participation of some 30 teachers also trained in prior editions of the program.