Teacher training for South American Basque teachers at barnetegi in Argentina

Unión Vasca Euskal Etxea, the Basque centre in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, will be the host for the training initiative dedicated to Basque language teachers in South America, scheduled to take place from July 15 to July 22. This event is a component of the Euskara Munduan programme, organized by the Etxepare Basque Institute. 
 
Twenty-one trainees of different nationalities will take part in the training. While most are from Argentina, there will also be students from Uruguay and Chile. Gabriel Arce and Anabel Jaureguiberry will give classes using teaching materials created by Jon Urdangarin from the Maizpide Euskaltegi in Lazkao. The barnetegi will be coordinated by Gabriela Mendia from FEVA, and Kinku Zinkunegi from the Etxepare Basque Institute. 
 
The 21 people in the class began learning Basque as beginners in 2020. In this fourth year, they began level B2, and this will be their seventh barnetegi full-immersion experience focusing on oral expression. 
 
Over the last few years, classes have been online concentrating mainly on grammar, writing and reading. The future teachers meet at the barnetegis to work on their speaking skills. On this occasion, they will spend 52 teaching hours over the course of one week. The group has only one semester remaining to complete the training provided by FEVA. (Federation of Argentine Basque Entities) to become a teacher candidate. 
 
The aim of the course, which forms part of the Euskara Munduan programme, is to promote the Basque language among Latin American students to prepare them to become Basque teachers themselves. According to Kinku Zinkunegi, the programme´s director, the training of Basque teachers at Euskal Etxeas globally and the formation of a cohesive group are crucial for fostering a unified and stable growth of Basque language classes. 
 
Euskara Munduan is a programme created by the Etxepare Basque Institute to promote knowledge of the Basque language among Basque communities around the world. Today more than 70 Basque centres, 35 of which are in Argentina alone, offer Basque language classes in collaboration with the Institute. The Barnetegi in Argentina forms part of the activities carried out as part of the programme to promote the Basque language.