Basque Language Immersion in Buenos Aires

At this time of year, the Etxepare Basque Institute has organised a barnetegi, or Basque-language immersion course, in the city of San Nicolás de los Arroyos (Buenos Aires, Argentina), as part of the Euskara Munduan programme. The course will run from 17 to 24 January and will bring together 16 students, who over the course of eight days will have the opportunity to live entirely in Basque while deepening their knowledge of the language. 

This group of students is currently taking part in its fifth barnetegi. The programme began in January 2024 at beginner level, and after two years of training, participants are now working with B1-level content. 

From March onwards, some members of the group will begin teaching Basque in their respective Euskal Etxeak (Basque centres). For many of them, this will be their first teaching experience as Basque-language instructors, and they will be assigned A1.1-level groups. In this context, the summer barnetegi also includes a specific training session for teachers, focusing on teaching materials for level A1, balancing the different language skills, available resources and their application, as well as strategies for managing diversity in the classroom. 

The summer barnetegi will be coordinated by Gabriela Mendia (FEVA) and Kinku Zinkunegi, head of the Euskara Munduan programme, and will involve four teachers, two from Argentina and two from the United States: Rocio Basterra and Ignacio Alustiza, and Mikaela Goikoetxea and Madalen Bieter, respectively.