Language and Culture and S.E.A.S.

Language revitalization efforts have been underway in Klemtu for decades, beginning with development of the Xai’xais language curriculum at Kitasoo Community School.

Students actively participate in language-learning activities and games to learn and improve their fluency in Xai’Xais. High school students learn about 400 words and sentences over the school year. All students learn:

• common greetings and “small talk” (about the weather, days of the week, and personal check-ins),
• how to talk about family and other relationships,
• how to describe themselves and others and talk about where they live and work.
• things to see and do, places to go,
• colours,
• preferences,
• body parts,
• states of being,
• health,
• how they’re feeling, and
• tenses (past, present, and future).

Students are encouraged to bring their learning home and speak some Xai’xais at the dinner table with their families.

They study the connection between language and culture and engage in Kitasoo-Xai’xais cultural experiences. Students also use traditional protocols to express in Xai’xais: the ways they are connected to their culture and community, such as their traditional name, family relationships, and what clan and nations they represent.