Teaching the Even language in a nomadic camp: problems and solutions

Abstract

The subject of the study is the education of children in a nomadic camp for indigenous minorities; the analysis of the difficulties that the organizers encountered in the first years of the nomadic camp when learning their native language by Even children was carried out. For the educational system of small comprehensive schools, the nomadic camp is a new form of organization of temporary association during the summer holidays as an inseparable system of teaching the native Even language in natural nomadic conditions. The first years of work showed that children hardly master their native language. One of the reasons is that in secondary schools they were taught the Even language based on the Olsky dialect, which Momsky Evens do not understand. Considering the above, the Even language was taught in the local dialect in the nomadic camp. Author concludes that children that were recruited to the camp did not have the opportunity to go to reindeer herding brigades, and thus had no idea about the traditional way of life of their people. Work experience since 2000 has shown positive dynamics in the field of teaching the native Even language and national culture. After graduating from secondary school, many students of the nomadic camp entered various secondary specialized educational institutions and higher educational institutions and subsequently joined the ranks of teachers in secondary schools, preschool educators, and cultural workers.