Integrated Web tools and Apps for Innu language maintenance

How can we create a strong presence on the web for Aboriginal languages and make use of Information and Communication Technologies to support language maintenance and (re)vitalisation? We present a series of online resources aimed at bilingual speakers (Innu-French, based in Quebec, Canada) that wish to preserve their Innu mother tongue and become literate in their language. Additional users are bilingual Innu-English speakers from Labrador, second-language learners and the general public. Using a collaborative (participatory action) research framework with partners involved in language documentation and teaching, we have been developing the following modules: • on-line language lessons and games that include basic literacy skills, vocabulary enrichment, the teaching of grammatical concepts, and the discovery of language structure (1) • on-line oral stories database, categorized and searchable, with audio and video files download (2) • on-line catalogue, categorized and searchable, to help the dissemination of educational and cultural resources in the Innu language (3) • a blog in Innu to discuss language related issues (4) • grammatical web pages to support the on-line Innu dictionary (5) and the grammatical modules of the games (4) • an interactive integrated Verb Conjugation applet (6) • a Media Manager for upload and management of sound files, videos and images shared across modules • a Facebook page to promote Innu language activities (7) For the language games, different interfaces allow on-going creation of new lessons and exercises. Features include: sound and image, computer generated random variation, tractable results and progress. Similarly, different interfaces allow further development of the oral stories, book catalogue and grammatical pages. Our design emphasizes the integrated aspect of such tools to create an enriched learning environment, as well as easy resource transfer from one language group to another. In this multimedia presentation, we will give a brief demonstration of these tools, provide usage statistics, and further discuss successes and challenges. References (1) jeux.tshakapesh.ca (2) histoires.tshakapesh.ca (3) catalogue.tshakapesh.ca (4) innu-aimun.ca/blog (5) Dictionnaire Innu Dictionary Aimun-Mashinaikan: www.innu-aimun/dictionnaire (6) verbe.innu-aimun.ca (7) Innu-Aimun Facebook pag