Nishnaabemwin Pane
Immersion Program




Bay Mills Community College
12214 W. Lakeshore Drive
Brimley, MI 49715
Phone (906) 800-BMCC
Fax (906) 248-3351
www.bmcc.edu

Nishnaabemwin Pane
Immersion
Program

Vision Statement

Noondamang
Bzindamang
Nsastamang
Giigdang

Mii maanda nikeying
e–zhi–debnagaadeg
zhigiizhwewin
This four-year program is designed to facilitate the language student's acquisition of the Nishnaabe language by developing their ability to understand the content of fluent speakers' speech respond to that speech appropriately
  • produce an advanced level of spontaneous Nishnaabemwin speech
  • The program is intended for students deeply interested in, and committed to, acquiring an ability to comprehend and speak Nishnaabemwin.

    The program of study consists of:
    -weekly immersion courses, and
    -monthly immersion weekends
  • Students completing both the weekly immersion courses and the monthly immersion weekends will receive a Diploma in Nishnaabemwin Pane Immersion.
 
Year One
Fall Semester: 14 credits   
NP141- Basic Immersion I 
6 CR
NP161 - Ojibwe Immersion I *  
8 CR
Winter Semester: 14 credits 
NP142 - Basic Immersion II 
6 CR
NP162 - Ojibwe Immersion II *  
8 CR
Summer Semester: 8 credits  
NP163 - Ojibwe Immersion III * 
8 CR

Year Two

Fall Semester: 14 credits  
NP143 - Basic Immersion III 
6 CR
NP261- Listening Comprehension I * 
8 CR
Winter Semester: 14 credits 
NP241 - Intermediate Immersion I 
6 CR
NP262 - Listening Comprehension II * 
8 CR
Summer Semester: 12 credits  
NP145 Intro to Second Language Acquistition  
4 CR
NP263 Listening Comprehension III *  
8 CR
Year Three
Fall Semester: 14 credits 
NP242A Intermediate Immersion II  
6 CR
NP271A Conversational Immersion I * 
8 CR
Winter Semester: 14 credits  
NP243A Intermediate Immersion III  
6 CR
NP272A Conversational Immersion II *  
8 CR
Summer Semester: 12 credits  
NP244 Immersion Education  
4 CR
NP273A Conversational Immersion III * 
8 CR
Year Four
Fall Semester: 14 credits 
NP251B Advanced Immersion I  
6 CR
NP281B Comprehensive Immersion I * 
8 CR
Winter Semester: 14 credits  
NP252B Advanced Immersion II  
6 CR
NP282B Comprehensive Immersion II *  
8 CR
Summer Semester 
NP245A Bemaadzid E-zhi-ntaawgid  
4 CR
* All 8-credit courses meet five weekends per semester from Friday at 1:00 p.m. Overnight accommodations and meals are available.

Guiding Principles for
Immersion Instructors
  • The instructor will speak only Nishnaabemwin to the student(s) and to other speakers.
  • The instructor will make repeated, varied and reasonable attempts to facilitate the student's understanding and comprehension of what is being communicated in Nishnaabemwin.
  • The instructor will continually assure the student that listening in and of itself is crucial to Nishnaabemwin acquisition.
  • The instructor will never force a student to speak Nishnaabemwin.
  • The instructor will respect that it is the student's decision when and whether to speak Nishnaabemwin.
  • The instructor will never publicly correct or criticize a student's attempt at speech production.
  • If a student produces speech that is grammatically incorrect, the instructor will continue as if the student made no mistake in speech production.
  • If a student produces speech that is factually incorrect, the instructor will restate correctly what the student was trying to say.
  • The instructor will continually assess the comprehension level of the student and make reasonable attempts to adjust the level of speech to accommodate the student.

Guiding Principles for
Immersion Students
  • The student will listen attentively to the instructor while fully understanding that active listening leads to comprehension, that comprehension eventually leads to speech production, and that this process will be difficult until the student has actively listened to an immersion instructor for at least 2,000 hours.
  • The student will make every effort to understand what the instructor is trying to communicate and will not become discouraged when unable to comprehend.
  • The student will make reasonable efforts to increase their hours of active listening.
  • The student will make a good-faith effort to minimize their use of English in attempting to communicate.
  • The student will respect the wishes of other students that do not want to hear English, and will refrain from using English when communicating with those individuals during class time.
  • The student is solely responsible for the decision of when and whether to speak Nishnaabemwin.
  • The student fully recognizes that their capacity to understand what is being said in Nishnaabemwin will exceed their ability to speak in Nishnaabemwin.
  • The student will never criticize other students, nor publicly correct another student's speech production.


Ted Holappa
 Director
tedholappa@hotmail.com
Originally from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and now living in Kincheloe, Michigan, Ted Holappa brings to the program nearly thirty-five years of experience in tribal program administration in higher-education, health and traditional medicine.
Barbara Nolan
Associate Director and Instructor
Originally from South Bay, Wikwemikong, and now living in Garden River First Nation, Barbara Nolan is an Immersion Instructor in both Track One and Track Two. With more than twenty-years of Nishnaabemwin instruction experience, Barbara's technique of instruction provides the framework for how the acquisition of Nishnaabemwin takes place in this program, and is expressed in the Vision Statement and Guiding Principles for Immersion Instructors and Students.
Adjunct Faculty
Nancy Debassige
Rhonda Hopkins
Patricia Osawamick
Howard Webkamigad
Phyllis Williams
Enroll now for
Nishnaaabemwin Pane Immersion Program
Courses
Starting August 2007

Bay Mills Community College
12214 W. Lakeshore Drive
Brimley, MI 49715
Phone (906) 800-BMCC
Fax (906-248-3351
www.bmcc.edu

Back to Main Page