Nicki Benson
Nicki was born and raised on Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səl̓ilwətaɁɬ, and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm territories in Vancouver. She has an M.A. in Language Education and has worked over the last 15 years as a language teacher and consultant. Since 2015, she has worked closely with the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh community to support their language revitalization efforts. Nicki is a PhD candidate in Indigenous Language Revitalization, a Research Coordinator with the NEȾOLṈEW̱ Research Partnership, and a mamá to three children who she is raising in her second language, Spanish.
Areas of Interest
Nicki is interested in understanding the factors that contribute to rapid and successful language acquisition. She is curious about methods and pedagogies to support language learning; adult Indigenous language education; immersion education; advanced language learning strategies; and non-pedagogical factors that support language learners. Her doctoral research explores strategies and supports for advanced Indigenous language learning. This research has included interviews with advanced additional language speakers of various Indigenous languages across Canada and participatory research with a group of self-directed learners working to reach advanced proficiency levels inSḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim.
Scholarship
Benson, N. & Khelsilem. (2021). A glossary of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim revitalization: The work of adult Indigenous language education. WINHEC: International Journal of Indigenous Education Scholarship 16(1), 142-178. https://doi.org/10.18357/wj161202120285
Thomas, C.A., Benson, N., & Lemon, M. (2020). (Be)Coming together: Making kin through stories of language and literacy using métissage as a research praxis. Language and Literacy, 22(1), 39-58. https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29515
Benson, N. (2013). Social justice in the language classroom. In E.L. Brown, E.V. Dvoretskaya & P. Gibbons (Eds.). International advances in education: Global initiatives for equity and social justice. Vol. 7. Communication and Language. Information Age Publishing. https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Communication-and-Language
