June BEYNON

From Precis

June Beynon, an anglophone, was born in New York. Her father was formally schooled in 4 languages: Hungarian, Hebrew, French and English. He was fluent in English, and also in Yiddish, the language used in his home. June’s mother, raised in a Russian family was discouraged from learning Russian. In adulthood she learned Yiddish in order to communicate with her husband’s parents. June’s mother also learned sign language in order to work in the deaf community. June grew up hearing Yiddish in her family and in the community and Hebrew on ceremonial occasions. Her father’s language skills, and her mother’s enthusiasm for communicative competence in any language on offer provided the contextual frame for June’s subsequent encounters with diverse languages and her perceptions of the complex connections among language and identity.

June is engaged in a life long process of learning French, initially through 10 years of second language classes in New York where she received high marks. She was disappointed when Parisians gave her a lower grade for her efforts. However, her kind, skilled colleagues at Simon Fraser University rekindled her enthusiasm for French and France. Her daughter, who attended French immersion for 12 years, continues to correct June’s pronunciation and grammar.

June has collaborated with Aboriginal communities (Nklakapamux, Kwakwakwala, and Ts’ymsyen) to develop teacher certification programs for Aboriginal language teachers. She has just completed a book incorporating the experiences of Ts’ymsyen educators renewing and rejuvenating their community language. She contributed to writing the BC International Languages Policy, which supports the introduction of Punjabi, Mandarin, Tagalog and other languages beginning in grade 5.