Nineteen languages,
taught every weekend,
by the people who speak them.
The umbrella organization for community-run heritage and international language schools across northern and central Alberta — behind the teachers and volunteer families who keep these languages alive.
A classroom borrowed on a Saturday morning, and a language handed on.
Across the province, communities rent church basements, school gyms and community-league halls so that children can learn the language their grandparents speak. Most of the teachers are volunteers. Many were certified teachers in the country they came from. Nearly all of them are doing this on top of a full working week.
IHLA exists so that none of them has to do it alone. We train teachers, fund mentorships between schools, publish shared curriculum and resources, provide meeting space, and argue — to school boards, to government, to anyone who will listen — that a child who speaks two languages is carrying something worth counting.
Languages taught across the IHLA network
Don't see your language? A new school can join the network at any point in the year. Talk to us about starting one →
Three ways we hold the network together
- 01Professional developmentWorkshops, seminars and certificate courses for heritage language teachers — many of whom are volunteers, and many of whom trained as teachers in another country.
- 02School mentorshipFunded, hands-on mentorship pairing established school leaders with newer ones. Six member schools were funded in the most recent programme year.
- 03Advocacy & representationMaking the case to school boards, government and the public that multilingualism is an asset worth recognising, accrediting and funding.
Mother Language Day
One afternoon a year, every member school brings its students to City Hall to sing, recite, dance and display. Students perform in the languages they are learning; families fill the rotunda; nobody translates anything.
“It's a mini United Nations event where finally we all get to acknowledge each other.”
Antonella Cortese, past president
Held annually at Edmonton City Hall since 2004. The 21st showcase took place in February 2024.
Your language belongs in this collection.
Whether you are looking for a Saturday class for your child, running a school that could use a network behind it, or teaching a language you love — there is a way in.
