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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 2011)
r n Spily^y Tymoo, W^ itd Springs, Oregon Pgge 11 J^ n tq ry 26, 2011 THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES LANGUAGE LESSON M anux idunaiyax kaya dan isgaxus k ’aya qengi aish pu dan atgigelglaya. but the Wiwnu had no eye’s and couldn’t see kanawi dan Iqdiwi dan tgilglat everything has feeling, everything sees, winter stories soo paisa kw o no’oko mu hootzeba moohedu- bird moohedu-1 P t’ilim am i girls lix ttik a i- wash dishes lm aiakt nisha- clean the house w iyaxaixt- everyday roles in life chau maan pawiyaninx ana- travel was limited Anmipa- winter time Kakyamaman- animals Ic’imachtash- to feed panaktkwaninxana- took care of paim ixniixnxaiia- fix Kwapt galixatx uxaxilm ax chayaxa dan itqaqmit gatqiqtk bama pu gatqiqkt p ’ala iskintwa k ’aya qidau kwatxala yaim a gachdutxum idunaiyax hootzeba’a- Nishaictpam a Household an d bear ate the dickins out of it. how Blad Eagle became leader of all birds, Naktkwanint take care of yaxka iskintw a tai kanawa idunaiyax gachduxelm gadixelm ax Finally the other creatures got together to punish bear; eader m oo’hoo’oo- owl Iskintwa chayaxa qengi gachxellem pu isiaxus qengi gachdux qengi luxlux galaxtkaix awachi qengi qengi iqan atsabana’a- woodpecker he offerd to give up part of the eyesight from both eye’s no’yoona hootszeba’a- all the birds yuhubiwetsi- M anux k ’axsh gatkiqx pu ixtga iyaxut galaixux bluejay (because he didn’t want to have just one eye) kw eda’ga’gai- Dan iqunba kwapt lqa kaxsh gaxiux isiaxus shit’ixm ax pu gachlut dawchi qengi k ’axsh gatgagix aunaiyax pu chaiyaxa isiaxus engi gachtx ixa qidau engi qanchipt aya kaxsh aiduxelm uxm a idunaiyax. magpie pasia kwo- bald eagle nakai- he preferd giving up part of both rather than all hawk of one; nu hootzeba poone!- K ’ushdiaxa qidau engi aunaiyax ixt ichaxut i see a bird! natuwenge’e KW SOwi nakapuime!- listen to KWSO for story! w asat’awas- So now huchuckleberrty has one the circle around the stem A ga dauya w igw a,p’alalai it’ukdix Iskintwa kwadau Aunaiyax ishkasiks. in retur n, wiwnu and bear are now the best of saddels friends, Sacpac’anpawas Qidau engi aunaiyax aligim a “Qanchipt yaxki k ’axsh idulxelm uxa idunaiyxa p ’ala qidau adilxelm uxa” -bridal Lpanak and wiwnu said bear could eat as much of -saddlebags pawach’xnxana -chop wood Pasapsikw ’ anxana- teach Katkatmaman- young boys w iyaxaixtash- ______ to live everyday____________________________ Immersion Why Immersion? As indigenous people around the world begin to lose their languages, teachers reach out for language methodologies that permit rapid and complete acquiring of what should be “first” languages, but have become “second” languages. Where possible, immersion becomes the methodology o f choice to bring a people back to their language of heritage. It cannot replace “mother and father to child,” the natural means of transmission o f language, but it duplicates this process as best it can. What is Immersion ? Briefly defined, immersion is a way of teaching that bathes the student in a language situation where none o f the first language is used (i.e. English). All shared activities between the teachers and their students are accomplished in the target lan guage. Gone are the lengthy grammar explanations and word lists. Students “naturally acquire” the language without the fuss and muss of an academic grind. In sessions that meet daily for extended time periods, the focus is on meaningful activities to be accom plished together, not formal language instruction. In this sense, it is more natural in approach. Cautions o f Immersion As described above, immersion seems like a universal panacea for intensive second language acquisition and for restoring languages. It is not quite that simple. The method is time consum ing, exhausting for the teachers, demanding in preparation and not always feasible. It requires nearly fluent speaker-teachers with enough energy to sustain extended periods o f instruction. On top of that, there is a heavy emphasis on making oneself understood without resorting to everyone else’s first language, hence the exhaustion. Teachers become singers, dancers, pantomime experts and artists in their attempts to communicate language. Down the road, some grammar has to creep in. Simply correcting someone’s speech may not be enough for the advancing learner to begin to clear up syntactical misconceptions in languages which are grammatically complex, as many o f the indigenous languages are. Why it works A typical immersion program is housed in a setting where students come daily for three to four hours. The room is prepared with many visual aids and objects that can be touched or pointed to. There is a routine during which the same phrases and expressions are repeated daily (sample topics: greetings, calendar, weather, counting, prayer, singing, eating together, etc.). With such a structure, students are exposed, day after day, to the same vocabulary and activities. The learner is calmed because even though he or she may not understand what is being said, the routine is predictable and comfortable. The teacher uses full language but is very aware o f which words or morphemes are needed to be stressed for language acquisition to take place. If the teacher evaluates accurately what the students comprehend, then new material can be added daily. What promotes language acquisition is the repetitive use o f certain key phrases and vocabulary on the part o f the teacher. Students need to hear certain streams o f speech over and over before they can adjust to them and make them their own. During this process, students may not be speaking but simply reacting (i.e. Sit down! Listen!) Once they have internalized the daily routines and associated certain language utterances with it, the brave ones will begin to mimic the teacher verbally. Others may remain silent for a longer period of time. Typically in daily immersion, students return from Bear and wiwnu story wiwnu as he wanted. Yaxka iyakshqalal kanawi dan iqaqshmit gachitxa the great creator decreed yaxka qidau iyaxqaqsh idunaiyax daxka dusqnamnat bama nadidanwit adiuxibuxma. that wiwnu would be out of the sacerd foods for the Indian people Christmas Break (4 months o f absorbing language if started in September) ready t be encouraged to speak themselves, and confident about the routine and what is expected of them. All learners are different. Each person will begin to speak at a different time depending on their language acquisition rates. Lots of hearing the same thing over and over is critical to being ready to speak independently. The teacher must gear all activities to the repetitive use o f language. science. 6. Master - apprentice When the people involved are trained to make this method work, the master-apprentice model o f immersion is tremendously successful. An elder or a younger speaker is paired with an apprentice (learner) in a one-on-one relationship for a couple of hours a day for a few years. As they go about the tasks of daily life, language is learned. There must be a pact that no English will be used. Both people must do their best to be mutually understood. Differences in ages The ideal age for immersion is the toddler. Day care centers on or around the reservations would be wise to hire caretakers who are speakers. If this is not possible, then Head Start programs are an ideal place to begin immersion. Children at this age internalize language naturally with help (song, dance, visual aids, story books, daily repetitive language, art activities, walks, physical education, meal time and play time). Immersion can work with any age group. However, the older the learner the more difficult the pronunciation becomes. Characteristics of a Great Immersion Teacher The ideal teacher is able to key into what students are not understanding and is able through whatever means (drawing, mime, pictures etc.) to make him or herself understood. Types o f Immersion A good teacher will think o f countless hands-on ways to conduct the learning process so that the learner is not bored. 1. Making traditional wear or items (workshops) Gathering students together around the theme of practicing traditional ways o f doing things is an ideal means of providing an immersion setting for older children and adults. There is a concrete task at hand and the goal o f making something gives everyone a motivation to learn vocabulary. It is very hands on and the learner can begin to comprehend what is being said through demonstration of the task. The students will forget all the language they’ve learned if there are not multiple opportunities to continue the learning process. Immersion is a long process. 2. Retreat weekend Gathering people together for a weekend o f daily life and meaning ful activities is another means of immersing people. They will be sharing breakfast, lunch and dinner and many daily routines. Because speaking is one of the last skills to develop when learning a language, it would be important to have a phrase book available so people can try to communicate with one another even though they haven’t internalized enough vocabulary to do so. 3. Children in the home The tasks we do at home provide a rich opportunity to learn language. The table always needs to be set, there is food to prepare, garbage to be taken out and floors to be swept. Apart from daily chores, the children should be engaged in a variety of activities like song, dance, crafts, art, stories, baking, sports and the playing of games. 4. Summer camps Because there are so many fun things to do outdoors when the weather is nice, summer camps provide for the use of vocabulary in a natural setting. Here again there is daily life to attend to. A handy phrase book would be useful if there is a requirement that there will be no English spoken. The days and evening should be well planned and numerous speakers should be available to model the language being learned. 5. Public school Immersion has proven to be a very successful means of language acquisition when real school subjects are taught in the new language. There is, however, a tremendous burden placed on the teacher to translate textbooks and to have a wealth of literature in the language. If this seems overwhelming, then the immersion part of the day could be limited to art, music, P.E., and some hands-on The teacher uses full language but stresses the key nouns or verbs that carry meaning in the sentences being spoken. He or she is constantly repeating what is being said giving the students ample opportunity to hear and internalize the language. Immersion Instruction 1. It takes’ many forms but is essentially a situation where students are bathed in the full target language to meet their daily needs for an extended time period. 2. The curriculum is measured so that language is comprehen sible to a certain extent. 3. The curriculum is either based on normal classroom instruc tion math, science, social studies, reading, writing etc. or it is a curriculum based on meaningful activities age appropriately designed for the student arts/crafts, cooking, sewing, physical education etc. 4. Formal classroom immersion attempts to duplicate the regular curriculum students are learning in the public classroom. 5. The intent o f immersion is to bathe the student in the language with the hope that repetitive use of the language permits the student to grab essential vocabulary for daily functioning. 6. In immersion, only the target language is spoken. It implies that the instructor is fully fluent in the target language. 7. Periodic classroom instruction 8. Given limited time constraints and the lack of daily contact, this form o f language instruction is carefully measured taking students from point A to point B. Lessons are sequenced and only a certain amount o f language is presented per session. 9. Students are asked to practice at home to fill in the gap of daily prolonged instruction. 10. Every moment is considered essential and teachers are burdened to provide maximal input for the short time periods. 11. Active learning is critical. There are few quiet times. This handout is from our dear friend Judith Fernandez who taught French immersion to the Warm Springs Language Teachers. [ I YOUTH PROGRAM CORDINATOR ACTIVTIES-FEBURUARY ] I 2ND CAROLS ROOM-ICHISHKIN COMMAND I BINGO I 9TH AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITY- PRINT MAK ING STYLE2 EDUCATION B UILDING3:30-4:30 j L ■ 3