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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.
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YOUTH PROGRAM CORDINATOR
ACTIVTIES-FEBURUARY
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2ND CAROLS ROOM-ICHISHKIN COMMAND I
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