It can be hard to imagine what a language revitalization summer looks like, but working to strengthen a language is a full-time job.
As with any program centered around language learning, it’s essential that we have daily contact with the language in an immersion environment. However, it’s equally important to have adequate time to relax, have fun, and take care of ourselves so that we have a chance to process what we’ve learned and be ready for the next day’s work.
Although every summer is a little bit different, the WAYK team typically works with local and regional language team members from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm, five days a week, for 11 weeks. Our evenings and weekends are usually reserved for unwinding, but we have some immersion activities that are designed to supplement our weekly work at home during this time. It can take some time at the beginning of the summer to adjust the schedule to meet our exact needs. We need to take into account details as important as when our fluent speakers are available and as minor as how long it takes us to commute to work (are we going by car? on foot?).
Take a look at the draft schedule for this summer to get an idea of what the WAYK team will be up to!
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