1 hour, 7 minutes, 5 seconds. [direct download] 1. Technique “Tea with Grandma” Where do you start when you sit down with Grandma? 2. Technique “Start at the Beginning” 3. Technique “What is that?” 4. Technique “Hunting Party” Willem explains to the rest of the language hunters, not sitting with Grandma having tea, that they… Read more »

50 minutes and 43 seconds. [direct download] 1. Technique “the Meadow” 2. Technique “the Evaluation” We give attendees a blank piece of paper to (anonymously or not) give us feedback on the workshop experience. Because some attendees left earlier, we didn’t get feedback from them; we don’t know why they left. Next time we’ll put… Read more »

39 minutes and 52 seconds. [direct download] 1. Technique “Full”/”Law of Two Feet” 2. Technique “the Meadow” A modification of technique “Pooh Corner”, developed for the SYL conference. A place for “full” lunatic-fringers to go to recuperate. Inspired by Open Space Technology gatherings. The Meadow is liberally sprinkled with interesting and topically relevant books and… Read more »

47 minutes and 48 seconds. [direct download] Evan Gardner and Willem Larsen discuss (once again, while on the road to the June Vancouver, B.C. “Save Your Language” Conference”) issues of building fluency, over proficiency, by making technique use more complex, rather than language use. WARNING: this podcast contains some mildly off-color humor of possibly the… Read more »

22 minutes and 36 seconds. [direct download] Evan and Willem talk about the importance of returning, experienced WAYK players at workshops, while traveling to Vancouver, B.C., for the “Save Your Language” conference hosted by Dustin Rivers of Squamish Nation. 1. Technique “Please Return WAYK Players” Return players will help workshops and game experiences go faster…. Read more »

32 minutes and 14 seconds. [direct download] 1. Technique “Killing Faeries” Every time you ask for a translation, and receive it, you kill a faery. It’s not the end of the world, but it does indicate a lost opportunity for gaining more proficiency in the craft of language hunting, rather than just acquiring language. 2…. Read more »

What do you do when you don’t have a spoken Bridge Language? You play WAYK! Sometimes you can think of WAYK as really just the best game of charades you’ll ever play in your life. [vodpod id=Video.3814207&w=425&h=350&fv=]

45 minutes and 52 seconds. [direct download] 1. Technique “Tea with Grandma” 2. Technique “Same Conversation” Leanne Hinton’s work with the Master/Apprentice system. Hang out with your elder, as much as possible, to learn their language. It seems to be missing the apprentice’s training in rigorous language hunting to accelerate the acquisition of language from… Read more »

For a very good reason, which they understand better than I, XP (Extreme Programming) and Agile Software Development enthusiasts see a connection between the mentoring language and play of the WAYK game system, and their work. This, I believe, has to do with the similarity of a “language of successful strategies” that the approaches share…. Read more »

Here’s a short video of the SYL 2010 conference, held on June 5th and 6th in Vancouver, B.C, hosted by Squamish Nation language revitalization activist Dustin Rivers. Evan and I graduated the biggest batch of language hunters yet, all ready to enter the world and apply their skills to their endangered heritage languages. [vodpod id=Video.3793523&w=425&h=350&fv=]

[vodpod id=Video.3749780&w=425&h=350&fv=] We thought we’d share another video of “the Walk”. In this video you’ll see 7 year-old Jackson playing along with us on “the Walk”. Though for this “Walk”, you’ll only see one youngster, Evan runs this same walk with large groups of young children at other events besides Chinuk night. Keep in mind,… Read more »

From the People First Radio website: On saving traditional languages: Young activists are tackling the disappearance of traditional Aboriginal languages using a unique learning method May 27, 2010 “If our language dies, then our identity as a nation does,” according to Squamish Nation member Dustin Rivers. Dustin recently told the Vancouver Straight that land, culture,… Read more »

58 minutes and 17 seconds. [direct download] Willem and Joel (a veteran of a Portland WAYK workshop), with Peter and Sara listening, talk over Joel’s experiences that Chinuk Night. Then later, Evan and Willem discuss how the evening of Chinuk Wawa games went. 1. Technique “the Walk” Joel experienced “the Walk” for the first time,… Read more »

27 minutes and 2 seconds. [direct download] Willem interviews Peter and Sara about the games they led for the most recent Chinuk Wawa (Chinook Jargon) Night. We discover that yet another newbie has zoomed through language acquisition, but not mastered basic WAYK techniques. Peter then describes “the Walk” that he led, as documented in this… Read more »

This Thursday, May 27th, during the noon hour (12pm-1pm), the folks at People First Radio will be interviewing Dustin Rivers (Squamish Nation language activist) and Willem Larsen (partner in WAYK) about the “Save Your Language” conference in Vancouver, B.C. (June 5th and 6th), and the WAYK grassroots language revitalization method. Go to the People First… Read more »

http://saveyourlanguage.wordpress.com VANCOUVER, BC – Native languages are dying, but there is still hope. A recent report from the First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Council (First Peoples’ Council) revealed that fluent speakers represent only five per cent of B.C’s total population of First Nations, despite the Province being home to 60 per cent of Canada’s… Read more »

The upcoming “Save Your Language” conference is finally getting in the news. Check it out: Squamish Nation activist plans conference to save First Nations languages in B.C. By Stephen Hui Dustin Rivers knows that the language of his people has been described as “critically endangered” and “nearly extinct”. Unless drastic action is taken right now… Read more »

Thank you to everyone playing WAYK, and for getting the word out about the Fluency Revolution. Please keep it up – we’re making progress, but aren’t quite there yet. We’re realizing that the greatest obstacle to our mission at this time is funding. We believe that once we’re fully funded, we can help communities turn… Read more »

1 hour, 50 minutes, and 53 seconds. [direct download] Evan Gardner, Willem Larsen, Peter, and Joel interview each other on Chinuk Wawa Night (Chinook Jargon). Though this episode is almost two hours long, we really encourage you to  hang in there and soak it all up; many vital issues came up that should further illuminate… Read more »

35 minutes and 54 seconds. [direct download] Evan Gardner and Willem Larsen discuss some of the central issues of WAYK, such as its use of sign language, as a “bridge language“, for learning spoken language. 1. Technique “Bridge Language“ WAYK doesn’t just use ASL; it is designed to help you learn new sign languages too,… Read more »