Accelerated Second Language Acquisition Training Held

More than 30 people from the Red Lake School District, the Immersion School, and Red Lake Community attended training on a unique way to learn language on Friday, August 14, at Seven Clans Casino and Event Center.

The group came together to learn more about the Accelerated Second Language Acquisition (ASLA) training with the program's creator, Dr. Neyooxet Greymorning. ASLA is a language teaching method Greymorning developed and has been sharing around the world.

With Ojibwe language revitalization high on the agenda for both the Red Lake Band and Red Lake School District, professional development of language teachers was identified by both the school district and the Ojibwe language revitalization committee as a priority.

The training on Friday was for both first speakers and for those learning or second language speakers. The goal of the training then is to strengthen first speakers as teachers, and to increase second speakers' language ability.

"Through the use of pictures and forced problem solving, the teacher guides students through a landscape of pictures placed on a wall," said Middle School teacher Tami Liberty. "Also it goes well with our art grant by using pictures as its mode of instruction."

"I am so glad to have the training," said Liberty. "When I used my idea of his method last year the students learned at an extremely fast pace with long lasting retention. Now that I have the training I am excited to teach using it this year."

"We will be teaching this method in Ponemah and Red Lake Middle School. Unfortunately the other district Ojibwe teachers were unavailable for the training," Liberty said. "We hope the speakers taught at this workshop will use this method for language tables, tribal college and immersion classrooms. In addition, a group of the trainees will be meeting regularly to help support each other using the teaching method."

"Greymorning likes to call people working with saving the language - language healers - he used to use language warriors," said Liberty, "I really like that concept of healing vs. warriors, I just thought that was pretty cool."

The ASLA training was sponsored by Red Lake Nation, Red Lake School District along with a grant from the Blandin Foundation's Leadership Program.