Crowd gathers for Alaska Native languages workshop (fwd link)

[Phillip E Cash Cash]

Crowd gathers for Alaska Native languages workshop

10:48 PM, May. 7, 2012
By Rachel D'Oro

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (WTW) — Two decades ago, Hishinlai' Kathy Sikorski could
not speak her ancestral language, Gwich'in Athabascan. Now she teaches it
at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

"When I was hired as a UAF language instructor in 2002, I was scared, very
scared because I had no idea how to teach a language," Sikorski told a
crowd gathered in Anchorage on Monday to talk about efforts to revitalize
Alaska Native languages.

Sikorski, who began learning Gwich'in 17 years ago, developed her teaching
skills by learning even more about the learning process, eventually
creating her own lesson plans and making her own materials "from scratch,"
she said, reading from a prepared statement.

"Language learners need support, emotional or otherwise, from fluid
speakers, politicians, educational settings, et cetera," she said.

Access full article below:
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/usatoday/article/39220019?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp
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