Workshop Summary: Where Are Your Keys?

The Where Are Your Keys? workshop held on  February 10 & 11 was a great event! The workshop was led by Evan Gardner who developed the WAYK game. Joining him were WAYK team members Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk/Pechanga), April Charlo (Salish), Paul Cason and Marlon DancingEagle Bone-Cason (Maidu). Approximately forty people "experienced" the WAYK method.  Without lectures, textbooks, or theory, participants at the workshop came away with a first lesson that they can use to engage fluent speakers in their community. The experience was fun, inspiring, different, non-threatening and immediately applicable.  Participants were able to begin to use the Apache, O'odham and Navajo language in small learning groups or "buckets".  Using hand gestures that represented terms such as " slow down", "speak more clearly", "start from the beginning" (to name only a few), proved to eliminate time and speed up the process of engaging in language learning. There were never any mistakes or errors only many "how fascinating!" moments.  For a more in-depth explanation of the technique visit the WAYK website at http://www.whereareyourkeys.org/. AILDI is planning on bringing the WAYK team back at some point in the future.Don't miss the next workshop!

  For more pictures and video from the Where Are Your Keys? workshop please see the AILDI facebook page