Teaching Strategies for Language Revitalization and Maintenance

This chapter provides an overview of teaching methods and second language acquisition theories, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of particular methods in revitalization contexts. Revitalizers must consider community desires and resources, as well as traditional worldviews and lifeways in choosing appropriate approaches. 8 case studies present practical applications of specific teaching methods: grammar-translation and a radically input-based approach in Potawatomi; reclaiming domains and ‘language nesting’ in Lushootseed; Accelerated Second Language Acquisition (ASLA), reclaiming domains and the master-apprentice method in Tolowa Deeni’; how Sámi language and culture can meaningfully shape education in the classroom; homeschooling activities and strategies for elementary age learners in Tolowa Dee-ni’; and how teachers with limited fluency teach language-rich lessons within their own level of proficiency in Chinuk Wawa, where immersion models are unrealistic. The capsules exemplify immersion programmes, culture place-based learning and other approaches in 8 languages: Hawai’ian, Kristang, Wym, Lemko, Chinuk Wawa, Sámi, Cherokee and Anishinaabemowin.