What an incredible week. We switched to full immersion last week and like any real achievement it is powerful, sacred, and authentic. We had already been at 90% immersion since the beginning of the program, but last week we challenged ourselves to go 100%. Each student was given six beans and one was taken away each time they said one English word. All 15 students had beans left at the end of the week. This week we learned two Captíkʷł stories, tkaʔkaʔłís iʔ sncʔiw̓s, and snk̓lip naʔł iʔ spəqmix. Sʕamtíc̓aʔ visited and taught us to make sp̓ic̓n and shared some words of encouragement and wisdom. x̌ast kʷ tə səxʷm̓am̓áyaʔm̓. limləmt Sʕamtíc̓aʔ.

Sharing clips of two classroom exercises that help us learn Captíkʷł 2 stories, compliments of Paul Creek methods. The first is "reader's theatre" and the second is "discussion questions", a series of question and answers about the story. Even though we are in full immersion, the air is filled with language and each student is speaking. caʔkʷ wikntxʷ Sʕamtíc̓aʔ ilíʔ.

Sharing a classroom exercise that helps us learn the Captíkʷł stories, compliments of Paul Creek methods. This is "reader's theatre". After reader's theatre, we move into question and answer, and then paraphrasing and re-telling the story. caʔkʷ wikntxʷ Sʕamtíc̓aʔ ilíʔ.

niʕíp kʷu səcxiʔtmíst, cəm qłnuntm ... cuntəm tə Sʕamtíc̓aʔ. Syilx Language House Year 2
​ https://twitter.com/michelekjohns…/status/787488617396449285

All 15 students completed Nsyilxcn 2 with two days of student oral presentations and a three-hour written exam. Way to go students! Limləmt Sʕamtíc̓aʔ for visiting and teaching us new words and phrases about beading and sharing our milestone. We are ready to start Captíkʷł 2 next week. Next week's story: tkaʔkaʔłis sncʔiw̓s naʔł iʔ qlspilx st̓aʔk̓míx.

We accomplished a major milestone in our 2,000 hour journey ... The 40th lesson (!) of Nsyilxcn 2, the THIRD Paul Creek (Salish School of Spokane) textbook. Next week, oral and written exams. Our reward will be Captíkʷł 2, the FOURTH textbook, 15 traditional stories in full paragraphs, audio and onscreen app. Our Elder, Sʕamtíc̓aʔ Sarah Peterson says, "niʕ̓íp kʷu səcxitmíʔst, cəm qəłnuntm." (we are putting in constant effort in order to succeed). Our 5.5 hour daily lesson plan structure is pictured below. After 400 hours we are ready for more Elder immersion. Sʕamtíc̓aʔ comes next week to cheer us on. limləmt Sʕamtíc̓aʔ!

Congratulations Kahtehrón:ni. It is a privilege to know activist graduates who are creating new speakers in their communities. She works with a Kahnawake adult language program that has created 142 adult speakers since it started, including herself, and her UVic research aims to increase the proficiency of advanced learners. This is a groundbreaking area we will benefit from as we slowly but surely approach advanced ourselves.
http://www.easterndoor.com/…/first-indigenous-languages-gr…/
Her Masters Thesis can be downloaded here: 
​https://www.uvic.ca/educati…/…/docs/Kahtehronni-FinalMEd.pdf

Beautiful new video produced for the Salish School of Spokane. Sʕamtíc̓aʔ Sarah Peterson says, "iʔ k̓ʷiƛ̓t iʔ taʔtʔík x̌minksəlx iʔ nqilxʷcn. (Young people want Salish language). taʔlí ilxʷtms. (They are hungry for it.)" Our Language House is proud to follow the SSS model and curriculum and hold our hands up in the air to their trailblazing leadership. They have 75 students in full-time language immersion and 12 immersion teachers teaching and learning to become fluent through teaching! limlmt Sʕamtíc̓aʔ naʔł ʕAn̓n for unwavering guidance and the hard work of activism. 
http://www.salishschoolofspokane.org/