Willem has been working with our friend Evan Gardner to create this Language Learning game (which I am currently applying to rewilding skills in general). So I thought I would post a thing about it here to get some conversations going.
I just started really exploring this site this week. I’m working my way through the podcasts and it’s starting to really help me with something that’s long confused me about WAYK: how to friggin’ do it! I don’t have much time to surf at home (tonight’s a rare exception) and I can’t watch the vimeo video’s at work, so…
But listening to the debriefs, etc, etc, I think I’m picking up on the gists and some of the techniques. My daughter’s been wanting me to teach her japanese for some time, so I think I’m going to try this out with her this summer. Hopefully I’ll be able to check out the videos soon.
I gotta say, it seems really damn awesome!
Yeah, the videos and the debriefs really help. I think Willem is working on making a video of a person going from zero skill to language proficiency. That one will be awesome to watch. It’s really helped me learn Chinuk. Have you listened to the chinuk night debriefs?
That’d really kick ass, and really help us way out east (and overseas…) 
No, I don’t think I’ve seen the Chinuk debriefs, yet. So far I’ve listened to several of the Squamish ones, and some of the podcasts w/ Ryan & Peter & focusing on language hunting vs acquisition. I’ve heard a little bit of Chinuk used here and there, but that’s it.
Damn. I really want to find someone close by that has some fluency w/ one of the Algonkian langs.
Hey JHereg,
Yeah Algonquin would be awesome! Anything is possible with this game.
Wanna try and get something like this going in the Netherlands, im interested in learning Arabic, Sami and other languages …
great stuff
looks interesting. i remember going through the thanks giving address without words but making up sign language for the thanks giving address and how different that felt.
I also noted that the “Craig’s List” technique is very similar to the Kata’s of Martial Arts.
I wanna try even more now!
timeless, are you going to the urvision? i was wanting to do a wayk workshop there… (though the thought of leading a game with strangers is somewhat frightening, i’ll likely do it anyway ) i wanna learn sami too!
hey i was planning on going there because i had so much fun last year!
but im not sure, at the moment im not sure where and when and even if the festival takes place. but even if i do, at the moment im pretty much occupied with a large-scale dentist project. Last year at Urvision i remember already suffering pain and trying to find some herbal painkillers around the forest.
This dentist project costs me not only time and (lots) of money which i have to work my underpaid job for but also lots of energy as my jaw keeps being assaulted by various pieces of equipment. Right now im dealing with an infection in my jaw which is making me depressed exhausted and frankly not in the mood for a lot of things.
if the stars align, my jaw and teeth heal up, and i find a big wad of money somewhere… i would love to go …but i really wouldnt count on it.
Still i love the idea of participating in some WAYK on a future Urvision. Also im very open to the idea of meetups a bit later on in the year.
Are you experienced with WAYK ?
take care
Scandinavian/European rewilders may appreciate knowing that Evan and I will be traveling to Sweden this October 12th-ish, to October 22nd-ish, 2010.
We might travel around the area a little bit, possibly visiting Denmark.
We are being hosted by a Swedish training company interested in sharing WAYK. We’d love other folks to benefit from this fortuitous circumstance!
We will announce more on our blog, as we know more.
yrs,
Willem
Whoah this is still up here. Well, let it be known -
UPDATE:
Several years ago I moved on from working as part of the WAYK team and started my own non-profit that I’m pretty proud of, Language Hunters, that pushed the paradigm of community learning a lot farther and built on the work I’d done at WAYK.
There is even a board-game you can buy now!! With cards and everything!
You can check it out at http://languagehunters.org