Eighteen Lakota language educators in the Standing Rock reservation schools participated in a three-week LLC course at Sitting Bull College, Fort Yates, North Dakota, in June 2007. The course, Fundamentals of Instructional Lakota, was divided into three sections, the first dealing with the phonemics of Lakota (the recognized sounds of the language), the second addressing the morphology and grammar of the language, and the third concerning the methods for teaching a second language to students. At the end of the courses, participants were able to test out these techniques with approximately forty schoolchildren from local elementary middle and high schools who volunteered to participate in practicum activities. The teachers were universally enthusiastic about the course, and reported feeling more empowered and confident about teaching the language structure and grammar. They felt excited about new teaching techniques they learned, and expressed their renewed hopes about their ability to successfully teach Lakota to school children in the coming years. All participating teachers stated an interest in taking the next level of this course in summer 2008 at Sitting Bull College. LLC is already planning to hold multiple courses at this time for teachers from around the area who wish to pursue advanced training on numerous topics in Lakota language education.
