OREGON SCHOOL

OF MOTHER TONGUES
LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL ENRICHMENT PROGRAM THROUGH MOTHER
TONGUESDEFINICIÓN

DEFINITION

It is an Oregonian educational project with a universal scope that focuses on creating a meeting point
between people speaking and teaching a mother tongue to people interested in learning it in order to
prepare for a multilingual society.

VIEW

Mother tongues are part of the preparation for a future where technology allows our children to
express themselves and understand any language, and where multilingualism is synonymous with
excellence.
Mother tongues are part of the preparation for a future where technology allows our children to
express themselves and understand any language, and where multilingualism is synonymous with
excellence.

This initiative is carried out through the creation of popular education workshops in different parts of
the state, where the community itself expresses interest in learning mother tongues.

We hold the interest and cooperation of educational, religious and cultural institutions that represent
the great demographic, ethnic and cultural diversity of Oregon.

We have a rich multilingual archive filled with collected oral histories that grandfathers and
grandmothers of different peoples have rescued over time, and with the collaboration of humanists
twinned with the ancient American cultures.

The basic teaching of mother tongues and reading the ancient word in different communities,
especially the younger generation creates a connection point: The meeting between grandfathers,
grandmothers and their young.

In short, this Oregonian project is a space of encounter of the linguistic and cultural between the old
and new generations.

The Oregonian School of Mother Tongues aims to extend the linguistic and cultural value of mother
tongues, promote multilingualism and complete the formation and identity of future generations.

MODELS AND EDUCATIONAL METHOD

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
The speakers of a language must possess something more than mere grammatical competence to
communicate effectively: they also need to understand how the members of that linguistic community
use the language. Communicative competence involves both knowledge of the language and the ability
to use it in an appropriate manner in various situations. This linguistic pedagogy’s main objective is the
mastery of communicative skills before the command of structures and values leading to more fluidity
in communication than perfect grammar.

SITUATIONAL TEACHING METHOD

This method is the result of the evolution of the oral approach; It is based on oral procedures and uses
different situational contexts to introduce new words and linguistic structures. The situational
approach simulates the everyday use of language in different social contexts that students can relate
to. The main activity of the classroom is based on oral practice of structures.

Situational language teaching adopts a deductive approach to teaching grammar. As a result, the
expectation is that the meaning of words or structures will be deducted by the student from the
situation presented.

As for classroom practice, this method proposes a learning methodology based on creating situations in
the classroom with the help of objects, images, actions, gestures and dialogues to help the student use
and understand in active and personal ways the meaning of the new elements.
FUNDAMENTALS:
• The materials are presented and taught orally rather than in writing.
• The language is learned and as a language of expression immediately implemented in the
classroom.
• The new elements and linguistic structures are introduced and practiced through situations and
interactions in the classroom.
• Reading and writing are introduced once a sufficient lexical base has been established.

This educational model aims to train students for real communication with other speakers of the
language. For this purpose, the instructional process often uses authentic materials and activities that
seek to mimic reality outside the classroom.

Communication is not just a product but a process that is carried out for a specific purpose, between
concrete partners in a particular situation. Therefore, it is not enough that students assimilate a mass
of data (vocabulary, rules, functions ...) it is also essential to learn to use that knowledge to negotiate
its meaning with other speakers. They must participate in real tasks, where the language is a means to
an end, not an end in itself.

To ensure effective communication, tasks are governed by three principles:

1. Information gap: Among the students there is a real need for communication, everyone must
find something that only your classmate knows, and if you do not discover what that is you
cannot complete your own task.
2. Freedom of expression: The speaker decides the content (what they will say), the structure
(how they will say it), the tone, the time, method of communication, etc.
3. Feedback: Verbal and nonverbal reactions to your partner will indicate to the student what
extent they are reaching their conversational goal.

In short, learning the proper communicative competency of a language, at any level, through the
method of situational teaching, facilitates the use of critical and creative language.

TO BE A SPONSOR OF THIS PROJECT

Please contact us at: proyectos@oregoniana.org

Instituto de Cultura Oregoniana

www.oregoniana.org - info@oregoniana.org – 1-503-569-3358
304 College Dr. NW. Salem, OR 97304 USA