Oneida Language Project: Evaluative Report.

Based on data collected during site visits in March 1978 to four Wisconsin school districts (Freedom, Pulaski, Seymour, and West DePere), this document evaluates a state project on Oneida language instruction. The project evolved from an expressed interest by Oneida Tribal members, elementary school children, and university students in learning and preserving their language and oral traditions, culture, and heritage. The report first describes meetings that focused on the continuation and possible expansion of the program so that eventually it would be offered in grades K-12 in those areas in which Oneida pupils are enrolled in public schools. Emphasis is on funding possibilities for the continuation. Visitation data are also reported, including: the time the teacher spent talking in English and in Oneida; the time the student spent talking in each language; types of techniques used (e.g., games, Gouin series, individual and choral practice, translation drill, listening drill); variety of techniques used; degree of student participation; and kinds of rewards used by the teachers. Program strengths are identified, including the comprehension level of fourth graders, and the six project goals are assessed in terms of the pedagogical procedures used. The two primary goals are to re-establish Oneida as a communication vehicle and as a transmitter of the culture. Recommendations for the future include implementation of a summer institute for the language teachers. Examples of communicative competence in listening and speaking are provided, including separate evaluation scales for assessing effort, fluency, quality, and quantity. (LB)