FREEFORUM

Toronto Iradis: we started a Saturday class in a church hall (a Ukrainian parish lends it to us, God bless them). 9 kids, ages 5 to 12.
Problem: no books. Everything printed in Talas is for children who already speak. Ideas welcome.

Also: meetup after class every second Saturday at a coffee shop on Bloor. The owner is Kyrgyz and gives us the corner table. Nobody argues about partition, that is the rule of the corner table.

Gulya, the Association in Chicago has a Sunday school after the 11:00 service. We use the old Swift Hooves songs, the children know "Ride for Talas" before they know their own address. I will mail you our worksheets. And a feedback form for the worksheets.

There is a free course in internet! Learn Iradi in 10 Lessons! The lessons after 3 are "coming soon" since 2002 but the first ones are very good, and there is a horse words page.

Best way for kids to learn Iradi: COME HOME. Toronto will make them Canadians who speak their grandmother's language with an accent.
WAKE UP IRAD

Ak_Shumkar posted:

COME HOME.

Their home is here, Ak. Their grandmother's home is Kara-Buura. The language is the bridge between. You can stand at one end and shout, or you can help build it.

My grandmother spoke Koryo-mar at home, Russian at work and Iradi at the bazaar. I speak Iradi, Russian and about four words of Korean. Language lives in the kitchen. Teach them to cook and to complain in Iradi. Grammar comes later.

Year five. 16 kids. A Ukrainian babushka from the parish now sits at the back and learns with them. She says our horse words are easier than Ukrainian. I didn't argue.

Update after seven years: the class is 23 kids. Biggest recruiter: Karakush. Half of them came because of the "Ak Börü" dance and wanted to understand the words. I will take it. Tilge kaytuu, Toronto edition.

Last week a nine-year-old asked me why the American president wants to sell us. I did not have the words, in any language. Another girl, eight, said "Irad satylbayt". So the class is working.

this made me cry in the library. tell her we marched with that word in talas this week

From the kid who lost the language (other thread): I'm now helping with the five-year-olds at the Chicago Sunday school. Mostly horse words. Red pen lady would approve.

Red pen lady approves.