IEFA Sarah Hanen-Bauer #4c

I found it fascinating to begin to scratch the surface of the nonverbal communication that each tribe used. I would enjoy researching this topic further and use the information to help teach my students about Native American life and modes of communication.

I also found the information about the Montana tribes and reservations to be interesting. I would love to dig deeper into this arena of knowledge because I am sadly lacking in information about my neighbors. After all, knowledge begets understanding.

As a future teacher of English as a Foreign Language, sign-language is key. Communicating without words is an important facet in breaking down the language barrier. Using words as well as actions would be a powerful way to help communicate information about Native Americans to my students. Native American life is an important part of our culture as Americans and teaching English is more than understanding grammar. It is about understanding connotations behind words in order to help the students find a meaning to a word or phrase that will stick in their heads. I would love to have my students research this topic more in-depth, then give a demonstration about what they learned, using actual Native American sign-language, followed by a statement in English to help sum up the main ideas being presented. This would be a great way for my students to gain a deeper understanding of the indigenous people of the United States and it would help them develop three key ingredients to language: reading, speaking and listening.

For a cultural assignment, I would love to have my students research an historical event in the United States from both the European and the Native American viewpoints, then present those ideas in class using all of the grammar we have been learning and practicing in class. This would be a great exercise for using conversational English, listening to English, as well as reading substantial information in English.