Hlaa Dim Mas’us’m Ahl Luu’majam Hlit’: Let’s play ball - A sport method for teaching Gitxsanimx̱
Date
2026
Authors
Nyce, James
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Abstract
This research was inspired by my own up-bringing, mentorship and love for basketball, which explores the application of Total Physical Response (TPR), Where Are Your Keys (WAYK), and Situational Navajo methods for language acquisition to sport, specifically basketball, to teach Gitxsanimx̱. I developed a product-as-a-project, a coaches resource for teaching Gitxsanimx̱ through basketball, including a glossary of terms and phrases, example coaching plans, and labeled court diagrams.
In my community there are no language programs for Youth outside of the schools’ Gitxsan Language and Culture exposure classes. However, basketball is growing in popularity with many players participating across the different age groups. Many teams are composed of Youth and adults, resulting in opportunities for mentorship and relationships to develop. Mentorship is a key aspect of the community and will be an important feature of the program if it is to succeed long term. Basketball serves as the perfect medium for language teaching, especially using physical language acquisition methods like WAYK and TPR. The benefit of using basketball to teach language is it takes the language out of the classroom and into the community. It provides a positive, culturally responsive, and fun space for community to use the language.
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Keywords
basketball, Total Physical Response (TPR) method, Where Are Your Keys (WAYK) method, Situational Navajo method, language acquisition, Gitxsanimx̱