The guide fills a gap in planning and offers ways of tracking how all aspects of their projects are developing over years. Currently, projects tend to focus on specific areas without taking into consideration the range and time of what is actually involved. The guide outlines possible paths and aspects that should be considered when reviving a language as it is important to take time to regularly to consider where your program is up to in each of the five areas identified, and where it is going.
The five key areas for consideration are:
- People & Planning
- Resources & Analyses
- Training & Support
- Educational Materials & Opportunities
- Community language Opportunities
Your program may be at different stages in different areas for example, you may already have a dictionary, but not many people who know the language. Also, you will keep coming back to some stages over time for example, more Elders may offer to record their language knowledge, or someone writing a speech may need to create new words.
The timeline offers suggestions for the general directions and time frame that might be expected for different stages in your program. You may have more ideas to add in to these suggestions as well. The timeline is intended as a tool to talk about the achievements and plans for your language program, and to get a clear picture of how to get where you want to go.