Read this article on LanguageKnow
Your Language Needs a Teacher
Why we are asking now
LanguageKnow now lists words and phrases in more than 3,100 languages. Many of these pages start from recorded research wordlists, such as the ASJP Database, or from clearly labelled drafts. Every one of them says that it is waiting for a native speaker, because a list of words is not yet a living language. Only people who grew up with a language can tell a learner how a word really sounds, when it is polite to use it, and which form their family would say at home.
What volunteer teachers do
- Check the words and phrases listed for your language, and confirm or correct them.
- Record pronunciations, so that learners hear a real human voice.
- Add the everyday words, greetings and sayings that are still missing.
- Build short first lessons for beginners.
- Welcome learners who want to speak your language with their own families.
You choose how much time to give. Ten minutes a week already makes a difference.
Who can teach
Anyone who speaks a language well can volunteer, including heritage speakers who learned it at home rather than at school. You do not need a teaching qualification. If your language has only a few speakers left, your help matters even more.
How to start
- Open languageknow.com/TeachSignup.
- Tell us which language or languages you speak.
- Start with the words already listed for your language: confirm them, correct them or add new ones.
Other members of the community review contributions before they are marked as checked, so nobody carries the work alone.
Why it matters
A language is more than its words. It holds songs, jokes, family names and ways of seeing the world that do not translate. When a speaker shares even a few words with a learner, that knowledge travels one more generation.
Become a volunteer teacher: https://languageknow.com/TeachSignup
Tags: teaching, volunteering, native speakers, endangered languages