After a short opening ceremony, the leader should address the workshop participants before activities begin. 

Ask: "Which languages did you learn to read in school? How were you taught to read vowels?"

The answers to these questions will give the workshop leader a better understanding of the participants' literacy background, such as how many vowels and consonants they were taught in school. This is the starting point for discovering the sounds of their native language, which may have more or less sounds than the ones they have been previously taught to read.  

Then, ask: "Does your language have a grammar? Does it have a dictionary?"

Participants are often surprised by these questions. Some will answer "yes" and others "no." Often, languages that are still in the early stages of development do not yet have a grammar or dictionary. 

Respond: "Your language does have a grammar and a dictionary, but it's still hidden away in your heads. Over the course of this workshop, our goal is to get it out of your heads and onto paper!"

This type of response discourages the idea that the local language is 'all mixed up' without any regular patterns or that it is 'only a dialect' because it does not have a grammar book or dictionary like 'real languages.'  As participants become involved in the discovery process, they will become more and more aware of the richness of their language's vocabulary, its sound system, and its grammatical patterns, enabling them to see that their mother-tongue is more than just a 'dialect' but a language in its own right.