The First RGC Workshop

The following summary of Phase 1 includes an overview of the workshop's goals and sessions as well as a sample schedule. 

The facilitator should plan to spend at least 2 weeks preparing for the first workshop. This includes preliminary language research, buying supplies and preparing data for sessions. Adequately preparing before the workshop will help prevent becoming overwhelmed by data preparation and documentation during the workshop. 

For detailed instructions on how to prepare for the first workshop, see pages under "Prepare for Phase #1." For details on facilitating individual sessions, see pages under "Workshop #1 Guide."

Overview: Phase 1

Summary Of Phase 1 Sessions

The types of sessions typically held in phase 1 are listed below. These sessions are designed to research the key aspects of the language's sound system and grammar in order to create an effective writing system. 

For an example of how Phase 1 sessions may be scheduled in a 2-week workshop, see "Planning the Schedule" further below. Step-by-step instructions for leading individual sessions are included in the pages under "Workshop #1 Guide." 

Planning the Schedule

The typical RGC workshop holds 4 research sessions per day. Below is an example of a what an average day may look like. 

Example: Daily Schedule

8:30–9:00 Scripture & Prayer 

9:00–10:30 Research Session 

10:30–11:00 Tea/Coffee Break

11:00–12:30 Research Session 

12:30–2:00 Lunch 

2:00–3:30 Research Session 

3:30–3:45 Tea/Coffee Break

3:45–5:00 Research session

When creating a schedule, keep in mind that the facilitator will often have additional work to do in the evening to prepare for the next day, such as sorting cards or documenting discoveries. S/he may also want to prepare additional frames based on discoveries made earlier in the day. 

Scheduling Daily Sessions

Providing participants with a weekly (or daily) schedule can help provide clarity about the goals for each day and the facilitator's expectations. When planning research topics for a particular day, it is recommended to vary the activities from one session to the next. For example, if the day begins with a card sorting session, consider holding a text-based session next, as shown in the example below. Variety can help the days go faster and keep the participants more productive.* If one activity does not take the entire session, begin another one. 

Example: Research Topics to Cover in 1-day

Session 1: Compare [ATR] Vowels

Session 2: Revise a Text(s)

Session 3: Identify Verbs in the Texts

Session 4: Compare [ATR] Vowels Cont.

*While variety is helpful for most situations, one group of participants found it confusing to go back and forth between topics. Organize the schedule based on what works best for the group. 

Sample 2-week Schedule

The sample schedule below shows how topics and activities were structured for a 2-week workshop on the Zhire [zhi] langauge of Nigeria. This schedule is given only as a very general guide. The topics included in any RGC workshop and the amount of time set aside for each topic should always be tailored to the language.

Sample Activity Plan for Workshop 1

Scheduling Considerations

A language with little or no bound morphemes (i.e. isloating langauges) will require a greater focus on syntax than other langauges. Alternatively, a language that has a large number of bound morphemes, complicated morphononological processes and/or unpredictable allomorphs will require a greater focus on morphology. For langauges with high morphological complexity, it is recommended that, after carefully checking consonants, vowels and tone in a sufficient number of roots (at least 400 singular and plural nouns and 150 verbs), most of the remaining workshop sessions be used to elicit sound changes where morphemes are joined. While plowing through endless morphology may become tiring, deciding how to spell sound changes at morpheme boundaries and where to place word breaks are of high importance in establishing an effective writing system.

Only so much grammar will be able to be covered in the time allotted for the workshop. There is no shame in not finishing all the best practice steps for Phase 1 in 2 weeks. For some languages, this is simply impossible. When working with a morphologically complex language, plan to spend a total of 3-4 weeks on this stage of the research. The research could be done in 1 workshop or split between 2 workshops with a break in between. When splitting the research between 2 workshops, make the break long enough that everyone gets a rest but short enough that the discoveries from the first workshop will still be fresh. 

In general, avoid overextending yourself and the participants in order to meet the workshop's stated goals. Whatever grammar is not covered in the first workshop can wait for another workshop. That being said, it is the facilitator's responsibility to carefully prioritize which aspects of the grammar to cover, based on what will be the most helpful for establishing the writing system of the langauge. 

Using the Phase 1 Guides

The guides under "Prepare for Phase #1" and "Workshop #1 Guide" provide a set of best practice statements for RGC workshops. However, the suggested research topics will not necessarily apply equally to all langauges and language families. Facilitators are encouraged to use preliminary research of the langauge (see Research & Supplies) to decide workshop topics. 

Likewise, the reserach steps listed under a particular topic should be adapted to the language. Depending on the language being researched, not all steps will be necessary or needed at all. Meanwhile, some languages will require additional steps.