The Daily O’Collegian

One language in OSU’s foreign language department isn’t so foreign.

FLL 1000, an online course, focuses on the study of Mvskoke, or the language of the Creek, an American Indian tribe.

Ted Isham, the class instructor, said he thinks it’s odd a language originating in the U.S. can be considered foreign.

“It’s ironic that we are considered in the foreign language department when this is a native language,” Isham said. “It’s the first language of the country.”

This semester, the class began with about 20 students, but enrollment has dropped during the past few months.

“We had 20 students total in the beginning, and now, it’s down to 15, I believe,” Isham said.

Nancy Sherman, a program coordinator with Arts and Sciences Outreach, said the class hasn’t always been online.

“It’s always been in a classroom until this past year, and it was done by distance for students in Tulsa and other distant sites in Oklahoma,” Sherman said.

The class has been around longer than Sherman has been coordinating it.

“It’s been around at least 12 years,” Sherman said. “Possibly 14, I’m not certain, but I’ve been coordinating it for 10.”

Isham said the class has four aspects, some of which require technological help.

“The four areas are reading, listening, writing and speaking,” Isham said.

The class uses an online tool to work on the speaking and listening portions of the class.

“We have a component that we have so that we can hear them speak and use the language, which is a critical part of foreign language teaching,” Isham said.

This way, Isham can see the students and visa-versa.

Of the many American Indian languages in Oklahoma, Mvskoke is the only one taught at OSU.

“In Oklahoma we have 39 different tribes, and out of those tribes there are 20 or 30 different languages, and all of them are very endangered,” Isham said.

The class is not just for American Indian students, and Sherman said there are many reasons to enroll in the class.

“It’s an interesting course,” Sherman said. “A lot of the students who have taken it have been Native American, but a lot of others have been history majors and a few Ph.D historians who find it helpful to read Native American documents, and also other people who just find it interesting.”