An international language revitalisation model will be shared with Indigenous language workers at a two-day workshop in Mparntwe / Alice Springs this week.

The Salish Fluency Transfer System Workshop will be held on 19-20 June 2025 at the Desert Peoples Centre Campus, hosted by Batchelor Institute in partnership with First Languages Australia, the Salish School of Spokane, and the Pertame School.

The workshop will introduce the Salish FTS method, developed by the nisəlxčin language community (Colville Confederated Tribes in Washington State), aimed at producing fluent speakers through immersive practices.

It is designed for language teams of two - a fluent speaker and a tech-skilled partner - seeking to establish immersion-based learning in their communities.

Attendees will take part in practical demonstrations of immersion lessons and receive guidance on creating Level 1 Language and Traditional Story books in their own languages.

Pertame Southern Arrernte woman, Samantha Armstrong, a past participant and spokesperson for the event, said the experience reignited her commitment to language revival.

"Learning the first steps to creating new speakers of any Indigenous languages using the Salish Fluency Transfer System has ignited the fire within me," she said.

"The Salish family's personal journey reconnecting and revitalising their mother tongue deeply resonated with me. Their words were our words.

"We all came out of the demonstrations being able to confidently tell a Salish creation story in Salish after never hearing the language before that day."

The program will also explore the Salish School's approach to language recovery, including their full immersion school model and curriculum strategies.

A pre-workshop meeting on 18 June, led by First Languages Australia, will focus on policy and funding discussions to strengthen the Central Australian language sector.

Pertame Language Nest Coordinator Vanessa Farrelly said Australia must adopt successful models while Elders remain.

"The Salish School has a proven method of creating advanced adult speakers within just one year... It is critical that our Australian endangered language groups come together and look to Indigenous peoples globally," she said.

The workshop acknowledges the Central Arrernte people as Traditional Custodians and supports Batchelor Institute's "Both Ways" educational philosophy.

The event is funded by the federal Department of Education.