Submissions on Pacific Peoples Languages and Literacies

Pacific Leo Bilingual Coalition: Submissions on Pacific Peoples Languages and Literacies Petition

Greetings from Aotearoa/New Zealand: Kia Ora ra: Talofa lava: Malo e lelei: Kiaorana: Ia orana :Fakaalofa lahi atu: Talohani: Bula Vinaka: Namaste: Ni hao ma: Mauri...

Blessed with Bilingual Brains- Aro'a'ia te reo 'enua. Tuatua mai tuatua atu tuatua mai.

Urgent Notice To All Pacific Peoples And Suporters Of Pacific Languages - Communities , Parents , Schools, Academics, Teachers, Churches, Families, Organisations & Individuals-

From Bilingual Leo Pacific Coalition

Petition Number & Name : Petition 2008/139 of Judy Taligalu McFall-McCaffery & John McCaffery and 6686 others

Your Submission To Parliament Is Now Needed- You Do Not Have To Have Signed The Petition To Make A Submission. Anyone Can Make A Submission.

What You Need to Do-

* Ask to be heard by the Select Committee to speak to your key points submission you are sending in. I/ We wish to be heard in support of this petition. If an organisation ask for 10-15 minutes otherwise you will be given only 5 minutes

* Submissions by Organisations and Groups carry weight -so do Families, Children, Schools, Churches ..... If enough submissions come from Auckland the Select Committee will come to Auckland as well as Wellington - NZ citizens in the Islands Realm of NZ (Cooks Niue and Tokelau) can make submissions also as well as everyone in NZ.

* Write down the key points of what you wish to say is important for our fanau in your submission to fit in one A4 page. This needs to be typed and send in before the 7th October, 2011. Put evidence or research on a second page if available.

* Ensure you put the Petition Number and Name on your email and submission (see above).

* Submissions can be emailed or posted

* Email to the address here. john.thomson@parliament.govt.nz Clerk of the Education & Science Committee,

* Or post to: John Thomson, Clerk of the Education & Science Committee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

*

Encourage others to put in a submission – You could help them write it or translate it for them – Could be bilingual in English first and translation in our family languages after that.

* Keep a copy of your submission and prepare your list written down of what you want to say under each point so we are ready for the hearing

For your information this is the wording of the Petition which we all signed. The petition requests:

"That the House urge the Government to introduce and fully fund Pacific languages literacy and English literacy development through bilingual education programmes for Pacific students in order to: raise students academic achievement, maintain and revive Pacific languages, and make the programmes readily available on an optional basis to Pacific families and communities in English and the five main Pacific languages of New Zealand; Cook Island Maori, Vagahau Niue, Tokelau, Samoan, Tongan."

Below is background information to help with your submission:

* Currently we already have 33 Bilingual units in primary schools: Three Tongan, Two Cook Island (Tokoroa), and 30 Samoan most in Auckland. We look forward to Tokelau and Niue bilingual programmes. We have 110 ECE Pacific language centres but this Petition is about primary school programmes that need to follow on from ECE.

* All the extra costs of running these primary school bilingual units are currently paid for by the schools and communities ourselves.That is we are allowed to do it if we pay the costs of doing so

* Bilingual Education is where our languages are used for at least 50% of all school time ( day week year) as mediums for instruction to teach other curriculum subjects like Music Art PE Technology Health Maths Science Reading Writing...that is the subject is taught through using our Pacific languages and English. less than 50% Pacific language use is not bilingual education. It is an enrichment programme

* It is not about teaching languages as subjects in 45 minute slots as in the Learning Languages Curriculum Area of the NZ Curriculum . This is an ineffective method of learning languages and raising academic achievement and maintaining or reviving languages.

* All forms of two languages and one language use including immersion education come under the professional fields of Bilingual Education- The term Bilingual Education does not mean we have to use two languages in ECE. Bilingual Education is the professional and academic field of research and study. And includes all immersion education approaches and programmes.

* The NZ Ministry of Education cut The Tupu and Folauga reading materials for our children who already understand and speak a Pacific language. It has replaced them with materials designed only for beginner learners.

* Literacy and academic achievement in both languages - English and our family & community languages is our goal.

* Only Bilingual Education in partnership with families and communities has a proven international track record of being able to -

1. Raise minority students academic achievement and

2. Maintain and or revive minority language

3. Support family and community efforts to maintain and revive languages. We need both schools and communities /homes to work together in partnership.

Professor Stephen May's bilingual education recommendations from his report to MPIA is attached for your information [see below]. We are happy to supply you or direct you to other research and writings and support.

BUT your own School’s, family and children’s experiences are very valuable to tell them about, especially Bilingual Units / schools programmes.

Let us change the course of history this time around. Prepare your submission now and make sure you send it in before the 7th of October.

Please send a copy of your submission to us as well.

If you have any questions regarding your submission do get back to the Bilingual Leo Pacific Coalition at pacific.leo@hotmail.com

Fakaaue lahi atu, Meitaki maata, Faka fetai, Malo aupito, Vinaka, Fa'afetai tele

“Blessed with Bilingual Brains”-

Visit www.bilingualaotearoa.wikispaces.com

Extract from: Professor May, S. (2009) Pasifika Languages Strategy: Key Issues. (Chapter 4, pp.14-19) Report to Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs. (Unpublished report ) Auckland: MPIA.

As the national and international research consistently highlights, the programmes that are most effective in educating bilingual students are immersion programmes, the model employed in Mäori medium education, and two way or dual language bilingual programmes. Both these bilingual education options could be implemented nationally for Pasifika students, given sufficient political will to do so.

The experience of Mäori-medium education, and those specific school-based bilingual education programmes discussed above (e.g. Richmond Road Primary School; Finlayson Park Primary School), would provide a strong point of reference for similar Pasifika immersion models (see May et al. 2004 for further details). In such programmes, Pasifika students would be taught primarily in a Pasifika language, as the basis for also learning English. This would suit first language (L1) Pasifika students, in particular.

Two way or dual language bilingual education programmes are another option. Though none has been established in New Zealand to date, such programmes would be particularly well suited to Pasifika language contexts, which include a growing mix of first language Pasifika and first language English speakers (see Section 2). Two-way[or Dual language]bilingual programmes would address this language mix directly, as its philosophy is to include a roughly equal proportion of L1 community languages speakers (in this case, a Pasifika language) and L1 English speakers in the same classroom. In this context, each group of students learns not only from the teacher (who must be bilingual and biliterate – that is, literate in both languages) but also from each other. These multiple opportunities to communicate with and learn in both languages may explain the widely attested educational success of these particular programmes (see also Lessow-Hurley 2000; Lindholm-Leary, 2001) – in Thomas and Collier’s study, these programmes had the best educational results, followed closely by immersion [and late exit] programmes. Certainly, two-way bilingual programmes could at least be trialled in New Zealand, although bilingual/biliterate Pasifika teachers would first need to be recruited and trained to work effectively in such contexts[ currently only the School of Arts and Languages at the Faculty of Education, University of Auckland offers such partial training]

ENDS

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