Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
- Should we encourage bilingual Pasifika students to use a Pasifika language as well as English?
- How can we work with parents on bilingual Pasifika students' language development?
- How far do we take bilingualism?
- What if teachers don't speak their students' Pasifika languages?
- How do we help our students to achieve better?
- How do we motivate Pasifika students?
- Can we learn anything from Māori-medium education models?
- How can we help our Pasifika students develop good learning skills?
- How do LEAP approaches integrate into the curriculum?
- How can we develop bilingual Pasifika students' academic language?
- How can we develop oral language programmes to support the acquisition of Pasifika languages and English?
- How can we get more Pasifika-oriented resources?
Should we encourage bilingual Pasifika students to use a Pasifika language as well as English?
Yes, the research is quite clear on this - creating a school context where bilingualism and Pasifika languages are highly valued in all learning contexts (not just for social and cultural purposes).
See ' Pasifika and education ' and ' Bilingualism and successful learning '.
How can we work with parents on bilingual Pasifika students' language development?
You can make sure parents know about the advantages for their children of growing up fully bilingual.
You can establish good links with Pasifika families and communities and establish regular dialogues about values and goals in relation to learning and language, and about curriculum objectives.
How far do we take bilingualism?
Take it as far as possible. Support for bilingualism for bilingual Pasifika students should go beyond social uses of their Pasifika languages, and into academic or instructional uses. Encouraging bilingual Pasifika students to become literate in both of their languages – or biliterate – is also crucial. The research literature shows that when bilingual students are able to become biliterate, their educational outcomes improve markedly. Given that many Pasifika students already use their Pasifka languages to discuss their learning, we need to encourage and extend this, wherever possible, in the classroom.
Many adults regret that their facility in their first language is less than their parents' generation and that this prevents them from making the fullest contributions to their community in later life. School is the only context where most bilingual Pasifika students have any resources to support developing their bilingualism in relation to the skills and knowledge developed through curriculum learning.
What if teachers don't speak their students' Pasifika languages?
There are still many ways mainstream teachers can foster students' Pasifika languages even if they don't speak those languages themselves. Most of the LEAP inquiries have some suggestions for how you might do this.
- You can draw on the help of other people who do speak Pasifika languages.
- You can help the students to use and develop their Pasifika languages themselves.
- You can talk to other people about the benefits for your students of being bilingual, and biliterate, and support and encourage greater use and teaching of Pasifika languages.
How do we help our students to achieve better?
This question is answered in various ways by the whole of the LEAP resource.
How do we motivate Pasifika students?
Motivation results from learning as well as contributing to it. Students who have success in learning are motivated to learn more. In that sense all the LEAP inquiries address motivation through exploring various ways of helping Pasifika students to learn well.
Can we learn anything from Māori-medium education models?
Yes, there is a lot to be learned from the Māori-medium education experience. Kohanga reo and Kura kaupapa Māori have explored many issues relevant to bilingual Pasifika students' learning and maintaining their Pasifika languages in a predominantly monolingual English speaking environment.
See the Ministry of Education website www.minedu.govt.nz sections on Māori education, Pasifika education, and Research.
How can we help our Pasifika students develop good learning skills?
First, it is important to have good warm relationships with your students so that they trust you to help them learn.
How do LEAP approaches integrate into the curriculum?
LEAP is a cross-curriculum mainstream resource. Everything in the LEAP inquiries is situated in the context of curriculum learning.
' Curriculum outcomes and language outcomes ' and ' How can language learning be promoted?' explore how to connect language objectives to curriculum objectives.
' Affirming biliteracy ' and ' Affirming Pasifika languages in the mainstream ' focus on ways of using Pasifika languages in curriculum contexts.
How can we develop bilingual Pasifika students' academic language?
There are two important aspects to developing bilingual Pasifika students' academic language.
- Make sure that the Pasifika language of bilingual students can play its key role in supporting language development in both languages.
- Pay focused and planned attention to the development of academic language.
The LEAP inquiries and investigations provide the opportunity for teachers to develop some technical skills for planning and focussing on academic language.
The role of the Pasifika language in the development of English for bilingual Pasifika students is explored in Inquiry ' Why are Pasifika languages keys to learning? ', in the inquiries in the section ' Bilingualism and successful learning '.
How can we develop oral language programmes to support the acquisition of Pasifika languages and English?
An ongoing oral language programme is very important for bilingual Pasifika students. Proficiency in oral language is a goal in itself, and also an important basis for developing reading and writing.
Increasing the amount and variety of oral participation in English and Pasifika languages is important.
How can we get more Pasifika-oriented resources?
Teacher-made resources are important too. You can make the best use of these resources if there is a system in your school for storing and cataloguing resources so that all teachers can use them.
As a teacher of Pasifika bilingual students, you probably know people (including senior students or former students) who could produce fiction and non-fiction writing, art work and photography, and music, in Pasifika languages, and/or with a Pasifika theme for schools. Learning Media publishes school resources for the Ministry of Education. See http://www.learningmedia.co.nz/nz/online/authorsartists/ for how to contribute materials for publication. This would be a good focus for a collaborative project with your local Pasifika communities.
