Oral Language & Literacy
Learning an Additional Language
1
Lay the groundwork
Practices to whakaritea te pārekereke prepare the seedbed for all children
Start by working with all the children in your setting. Create an environment that can support children to build skills related to Learning an Additional Language.
- Consider your current environment and how you could make it better.
- Talk to others about what you are already doing.
- Select practices that will be meaningful in your setting.
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Why is this practice important?
The early childhood years are known as the critical period for language learning – the time when children are most able to acquire more than one language with natural fluency. A strong foundation in the languages of the home provides a vital foundation for further language learning and supports children’s sense of self, cultural identity and wellbeing.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Take time to build relationships with whānau. Listen to cultural and social expectations they may have regarding language and literacy. Seek to understand the aspirations they have for their children as well as whānau language resources, such as which languages are used, when are they used, who are they used with.
Provide whānau with ongoing reassurance and encouragement to maintain a strong home language base for their child/ren as they acquire the new language and for their sense of belonging and well-being. Access translation services where required and use images to convey messages in written material.
Invite whānau to provide names of key people in their child’s life, as well as key words and simple phrases in their home language(s) to support your communication with their child.
Consider the life changes that children may have experienced (a new country, culture, home) and the impact this may have on their sense of belonging and confidence to communicate and use a new language.
Know which languages are understood and spoken by kaiako in your setting, along with their cultural knowledge. Enable these kaiako to guide and lead home language retention and support communication with children and whānau.
Establish an environment which affirms children’s right to use languages other than English or the dominant language of the service. Provide resources, including books and music that use children’s home languages and reflect their cultures.
Reflect on how your attitudes and beliefs about learning a new language might impact on children and family’s sense of belonging. By showing interest and curiosity in home languages you will help all children see multilingualism as a valued attribute and something to aspire to.
Why is this practice important?
Receptive language (language understanding) generally develops more quickly than expressive language (language production). Distinguishing the two competencies is important to fully appreciate what children already know in a new language and to avoid describing those who are silent but have understanding as ‘having no language’.How to apply this practice in your setting:
Observe children interacting and communicating in a variety of situations. Assess the level of receptive and expressive language.
Build an inclusive and welcoming relationship with whānau. Seek support from available translation services as needed to support communication and take time to learn about children’s understanding and use of home languages.
Provide opportunities for new language learners to interact with their peers in ways that are not limited to oral language, e.g. art, music, dance. At the same time encourage others, more confident in the primary language of the service, to use a range of spoken and non-spoken communication including signs, images, gestures, facial expression, and contextual cues.
Model language that is descriptive and specific rather than general, e.g. “The brown, flax basket goes on the top shelf” instead of “This goes over there”. Pay attention to pronunciation and correct grammar.
Intentionally ‘gift’ new words and their meanings to children often, as opportunities arise, to support their growing vocabulary. Repeatedly use these new words in context to help children remember and understand how they can be used.
Make use of short, stem phrases, such as “I am … thirsty/ hungry”, “I like … this one/the colour red” to assist early expressive language use.
Use word games and stories that work on repetition and playfulness to build vocabulary.
Acknowledge and encourage (praise) new language learners attempts at speaking.
Refer to Understanding and Using Language sub-area of Kōwhiti Whakapae: Oral language & literacy for further practices supportive of receptive and expressive language.
Why is this practice important?
The close inter-relationship between language and culture means that there are many words and ways of expressing ideas and concepts that are not easily translated from one language to another. Empowering mokopuna to draw on all their language resources (a process called translanguaging) gives them freedom to make meaning of their world in ways that make most sense to them. Mokopuna can then draw on their cross-language and cultural knowledge to help them communicate these meanings to others.How to apply this practice in your setting:
As a team, discuss the value of translanguaging in supporting mokopuna communication and cultural identity, as well as enhancing communication and cultural understandings for everyone in the early learning setting.
Continue to connect regularly with whānau who provide a bridge to understanding of mokopuna and their cultural and familial ways of communicating.
Establish a supportive environment which affirms the value of mokopuna, whānau and kaiako drawing on all their languages to communicate effectively, including home languages, te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language.
Model translanguaging with mokopuna by drawing on specific terms and forms where meanings don’t easily translate across languages. For example, karakia, and whakataukī hold meanings in te reo Māori that can be difficult to explain in English.
Encourage and support mokopuna to use their home language to make sense of new ideas and information, and to make choices about how they might use the languages of the setting to communicate and gain shared understanding with others. Allow mokopuna time to think and communicate their ideas to others.
Show respect, delight, and curiosity when mokopuna draw on the whole of their language and cultural funds of knowledge to express their ideas. Be positive and playful.
Incorporate books, games, appropriate websites, stories, and songs associated with home languages as well as the primary languages of the early childhood service.
Invite mokopuna and/or whānau to share, in person or via a recording, an artifact, story, or book using their own linguistic repertoire.
Recognise that mokopuna may have preferences for one language over the other at different times. Respect their choices while encouraging the use of their full language range.