tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8687643215117543088.post6909301323825025010..comments2023-12-21T23:44:40.324+13:00Comments on Maui Street: NZEI adds its voice to call for compulsory Te Reo MāoriMorgan Godferyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16151402259122819244noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8687643215117543088.post-20562581284205467742012-09-04T20:02:03.007+12:002012-09-04T20:02:03.007+12:00After 10 years teaching in a South Auckland second...After 10 years teaching in a South Auckland secondary school where Maori was compulsory in the third form and 10 years teaching compulsory English in Hong Kong, I'm a bit sceptical about the value of forcing a second language on students who don't particularly value it or have much use for it.<br /><br />It was obvious in Hong Kong that a lot of students didn't get much past a few formulaic phrases in oral English, despite years of learning, though I couldn't put a reliable figure on that failure for the territory as a whole.<br /><br />In my South Auckland school, after hearing some unsolicited negative comments ("not my language", "don't need it", "would rather learn something else")from students about compulsory Maori in form 3, I checked the drop out rate for two years from compulsory F3 to voluntary F4 - circa 50% for Maori students, 99% for non-Maoris(almost all PI or Asian) students. If people don't wish to learn something, they are in a powerful position to achieve that goal.<br /><br />In Ireland, Irish has been compulsory for 80 plus years in schools and a prerequisite at different times for the civil service, teachers and the police, yet the latest census says that more than half of the population doesn't speak it and many of those who do say they can speak it, never speak it. The vast majority of school children say they don't speak it outside the classroom. The census measures quantity rather than quality of Irish, and the few attempts at judging competence in Irish that I've heard of, rate only 4-5% of the population as competent speakers.<br /><br />New Zealand isn't Ireland - we might do a lot better or somewhat worse, and my anecdotal evidence is scarcely reliable data; but when enthusiasts promote compulsory Maori (or compulsory English in Hong Kong, for that matter), it is as important to know not just what their exact goals are, but also what evidence people have for expecting to achieve those goals, by when, their opportunity cost, and what happens if the policy fails.<br />As someone who has struggled to learn other languages compulsorily and voluntarily, I admire those who are genuinely bilingual, but I'm quite pessimistic about the value of forcing people to learn languages against their will.<br /><br />Kiwi DaveAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8687643215117543088.post-34878008919469825642012-09-03T19:55:33.438+12:002012-09-03T19:55:33.438+12:00There is so much talk of Maori failure that we hav...There is so much talk of Maori failure that we have got into a negative mind set as regards maori achievement, NZEI has also embarked on a celebration of Maori success, because success breeds success. Whakahau Whakamana Whakahihi has produced heaps of great stories of educational success: http://3w.org.nz/Dave Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12428353657153292616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8687643215117543088.post-67340468537953248782012-09-03T19:17:51.987+12:002012-09-03T19:17:51.987+12:00Learning Te Reo is like a good book. You need to s...Learning Te Reo is like a good book. You need to sell it to me. If there is such strong evidence for bilingualism, why not learn a language that hundreds of millions or perhaps billions speak?<br /><br />It would be nice to see a greater emphasis on the basics of Te Reo in schools. But from there, as I said, it should be promoted like a good book. There needs to be interest and a considerable driving reason why people ought to learn the language. If the book/language is good in the beginning, more people might stick it out until the end.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com