Speaking in tongues

John Key says Kiwi kids should learn Mandarin. It'd be good for the economy. Thirty years ago their parents were told, learn Japanese. It'd be good for the economy. Their grandparents had French lessons ... In International Language Week, a leading academic tells Joanna Davies our language lessons in primary schools are a waste of time.
Kay Vincent's classroom walls are covered with posters and art, flashcards and maps. An inflatable globe hangs in one corner and, on the board are written bits of vocabulary. Few of them are in English.
As class begins, the Year 7 and 8 students greet their teacher, but not with the usual good mornings or hellos. Instead they chorus, "Hola".
For the next hour or more, Spanish is spoken.
Mrs Vincent - "Senora Vincent" to her students - has taught Spanish to children at The Gardens School, in Manurewa, for 18 months.
"We try to use Spanish for at least 50 per cent of the class," says Mrs Vincent. "We don't rush the language at this age, but it's all about getting the students speaking what they know confidently."
So there are no verb tables to recite, just practising the basics.
Unlike many other countries, in New Zealand, learning languages other than one's own is not compulsory under the school curriculum.
But, during the past three years, schools that educate Year 7-10 students (intermediate and the first two years of high school) have been instructed to prepare a second language option by this year.
Mrs Vincent considers her school one of the lucky ones. She is learning Spanish alongside the students, in a scheme to train teachers. "The principal has been very supportive, and if we can send a student off to high school with some basic language skills, it will help them stick with it."
Already, some of her students are planning their high school classes; many want to continue with a second language. "We want them to be open to learning all languages. If they go to a school that doesn't offer Spanish, we want them to try something new. The earlier they start, the better," says Mrs Vincent.
As class begins, the roll is taken by each student calling out a number in Spanish. Songs are sung, and a letter from another teacher, who's studying in Spain, is read aloud.
"We often talk to our other teacher, who is in Spain at the moment, on Skype, and we watch lots of videos online to hear more authentic voices," says Mrs Vincent.
So popular has the language become that at school camp earlier this year, all students had to order their meals in Spanish. "One student asked for kittens instead of biscuits, by accident, but we all learn from those mistakes."
Last year, according to Ministry of Education statistics, more than 94,000 primary and high school students were enrolled in a second language class. French is most popular, with just over 27,000 students, followed by Japanese, with around 17,000. Spanish is third, then German, Samoan and Chinese.
Last year, for the first time, Chinese overtook Latin with more enrolments nationally.
With the Prime Minister's stated desire that more students learn Mandarin, international
languages are in the spotlight again, but the Ministry has no plans to make learning international languages compulsory.
Rebekah Hutchinson and Kumiko Tusevljak, both 12, plan to continue Spanish when they start high school next year.
"It's fun to learn," says Rebekah. "I like the singing that we do, and we can talk to each other and other people won't know what we're saying."
Kumiko, who was raised in Japan and is already fluent in Japanese, learned English when her family moved to Auckland. "I wasn't very good at English when I came here, but I got better. I want to keep learning Spanish because I like learning languages."
John Key will be pleased to hear that Confucius Classrooms are being set up in schools around Auckland to teach Mandarin, assisted by China's Government.
Adele Scott, president of the NZ Association of Language Teachers, says more needs to be done to promote all languages in schools.
"It is compulsory for schools be working towards offering a second language, but it's not compulsory for the students to take it," she says. "The Government is not seeing the long-term importance of languages, like cultural awareness, but focusing on the immediate needs, such as the trade agreement with China. It takes years to become fluent in a language, it's not something that can be learned immediately."
Mrs Scott says languages are now a key part of the curriculum so teachers need more money for training, in order to teach them. Because those funds or courses aren't available to all teachers, languages aren't being introduced in all schools.
Any international language can be taught, provided the teacher is motivated. "What principals need to do is have a look around their staffroom and see what other languages are already there to work with. The ideal language to teach is the one that is of interest to the child, and that's not necessarily Mandarin."
Trends in teaching languages have long been dictated by socio-economic factors. In the 1980s and 1990s Japanese was popular because of economic growth there.
Before that, it was French and Latin, holding onto the links of European heritage. Now it's Mandarin, even though only 2077 students were enrolled in Chinese language classes at school last year.
Kenneth Leong, director of Euroasia private language school in Parnell, says Mandarin will become "the new Japanese" in schools over time. "In the 1980s Japan was becoming a major superpower, which is why the language was so popular. That is essentially what is happening with Mandarin today."
Euroasia offers language classes to adults, mainly to businesspeople and those wanting to travel. Auckland's growing Chinese population makes Mandarin a good choice for language learners, its director says.
"I've spoken to the people taking classes here at the moment; 60 per cent of them have interests in China and want to learn more about the language and culture.
"At the moment, though, Spanish is very popular. Kiwis love to learn it."
He believes language learning should be compulsory in schools. "It sounds a bit draconian but, compared to the rest of the world, New Zealand is very unusual because it isn't compulsory. We argue that learning a second language makes kids more intelligent.
"There is a general perception that learning another language is good for business, but there are huge outcomes in terms of cultural understanding, especially in resolving cross-cultural issues."
Another perception: everyone in the world is learning English, and there's no need to bother learning another language. "In response to that, no Chinese person would expect you to be fluent, but it determines that you're interested in learning about their culture and values."
Rod Ellis, a professor in the Department of Applied Language Studies and Linguistics at the University of Auckland, says offering languages provides a good balance in high school curricula, but believes the case for starting foreign languages in schools is weak.
"The studies that have been done have shown no advantage in starting the teaching of foreign languages early. In New Zealand, the majority of foreign language courses at primary school level are the 'taster' variety. Frankly, these are a waste of time, especially as they are often taught by teachers with no training or expertise in teaching a language.
"It would be much better to put resources into making a good job of teaching languages at secondary school."
But he emphasises the importance of teaching languages. "There are many reasons for learning another language - one is clearly instrumental. A knowledge of another language will increase your job opportunities.
"A second is that it opens up cultural boundaries. Learning another language enhances
cultural awareness and prevents you from being narrowly locked into the values and conventions of your own culture."
He'd like to see second-language learning compulsory in high schools. "Learning Languages is one of the designated areas in the new curriculum but it is the only one that is not mandatory. All students at secondary school should take at least one foreign language for the length of their secondary school education."
The ministry's manager for secondary outcomes, Tony Turnock, says it has no plans to make languages compulsory. "Learning Languages has been added to the curriculum to encourage students to participate actively in New Zealand's diverse multicultural society and in the global community," he says. "Since 2005, there has been an increase in the number of students learning languages."
Schools are self-governing and each designs its own curriculum within the national framework. "While the ministry does not direct schools to teach a particular language, it does provide general support for the development of languages programmes. In this way, schools are supported in their language programmes irrespective of which languages they may choose to teach."
Back in Senora Vincent's class, students finish their lesson by interviewing each other about their families. "The most important thing they are learning is confidence," says their teacher. "When the Year 7s started this year they knew nothing, but now they can talk with the Year 8s very well. They all have an appreciation of learning about other cultures."
Gidday
International Languages Week starts on Sunday, August 15. Schools and communities are encouraged to try new languages. Euroasia director Kenneth Leong says many schools are organising activities for students. Everyone can get involved by trying greetings in languages other than their own for each day of the week:
MONDAY Ni hao (Chinese)
TUESDAY Bonjour (French)
WEDNESDAY Guten Tag (German)
THURSDAY Konnichiwa (Japanese)
FRIDAY Buenos dias (Spanish)