Editorial: One language not enough in today's world

All New Zealanders might start learning a second language before they enter secondary school if a proposal from the Ministry of Education's latest curriculum review receives the Government's blessing. It should. Like other people lucky enough to learn English from the cradle, New Zealanders seldom feel the need of another language. We have the good fortune to find our first language spoken almost universally. English is the nearest thing to a common language of international commerce, diplomacy and, now, the internet. When Asians, Africans, even Continental Europeans, struggle to converse across linguistic borders, we hear them switch usually to English.

In our complacency, it is easy to overlook the remarkable multilingual facility that most foreign-language speakers acquire. And not many English speakers probably realise how much richer linguists are for that. Language, as any speaker of French, Arabic, Spanish or Maori will attest, is much more than a tool of communication. Language in large part governs how we think. And other people's language is the best available insight into how they think.

The benefits of that knowledge are not confined to better understanding of other people; the learner of a foreign language is personally enriched with words and concepts that have no precise equivalent in the person's native language. If the student can get to grips with the literature of the foreign language, a new world opens. Only those who get there know how much is lost in translation.

But need the study of a second language start as young as the ministry's report suggests? The answer is the younger the better. The report proposes that schools must offer a second language from year 7 (form 1) to year 10, though it would not be mandatory. That is a start. But why not make it mandatory for the first two years at least? Not much of the curriculum is optional at forms 1 and 2. It would seem more practical, as well as beneficial, to include a second language in the weekly schedule for the whole class.

The most sensitive question for many schools will be which second language they should offer. For most, the obvious choice will be Maori. It is already taught in a rudimentary fashion in primary schools and it would be relatively easy to introduce at intermediate levels. With a few years' preparation (the curriculum changes are aimed to start in 2006) teachers could become sufficiently proficient.

It is more difficult to see intermediate schools acquiring the means to offer German, Japanese or other languages now commonly available at secondary school. So Maori is likely to be the default option for most, and the country would be better for it. Maori has all the useful attributes of a second language. It has words and concepts without precise English equivalents, it has its own shades of meaning and can equip the learner with an insight into a culture quite foreign to English speakers.

It is also a culture indigenous to this country and increasingly demanding recognition here. There is no better way to meet that demand than to give all citizens a grounding in its language. A general understanding of the language could do more for this country than all the treaty settlements, Maori broadcasting programmes and equal opportunity quotas put together. A distinctive language would become a treasure to us all.

In fact, a case could be made for making Maori and another language options that would be compulsory for all intermediate schools to offer. A second language, no matter which was chosen, would fill a gap in the education of most of us. Too many of us are monolingual, and it shows.