“There are 18 different ethnicities and languages represented in our centre; how do we do them all justice?” New Zealand’s vibrant communities contribute to the overall language diversity in early childhood education, and kaiako will always endeavour to respond with teaching strategies appropriate to children’s needs. Of course, it is not realistic to expect kaiako to quickly go and learn many different languages. The question is, however, how do early childhood teachers support young children in their cultures, languages, and identities in a multilingual environment? Beyond monolingual The most commonly spoken languages in Aotearoa New Zealand are English, with the use of te reo Māori increasing steadily, as well as Samoan, Northern Chinese (including Mandarin) and Hindi (NZ Statistics, 2018). New Zealand Sign Language (one of New Zealand’s official languages) is used by 22,986 people. ‘Commonly spoken’ means a language with which people could hold a conversation about everyday things. According to Statistics NZ Census of 2018, over half of Māori people had some te reo Māori speaking ability, with ability levels varying by age group. Overall use of te reo Māori is expected to continue to grow but foundational support in early learning could make a significant difference. The Statistics NZ numbers indicate the language diversity across the motu but the language landscape is even richer within early childhood services. For example, Ministry of Education (2021) numbers show that at least 73 languages were spoken across New Zealand’s early childhood services. Learning a language is time-consuming and doesn’t come easy to everyone but early childhood teachers are acutely aware of the fact that language is at the heart of learning for the very young children they care for. Celebrating identity, language and culture The early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki (2017) provides guidance with regard to supporting children’s unique strengths and individuality. When children begin attending early childhood services they are already equipped with knowledge of their home language(s), cultural expertise, and existing knowledge about their family’s practices. The single most effective support strategy for implementing the Principles of Te Whāriki, in particular Whakamana | Empowerment, may be to show how the child’s family background and knowledge is valued – which is primarily the home language and culture. Indeed, Te Whāriki stresses that language and culture are inseparable. Kaiako are very inventive in developing practical ways of showing interest in children’s home languages and their cultures, for example through songs, poems, stories, art, dance, and music in the children’s languages. Accessing these learning tools in an unknown language invariably involves parents and whānau, i.e. having chats, asking for translations, receiving information, resources and insight. These strategies are the pragmatic and hands-on early childhood way of acknowledging, celebrating and responding to children’s identity, language, and culture. Communication | Mana reo The physical act of learning to speak, as well as understanding and effectively using one’s own language, and possibly adding another language to the home language, is a gigantic undertaking for a young child. Te Whāriki asks of teachers that children be supported in that process of adding another language. Research shows that language conventions and grammar are acquired and practised in the first language (Pinker, 1994), which means support for the first language is instrumental. Given time and practice, children are able to learn more than one language and there is no need to ‘replace’ one language for another. The Strand ‘Communication’ describes many examples of best practice of nurturing language and communication skills. Any of these strategies will prove beneficial, no matter which language is spoken. If parents are supported to undertake such strategies at home in their child’s first language, Language diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand’s early childhood services By Katina Beauchamp March 2022 { 26 }
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