Push for pupils to be taught extra languages

Steve Maharey

Schools will be required to give students the chance to learn a second language apart from Maori or English - but teachers say the changes will need more money and staff.

A draft curriculum for primary and secondary schools, unveiled yesterday by Education Minister Steve Maharey, places a strong emphasis on teaching languages.

If adopted, the curriculum would require all schools with Year 7 (Form 1) to Year 10 (Form 4) students to offer classes in a second language.

Mr Maharey said a school teaching English and Maori would not meet the requirement.

Schools would be expected to look at teaching other languages, such as those from the Pacific Islands, or Chinese or Spanish.

What was taught might reflect the make-up of the communities around the schools.

"On top of ensuring that people can maintain their languages, we want to ensure that we have a wider variety of people speaking a wider variety of languages," Mr Maharey told the Herald.

The push to extend language classes could put extra pressure on schools which do not now have a range of such classes.

Some educators doubt New Zealand has enough teachers with the skills to conduct such classes.

Educational Institute president Irene Cooper said some schools would not meet the requirement now.

While she backed the push for more language teaching because it would "put us on the map with the rest of the world", she also admitted to some uncertainty over whether schools had enough resources.

"We have been talking to the minister about that," Ms Cooper said.

"It needs to be managed quite cleverly. There needs to be some support for schools, there needs to be some consideration of the proper resourcing and staffing."

Ms Cooper said some schools would not be affected, but other people would wake up tomorrow and think, "Is this really true for us and what are we going to do about it?"

The draft curriculum details the basis of what students will be taught in primary and secondary schools.

It remains open for public comment until the end of November.

A final version is likely to be published late next year.

The draft specifies eight learning areas instead of the present curriculum's seven, the addition being "learning languages".

The Government isn't planning to prescribe what languages it wants taught, but Mr Maharey hinted that widely spoken ones, such as Spanish, should be considered.

The teaching of Pacific Island languages had recently received more Government money, and "obviously we'd like to see Chinese".

"We've also got to address the needs of that growing Indian community," Mr Maharey said.

He agreed the Government would have to look at the resources schools would need for second-language teaching. "Have we got resources for this? Well, clearly no.

"If we're going to go down this line there will be a need for us to address teacher training and resourcing these areas of language as they grow."

Migrant communities might be targeted in the hunt for people to teach languages.

Mr Maharey said small rural schools would be able to meet the new requirement by using tools such as broadband internet to connect with other schools and students to learn.

The changes outlined yesterday also include the teaching of eight "values", such as encouraging New Zealanders to treasure excellence by "aiming high and by persevering in the face of difficulties".

Care for the environment - or specifically, the Earth and its interrelated ecosystems - is also included.

Schools will decide how the values will be taught to their students, after "dialogue" with their communities.

The Education Ministry's proposal last year to teach values triggered a debate when critics questioned whether compulsory values education was necessary.

They also said it would increase the burden on teachers.


The new curriculum

* What is it?

Sets out the Government's expectations of what primary and secondary schoolchildren should be able to achieve by the time they leave school.

* Why is it changing?

The last massive seven-volume document was issued in 1993. The Government says it needs to reflect modern education needs.

* What does it say?

Weaves eight core values into teaching, and says pupils should be taught English, mathematics and statistics, science, social sciences, technology, the arts, health and physical education and languages. Gives more power to schools to decide how they teach students.

* What happens next?

Consultation for three months, then final amendments. The new curriculum will come into force in September next year.