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enough <strong>in</strong> te reo Māori to offer the language standard of Kōhanga Reo, but they are<br />

required to implement Tiriti-<strong>based</strong> <strong>curriculum</strong>. Moreover teachers on the whole<br />

appear supportive of implementation.<br />

For adult learners such as the teachers <strong>in</strong> this study, the aim of achiev<strong>in</strong>g<br />

native-like pronunciation of a second language may, however, be unatta<strong>in</strong>able<br />

(Lightbown & Spada, 2007). And although adults may learn and use a large<br />

vocabulary of words and phrases, accuracy <strong>in</strong> grammar will almost certa<strong>in</strong>ly be<br />

beyond them: “surpris<strong>in</strong>gly, even the ability to dist<strong>in</strong>guish between a grammatical<br />

and a non-grammatical sentence appears to be affected by the age factor”<br />

(Lightbown & Spada, 2007, p. 63). However, it is not the role of this thesis to<br />

contest that reality. What is important with<strong>in</strong> this study is to <strong>in</strong>troduce constructive<br />

ways <strong>in</strong> which teachers can manage language acquisition as they seek to implement<br />

Tiriti-<strong>based</strong> <strong>curriculum</strong>.<br />

In that regard, an important aspect of successfully implement<strong>in</strong>g Tiriti-<br />

<strong>based</strong> <strong>curriculum</strong> is hav<strong>in</strong>g the support of other teachers as competency and<br />

confidence grow. However, hav<strong>in</strong>g time to learn is also important and the<br />

follow<strong>in</strong>g quote summarises that issue:<br />

One of the po<strong>in</strong>ts is how can we, as busy <strong>early</strong> childhood educators; keep<br />

our te reo Māori and Māori language up-to-date? How can te reo Māori<br />

education providers make language and culture teach<strong>in</strong>g more<br />

approachable? I am not a fast learner; it took me a while to learn new<br />

language (Jl: C, 12/08).<br />

Cl<strong>early</strong>, <strong>early</strong> childhood teachers need time to learn te reo Māori, and<br />

achiev<strong>in</strong>g confidence is also important. Hav<strong>in</strong>g time, atta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g confidence, and<br />

be<strong>in</strong>g able to practice with other colleagues represents a big ask. Nevertheless, as<br />

this thesis has consistently po<strong>in</strong>ted out, a positive approach to development is<br />

needed as the follow<strong>in</strong>g section demonstrates.<br />

6.4.5 Support<br />

In this study it was apparent that teachers value the support they derive<br />

from books produced by the M<strong>in</strong>istry of Education such as Quality <strong>in</strong> Action<br />

(M<strong>in</strong>istry of Education, 1998). In addition, teachers cl<strong>early</strong> appreciated M<strong>in</strong>istry<br />

produced Tiriti-<strong>based</strong> resources such as children‟s books, posters, and games <strong>in</strong> te<br />

reo Māori. However, the most valued support was gifted by whānau Māori. Such<br />

opportunities ma<strong>in</strong>ly arose because whānau Māori had children at the centre:<br />

209

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