supporting tiriti-based curriculum delivery in mainstream early ...

iculturalism. It was found that this was especially so in the international
literature.
2.2.2 Configuring Links between Language and Culture
According to Wei (2000, p. 7) “the word „bilingual‟ primarily describes
someone with the possession of two languages”. Nevertheless, in verifying if a
person is bilingual there are several factors which need to be considered. These
include deeming what level of fluency is required in both languages and whether or
not only speaking is relevant. However, Wei also poses the question of whether or
not being able to write, read and/or understand another language renders a person
bilingual. A further relevant factor in determining if a person is bilingual relates to
the matter of who makes the decision that an individual is bilingual – themselves or
another (Wei, 2000).
But it is important to note that “to a large extent „bilingualism‟ always
implies some degree of „biculturalism‟ for the individual, since learning a language
involves acquiring many aspects of the knowledge, beliefs, skills and experiences
that identify the culture that has produced the language” (Corson, 1990, p. 160).
Indeed in terms of biculturalism and bilingualism, there can be several
configurations as Figure 2.1 shows.
Figure 2.1 A Simple Typology of Language and Culture Configuration.
Thus a person can be monocultural and bilingual or even multilingual if
they learn additional languages at school or during tertiary studies, or they may
become multilingual as a consequence of living in another country. More
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