Ta'iala mo le Gagana Sāmoa - Pasifika Education Community

Poto i le GaganaLanguage KnowledgeVocabulary and grammatical structures are the building blocks for developing the language knowledge(oral, spoken, and visual) that builds learners’ proficiency in using gagana Sāmoa in a range of contexts.Learning vocabulary and grammatical structures is a cumulative process, which usually involves learningsimple structures first and progressing to learning complex ones. For example, learners of gagana Sāmoausually understand the construction Sau ‘i totonu (Come inside) before the construction Sau ‘i totonu‘auā ‘ua mālūlū (Come inside because it’s cold).However, in many common situations and contexts, learners may need to be able to use some formulaicexpressions that are relatively grammatically complex. These include greetings and responses such as‘O ā mai ‘oe? (How are you?) and Manuia fa‘afetai (Fine, thank you). Formulaic expressions can belearned in context as “chunks” of language. Learners will come to understand their grammaticalstructure when they gain enough knowledge and experience of the language to be able to reflect onhow it is structured.It is best to teach and learn vocabulary and grammatical structures within meaningful, realistic contexts.For example, teachers could introduce the question form E to‘afia tagata i lou ‘āiga? (How many peoplein your family?) when students are discussing their families.16Learners become competent in grammar by interacting frequently in meaningful ways. They need plentyof opportunities to practise what they are learning so that eventually they can use gagana Sāmoa tocommunicate spontaneously. Teachers need to revisit language structures over time to ensure thatlearners have opportunities to reinforce prior learning. By continuously recycling and consolidating theirknowledge of grammatical structures, learners can acquire new structures when they are ready.It is important for teachers to remember that learners acquire knowledge of the language systemprogressively. In the initial stages, learners may produce approximations (that is, forms that are almostbut not quite correct) of a given grammatical structure. These approximations are often stepping stonesto acquiring the correct forms. Learners can use these forms to communicate effectively to some degree,even when they have very limited knowledge of the language’s structure. Although it is natural forlanguage learners to make mistakes, they should receive feedback on how close their approximations areto the target, keeping in mind that effective communication is the key criterion.Finding a productive balance between encouraging learners to communicate spontaneously andcorrecting their errors is best. When learners are conversing spontaneously, teachers may choose to allowsome mistakes, where appropriate. This will allow the conversation to flow and will help learners to gainconfidence and use the language willingly. As students progress through the levels, they will learn tocommunicate more accurately, just as small children do when learning their first language. They willbecome increasingly aware that accuracy of expression, as well as fluency, is needed for really effectivecommunication in oral, written, and visual texts.