Compulsory Language Learning in NZ Schools Learning a second or foreign language is a valuable skill that many New Zealand students currently miss out on. The learning of a foreign language – additional to one of the official languages of New Zealand (English, Te Reo Maori, or New Zealand Sign Language) – should be compulsory for all school students from Year 3 on. April 2 Starting early has acknowledged benefits

The New Zealand curriculum acknowledges that there are many positive benefits to learners of second or foreign languages beyond just learning linguistic skills; including development of identity and self, teaching skills for intercultural interaction, improved cognitive skills, analytical thinking, and understanding and appreciation of their own cultures and those around them. Learning a foreign language earlier in life can drastically improve proficiency in the target language . However the current curriculum only covers eight levels of assessment, the highest of which, level eight, only brings learners up to a B1 (Common European Framework of Reference) standard by the end of their studies. This is in comparison to many European countries, where the average age of starting second language education is Year 3, or eight years old. Many countries start even earlier, with German students beginning to learn their third language (second foreign language) at the same time New Zealand students are commencing their first foreign language. Currently the Ministry of Education expects that schools should be incorporating second language education into their curriculum in Years 7-10 only. The average age of a student in Year 7 is 11 years old. It is not difficult to imagine the difference in foreign language ability between a New Zealand student who started learning German at 11 years old and only took it for four years, compared to a German student who began English classes at 8 years old and studied it for ten years. Other countries are clearly taking advantage of their children’s early language learning ability. To take similar advantage, New Zealand students also need to start language studies earlier. Since young children cannot be relied upon to make their own decision to study a foreign language, making it compulsory from Year 3 is the most reliable way to ensure that it occurs. Employment Benefits Speaking a foreign language can also increase job prospects and future salaries. Of course this is highly dependent on what language is learned and where it will be spoken, but in the US, knowing a foreign language can increase a salary by, at least, 2% per annum. It is widely acknowledged that learning a foreign language is also beneficial to in improving success in business. Monolingual speakers can be a costly hindrance to national exports, as seen in the UK, which may be one of the reasons they are changing their own language education policy to an earlier start – of seven years old. A similarly early and compulsory start to language learning in New Zealand may well be beneficial in raising the employment and earning potential of New Zealanders April 8

Compulsory Language Learning in the NZ Curriculum: Not an Insurmountable Challenge A language curriculum overhaul need not be impossibly expensive

It may be claimed that the obstruction to introducing such a radical change in policy to the NZ language curriculum is that funding is not available to support it. It is difficult to find information specifically on funding policy for foreign language education in New Zealand. However, it is relatively easy to find stories of FL funding in schools being cut or inadequate. One report recommends the delay of changes to the language curriculum since funds are not available for teachers to be upskilled. However, the short-term cost of training teachers now, while expensive, would be countered in the long term by the economic return explained in the previous post. Language learning and its advantages doen’t happen overnight, and so the curriculum and funding should reflect the end game, not the immediate ramifications of expenditure. Introducing compulsory language learning from Year 3 onwards need not be economically unviable – in fact it could be quite small to begin with. According to a Royal Society of New Zealand report, bilingual education could cost from a 4-5% increase per student per year, but would eventually decrease to just 2%. We need not fly people all over the world for intensive language training as we currently do on scholarships such as this one. While this should by no means be discontinued or discouraged, there are plenty of local resources that are not being exploited. In the 2013 census, more than 190 languages were registered as being spoken as a first or additional language, with Samoan, Hindi, Mandarin, French, and Cantonese topping the list. By providing teaching scholarships to these language speakers who already live in NZ, they could be trained in a manner far less expensive than the double cost of training teachers in a language as well as in teaching. New Zealand’s shortage of foreign language teachers could be overcome Currently there are not enough teachers who can teach languages to a high enough standard to meet such a curriculum change. High teaching standards are of course important. However, it would be unrealistic to expect perfection straight away. Teachers of languages in primary and secondary schools do not need to be native speakers – currently they are only required to have taken at least one language paper at second year level at university. There are a range of alternative methods of introducing languages to the classroom beyond having fully trained and fluent teachers. Many countries such as France, the UK, Japan, Korea, and Germany use language assistantship programmes as a means of attracting young linguistic talent to their countries under voluntary or paid schemes; while New Zealand has a similar programme for speakers of French, Spanish, and German. These programmes are mutually beneficial as they give the assistants the opportunity to travel and learn a new culture, while the host countries gain a fluent and enthusiastic, if not qualified, language aide. Internet exchanges such as for example are free, and many have options for classroom exchanges. It would be a waste not to take advantage of such technology. The added workload need not be too much for students or teachers

The added workload to students could easily be countered, first of all by introducing a foreign language early in primary school, in a fun way. The Toronto French School in Canada for example immerses students in a second language as soon as possible, and once competency has been attained, moves to delivering lessons in both the first and second languages. This has the many benefits of making the language more useful, increasing daily use and practice, and without adding subject classes. The problem of reluctant students can be solved by “normalising” language learning

Normalising foreign language learning comes through a shift in attitude. Students may be reluctant to learn a new subject at school. However, this is nothing unusual. Students are often reluctant to learn anything, or even be at school. This could be countered by introducing the compulsory early learning of a foreign language as just another aspect of basic education, comparable with already accepted areas of literacy and numeracy. If it were a standard expectation that students gain foreign language literacy along with English literacy and maths numeracy, negative attitudes could be lessened. Thus there are persuasive reasons for making the learning of a foreign language normal by making it compulsory and for introducing it early. April 12

, Kiwis Learning Languages for a Bright Future The benefits and advantages of being proficient in a foreign language are indisputable. By making it compulsory to learn a foreign language from Year 3 until the completion of school, New Zealand students could gain these benefits without significant detriment to their other subjects, teaching standards, or the economy. Despite the fact that there are some short-term economic obstacles to achieving such a radical change to the New Zealand curriculum, these obstacles are not insurmountable. With the instigation of several small policy changes, being smart about how these are delivered, and not being overambitious to begin with, the New Zealand curriculum could provide a great launching pad for the future of our students April 14

APA References APA Referencing Council of Europe. (2014). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR). In Council of Europe. Retrieved May 8, 2014, from http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/cadre1_en.asp Hanke, K. (n.d.). Foreign languages in German Schools and Kindergartens. (E. Flügel, Trans.). In Goethe Institut. Retrieved May 8, 2014, from http://www.goethe.de/ges/spa/pan/spg/en6400582.htm Henry, J. (2012, June 9). Foreign languages to be compulsory from age seven. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/primaryeducation/9321651/Foreign- languages-to-be-compulsory-from-age-seven.html R.L.G. (2014, March 11). Johnson: What is a foreign language worth? [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2014/03/language-study Statistics New Zealand. (2013). 2013 Census totals by topic – Language spoken tables. Retrieved from http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/people_and_communities/Language.asp x The Royal Society of New Zealand. (2013). Languages in Aotearoa New Zealand. Retrieved from http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/media/Languages-in-Aotearoa- New-Zealand.pdf

April 2 Links http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Learning- areas/Learning-languages http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Learning- areas/Learning-languages/Learning-languages-curriculum-achievement-objectives http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/News/Learning-languages-in-the-New-Zealand- Curriculum http://www.primarylanguages.org.uk/policy_and_research/research_and_statistics/ spotlight_on/the_earlier_the_better.aspx http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/10126883/Why-learn-a- foreign-language-Benefits-of-bilingualism.html http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2014/01/29/the- business-benefits-of-learning-a-foreign-language http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/dec/10/language-skills-deficit-costs- uk-economy http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm? c_id=1503343&objectid=11067682 http://www.nzalt.org.nz/whitepapers/3.pdf http://www.afs.org.nz/educators/liateachers/ http://www.victoria.ac.nz/education/study/graduate-programmes/grad-dip-sec http://www.ciep.fr/en/foreign-language-assistants-in-france-0 http://www.britishcouncil.org/languageassistants.htm http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/aspiring/positions.html http://www.teach-english-korea.com/ http://www.daad.ac.nz/scholarships/#14 http://ilep.ac.nz/LanguageAssistants/ForeignLanguageAssistantAppointments.aspx http://www.conversationexchange.com/ http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/ http://www.tfs.ca/academic_programs http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications- standards/qualifications/ncea/subjects/literacy-and-numeracy/level-1-requirements/