Nagai, Yasuko; Lister, Ronah. 2004 "Bridging between Vernacular and English: The Maiwala Teacher's Experience". READ Volume 39:1

Bridging between Vernacular and English: The Maiwala Teacher’s Experience

by Ronah Lister and Yasuko Nagai

Introduction Everyone in Papua experienced, as children, how difficult it was to learn to read and write English from the beginning without becoming aware of a sequence of sounds in our speech or understanding the sound- relationships in our own . So the initial vernacular elementary is a great benefit to the children. However, under the most recent restructuring of the education system, especially in the case of , new urban vernacular elementary schools (K-2) have chosen to teach in English. Although many plantation children spoke , and some parents recognised that children were quick to learn to speak in the local vernacular, English was preferred in these schools. Ironically, attending English Elementary Schools did not help the children to learn English adequately, as there was no bridge for them to go across from the vernacular to English. Furthermore, the teachers at these schools did not have a sufficient working knowledge of English themselves. As a result, the maintenance of indigenous cultures and languages through vernacular education has been ignored in the new system of English elementary schools. By contrast, the Maiwala Elementary School teachers continued to teach children in the Maiwala . They also recognised the need for developing a Maiwala-English bridging strategy. In particular Ronah Lister adapted her

[Ronah Lister was born and raised in Milne Bay Province. (see map, page 36) She was instrumental in starting TPPS (non-formal Vernacular Prep School) in the Maiwala Community. She is currently the teacher-in-charge of the Maiwala Elementary School.] [Yasuko Nagai joined SIL in 1978. She helped develop the Maiwala Elementary School in the Milne Bay Province of . She is currently working as a researcher and consultant in the Academic and National Training Section of LCORE, the language resources department of SILPNG.] Bridging between Vernacular and English… R. Lister and Y. Nagai 27 previous knowledge and experience as a primary school teacher and developed an appropriate strategy for individual children according to their various backgrounds. As Ronah shares her exciting and rewarding experience below, we hope that each case will be an encouragement and inspiration to those who are engaged in elementary education.

Meeting the needs of individual children—Ronah’s experience Some of the children from the English elementary schools were later transferred to our Maiwala Elementary School. Some other children from primary n the Maiwala Level entered in Grade 1 Elementary School Kindergarte Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 2 . Parents’ background Rabaraba district (F) Rabaraba (M) Maiwala (F) (M) both Goodenough Is (F) (M) both Highlands (M) Gabugabuna (F) Tawala (M) Morobe P. (F) (M) unknown Grade 2 Language(s) spoken at home English Maiwala Tok Pisin English English (F) (M) both English (F) Sinayada Duwau English Maiwala Tok Pisin English Tok Pisin English Previous schooling English ES K & Grade 1 PS (English) Grade 1 No previous schooling English ES Grade 1 PS (English) Grade 1; & VES Grade 2 No previous schooling PS (English) Grade 1 VES = vernacular elementary school) (9) (9) (8) (8) (7) (8) (9) B N D A H T S Name (Age when transferred) (Note: PS = primary school; English ES elementary 6 2 4 3 5 1 7 Case

28 READ Magazine April 2004 Vol.39:1 schools, without having had vernacular education, were also transferred to us. We also accepted children who came from other communities without having been to school before. These children came to Maiwala with different backgrounds (see the chart on the previous page) but all with the same problem of not being able to write their own stories. While these children were learning to speak and read in Maiwala with the help of their peers and the teachers, we also helped them to learn the parts of language through phonics. As we focused on single sounds in phonics, it was easier to transfer the same principle to simple English words, such as dog, dot, pig, hit, mat, rat. Since each child came with a different background, I (Ronah) tried to determine his or her special need. During their attendance at our school, we were able to help each child to learn to read and write successfully in Maiwala as well as in their respective languages, and then later they were able to apply their literacy skills to English – not a single one of them failed to achieve in our school. By being able to assist each child successfully, I experienced much joy and satisfaction, as illustrated briefly in the following seven cases. Case 1 T1 was 8 years old when he came to Maiwala at the beginning of 1993. His parents were both from Goodenough Island. They came to Maiwala because his mother was posted to teach in the Maiwala Primary School. They were speaking in T’s parents’ language: Duwau and English at home. They also spoke Maiwala, because his father had learned to speak Maiwala from me when I was teaching with T’s mother on Goodenough Island many years ago. T had never been to school when he came to Maiwala but he was old enough to be enrolled in the Grade 1 class rather than the kindergarten class. In the Grade 1 class he began to learn to play the Say-It-Fast Game2 and also some card games3 with his friends. He also learned to spell Maiwala words through phonics. During the following year in my Grade 2 class, I encouraged him to write his story in Duwau. As T applied the principle of phonics to the Duwau

1 To protect privacy, each child in this paper is identified by a randomly chosen single letter. 2 See READ Magazine, Volume 33:2 Oct 98 3 Card games consist of cards with the letters of the alphabet. They are used in a variety of ways, such as, matching letters with sounds, first and last letters of a word, and naming words with the same sounds.

Bridging between Vernacular and English… R. Lister and Y. Nagai 29 language, he was able to spell Duwau words and write his story freely in Duwau. His parents were very happy and said, “Teinani ghaeghaena. Thank you so much for helping my son. He can now write in both Maiwala and Duwau!” Then he began to learn to write simple English words towards the end of Grade 2. He also achieved well in primary school. A few years later at the beginning of 2001, I happened to see T’s father in Alotau. He said, “Teinani ghaeghaena. T i nae au hai sikulu.” (Thank you so much for helping my son, T. He was able to enter high school.) “A kaoha duma,” I replied. (I am very happy to hear that.)

Case 2 H was 7 years old when she was enrolled in the Maiwala Elementary School in mid-1999. Her father was from the Tawala language group near Alotau, and her mother was from . Previously both of them were working and living in Alotau but they both decided to resign from their respective work and to go to live in Kalui (about 3 kilometers from Maiwala), H’s grandfather’s (i.e. father’s father’s) village. H was the last born in her family. When they moved to Kalui, H’s two older brothers began to attend Ladava Primary School (about 6 kilometers from Kalui), but H had never been to school. They were speaking in Tok Pisin or English at home. Nobody in her family could speak Maiwala, although H’s father could understand Maiwala, a related language to Tawala. One morning H’s mother brought her to the Maiwala Elementary School (half way between Kalui and Ladava) and said to me, “I want to put my daughter here in the Maiwala Elementary School.” So we enrolled her in the kindergarten class, and I said, “That’s very good, but can you and H speak or understand Maiwala?” “No, but I want my daughter to learn your language,” replied H’s mother.

30 READ Magazine April 2004 Vol.39:1 So I said, “OK. Just leave her with us so that we will be able to help her.” As H was quite happy to join the class, her mother went home. The teacher in the kindergarten class spoke to her in both English and Maiwala to make sure she understood correctly. The teacher also encouraged H’s friends to help her learn Maiwala. As she played with her friends she soon began to speak Maiwala, and also began to teach her parents to speak Maiwala at home. In the kindergarten class she began to learn to play the Say-It-Fast Game and some card games. She also learned to spell Maiwala words through phonics as she progressed to Grade 1. Her parents were very happy to see her achievements. She is currently in my (Grade 2) class. She has been speaking, reading and writing Maiwala very well. One day during the first term I asked her in Maiwala, “H, amguguni maitehi olau mimiwalena?” (H, do you speak Maiwala at home?) H replied in Maiwala, “Ee, taniwaga, hauga ghehauna.” (Yes, teacher, sometimes.) She is now beginning to apply her phonics skills to English.

Case 3 A was 8 years old when he came to Maiwala at the beginning of 1999. He was a grandson of the new headmaster of the Maiwala Primary School. Everyone in his home spoke in Tok Pisin or English. He had previously completed Grade 1 (in English) at another primary school and came to Maiwala with his grandparents. On the first day of the first term, his grandmother (the headmaster’s wife) brought him to the Maiwala Elementary School. We enrolled him in my Grade 2 class. After he joined the class, I spoke to the children both in Maiwala and English for the sake of A: “Apo amlava auwalihi a laumimiwalena ma tam awalim apo alaumi dimdim.” (I will talk to your friends in Maiwala and I will talk to you in English. If you want anything, speak to me in English.) A nodded his head. During the story telling time, all the Maiwala children said their stories in Maiwala and A in English. Then the Maiwala children were able to write their stories in Maiwala, but A could not write his story in English. He asked me to

Bridging between Vernacular and English… R. Lister and Y. Nagai 31 spell every word for him. So I asked him to tell me his story again in Tok Pisin and said, “A, learn the sounds in Tok Pisin. I will help you to write your story in Tok Pisin.” A looked at me and smiled. He began to learn to speak Maiwala from his friends and learned to play the Say-It-Fast Game and many of the card games. He also learned to spell Tok Pisin words through phonics. By the end of the year, he was able to write freely both in Maiwala and Tok Pisin. He was also able to spell simple English words.

Case 4 B was 9 years old when he was transferred to the Maiwala Elemtary School at the beginning of 2000. His father was from Sinayada and his mother was from Gabugabuna where a dialect of the Maiwala language is spoken. They used to live in Sinayada. Although Sinayada speakers and Maiwala speakers could understand each other while speaking in their respective languages, B’s father chose to speak to his children only in English. All the father’s family also spoke only in English. B had previously attended an English elementary school for two years (kindergarten and Grade 1). Then his parents were separated. His sister (12 years old) went with her father, when he remarried. His mother returned to Gabugabuna, her home village, with B. Since her sister’s children were already attending the Maiwala Elementary School, she decided to send B to the same school. When B’s mother brought him to our school, we enrolled him in my Grade 2 class and I gave him an exercise book and a pencil. During the class, when all the children told their stories in Maiwala, B was very quiet. I asked B, “Can you speak Maiwala?” “No, teacher. I can only speak English,” he replied. So I let B tell his story in English. Then I told the children to write their stories: the Maiwala children in Maiwala and B in English. The Maiwala children could write their stories in Maiwala, but B could not write a single word in English, as he did not know how to spell. As the days went by, B learned to speak Maiwala as he interacted with his friends. He learned to play the Say-It-Fast Game and the card games, and also learned to spell Maiwala words through phonics. Towards the end of Grade 2, he was able to apply his phonics skills to write simple English words. As a result, he was able to communicate with his friends in the language that was spoken in his

32 READ Magazine April 2004 Vol.39:1 community. Furthermore, he was able to learn to spell English words faster and better than trying to learn English from the beginning.

Case 5 D was 8 years old when she was transferred to the Maiwala Elementary School in mid-2000. Her parents were from the highlands. They spoke Tok Pisin and English at home. As her father was a health worker, they moved from one place to another, and came to live at the Gabugabuna Aidpost at the beginning of 2000. She had previously completed Grade 1 at the Rabaraba Primary School (in English) and attended the Grade 2 class at the Ladava Elementary School (2 kilometers from the Aidpost) for six months. Then her parents decided to send D to the Maiwala Elementary School (1 kilometer from the Aidpost) with her older brother who was already attending the Maiwala Primary School. We enrolled her in my Grade 2 class for the rest of the year. Although D had attended the Ladava Elementary School for six months, to my surprise, she had not learned to speak the Ladava language that was very similar to Maiwala. After all the Maiwala children told stories in Maiwala, D could say her story only in English. When all other children were writing their stories, she could not write a single word. So she kept on asking me to spell each word for her. Then I told the children to help D to learn to speak Maiwala, “Tulami D, awalina ona laumimiwalena.” (Talk to your friend, D, in Maiwala.) D began to learn to speak Maiwala from her friends and began to learn to play the Say-It-Fast Game and the card games with them. She also began to learn to spell Maiwala words through phonics. By the end of 2000 she was able to read and write Maiwala fluently and was able to apply her phonics skills to Tok Pisin as well as English.

Case 6 N was 9 years old when he was transferred to the Maiwala Elementary School at the beginning of 2001. His father was from Rabaraba and his mother was from Maiwala, so he could speak Maiwala. His father used to work for the Health Department in Alotau but resigned from his work and came to live in Maiwala. N had previously attended kindergarten and Grade 1 in an English elementary school. When his mother brought him to the Maiwala Elementary School, we enrolled him in my Grade 2 class. When we read a Big Book together in Maiwala, N was smiling because he

Bridging between Vernacular and English… R. Lister and Y. Nagai 33 could understand the story, although he could not read it. During the time when the children were telling their stories, N could also tell his story in Maiwala. When the other children were writing their stories, however, he could not write his story and began to make a lot of noise. So I told him, “J a dede una inanai ma am au buka una giluma damanei.” (Look at J’s work and copy it onto your book.) I did so, because J was sounding out each letter as she wrote. I felt that N was old enough to learn the letter-sound relationships from his friend by mimicking the sound and copying the corresponding letter onto his book. I also said, “Am dagugu una lubuhi ma apo a hagum po ponamwei una amgiluma.” (Learn your sounds and I will help you to write your story.) As he began to learn to spell through phonics, he began to be able to write his own stories freely. At the same time he also learned to join in with his friends playing the Say-It-Fast Game and the card games. He is now able to apply his phonics skills to English.

Case 7 S was 9 years old when she was transferred to the Maiwala Elementary School in the middle of term 1 in 2001. She had previously completed Grade 1 at the Rabaraba Primary School (in English). As her uncle got married to M, a Maiwala woman, she came to Maiwala with him. About three weeks after her arrival, M’s mother (S’s foster mother) brought her to the Maiwala Elementary School . “Tamotamoghina apo wei telena E2 au walina ita visikulu?” she asked. (Could you enrol this child in E2?) I said, “Tamotamoghina babana E2 egha hita magha.” (That will be all right because we don’t have many children in our Grade 2 class.) When I asked her if S could speak or hear Maiwala, she said, “No.” However, other children told me that she could, as they were already playing together at home. So S sat down with the other children. Then I spoke both in Maiwala and English: “Ami dedede ona dedehi.” (Tell me your stories.) All the Maiwala children said their stories in Maiwala, and S in English. Then I said, “Ami dedede ona amgiluma.” (Write your stories.)

34 READ Magazine April 2004 Vol.39:1 All the Maiwala children could write their own stories, and S wrote her story in English. However, none of the words she wrote were spelt correctly. It was like random lettering. So I said, “Learn your sounds and I will help you to write your story.” As she began to learn to spell through phonics, she began to be able to write her stories in Maiwala. She also learned to play the Say-It-Fast Game and the card games with her friends. She is now able to apply her phonics skills to English.

Conclusion As illustrated in the above cases, the children learned the local language very quickly through their interaction with their friends not only at school but also in the community. As they began to learn to speak the local language and enjoy reading Big Books together, the teachers and the children were able to help their new friends to read and write independently. The children who were transferred to my Grade 2 class gained their understanding of sound-letter relationships at the same time as developing their phonemic awareness. Furthermore, these children were able to apply phonics skills to other vernacular languages as well as to English.

Bridging between Vernacular and English… R. Lister and Y. Nagai 35 Map of Papua New Guinea Western Province East Province Province SHP Enga

Gulf Province

WHP Province Madang

Simbu EHP Manus Province

Morobe Province

National Capitol Province Capitol National Oro West New Britian Province Maiwala East New Britian Province New Ireland Province Milne Bay Province North Solomons Province

36 READ Magazine April 2004 Vol.39:1