Page 11 - ELG1802 Feb Issue 454

NEWS . NEWS

IELTS BLOW TO PACIFIC
By Melanie Butler Teacher’s pet
The number of dual language LANGUAGE PRESCHOOLS
pre-schools in New York will Eden, Janine and Jim
double this year, with 33 new
programmes to open, the Ever wondered what your dog really
departing schools chancellor has means when he says ‘woof’ in front
announced. Juliane Schultz of the fridge? Or maybe you’ve
Carmen Fariña, herself a suffered a communication breakdown with a
child of Spanish immigrants, cat that led to a rather nasty incident on the
said, ‘Being able to speak and living room carpet? Well, this human–animal
read in a different language and
understand a different culture is a linguistic divide could soon be breached
game-changer for our kids.’ thanks to Professor Con Slobodchikoff from
The plan, she said, would ‘meet Northern Arizona University. He is developing
the needs of our kids and families, new technology that interprets the calls of
and give more of our children a the prairie dog – a large US rodent – and says
critical early foundation in not it could eventually be used to interpret other
just one language but two.’ Pacific languages animals and house pets.
During her four-year tenure, are encouraged
the chancellor has introduced in New Zealand One futurologist has predicted that animal
universal free pre-school translation technology could be available
programmes and overseen as soon as 2025, if someone
rocketing test scores. Fun in a By Federica Tedeschi Proportion of develops it. You might argue it’s
New York has also seen the New York park Stringent Ielts requirements for 25% pretty obvious when your dog
highest rates for high-school teachers in New Zealand have the 15,000 wants to go for a walk or your
graduation in the history of the led to the closure of all dedicated Pasifika cat has a furball on its way, but
city’s department of education, The Big Apple buys into courses preparing staff to work in the
according to the Manhattan Times. country’s Pacific language preschools, children in NZ preschools learning we would support all efforts
She has been widely criticised, after applications plummeted. in pacific languages at least half of towards greater cross-cultural
however, for not increasing ethnic AUT University’s Bachelor of the time. understanding.
mixing in the city’s schools. bilingual preschools Education in Pasifika early childhood
Currently, one in six of New York’s teaching ended last month, and a teacher training was raised in 2011
kindergartens enrol 90 per cent of similar course at Auckland University from an Ielts level 6 to 7. Naughty corner
their children from a single ethnic has been suspended because This set the English bar higher
group. The figure for primary language. The plan appears to originally designed. Cosmopolitan These families can ‘elbow applications have fallen so low. Other than for other courses – Auckland
schools is one in eight. be working, with 2,900 families middle-class families move into out’ the disadvantaged children Pasifika teacher-training courses run University and AUT require
Increasing diversity may be applying for just 600 dual- ‘gentrifying areas’ partly because they were designed for, partly by polytechnics, teachers’ colleges Ielts levels of only 6 for other
part of the thinking behind the language kindergarten places. they are attracted by the dual- by forcing up the price of local and the NZ Childcare Association, undergraduate courses and 6.5 for Kazakh president Nursultan
bilingual pre-school programmes. A widely quoted piece in language programmes, writer housing. as well as a 30-year-old course postgraduates including doctoral Nazarbayev has come in for some
These have proved appealing Atlantic magazine, however, Connor Williams points out. This is already happening for teachers in Samoan language students. At AUT, numbers stick of late – after a decision to
to English-speaking families warns that middle-class parents Since such programmes work in Washington DC, where the immersion ‘nests’, have closed due to reportedly dropped from 300 switch the Kazakh language from a modified
that would normally enrol their across the US may be filling the best with equal numbers of city’s oldest bilingual school now lack of new students. applicants a year to between twenty version of Cyrillic to a Latin writing system.
children in private education but dual-language programmes and native speaker and L2 children, struggles to enrol more than 15 The university courses train and 25 after the new requirements It is not so much the move itself that has
are attracted by the chance for pushing out the English language test results improve, attracting per cent ELLs, according to the staff for mother-tongue medium were brought in. outraged critics but the way he has ordered
their children to learn a foreign learners for whom they were yet more middle-class families. Atlantic. schools teaching in languages such Lyn Lewis, head of school at AUT, it to be done – with an excessive use of
as Samoan, Tongan and Cook told the Gazette there ‘was interest’ in
KOREA SUSPENDS NURSERY ENGLISH BAN Island Maori, which are attended by the course but most applicants were apostrophes.
Since Kazakh script needs 32 letter
children from Pacific island families
put off by the need to reach the Ielts
AFTER PARENTS’ OUTCRY who have settled in New Zealand. score. sounds, but the Latin alphabet has just 23
Pafitimai Salā Dr Fa’asaulala
But the new Ielts standard has
(they rejected c, w and x), he has ordered
become a barrier to most older Tagoilelagi-Leota, the president of apostrophes be used to adapt letters to
By Melanie Butler remains in place. Following the education ministry said: ‘We will the buildings, length of class and people from the region, who have the Samoan Language Nest Society, create the nine remaining sounds. Linguists
The Korean government has announcement of the ban on take more time and gather public tuition. Our goal is to promote the best Pasifika language skills, from told the New Zealand Herald that the have said the president’s approach would
suspended its ban on afterschool December 28, parents complained opinion to come up with improved education that would reduce the training to teaching preschoolers. course closures left her ‘gutted’.
English classes for preschool that the move discriminated against policies early next year.’ stress and burden on the growing A spokeperson from Auckland Dr Rae Si’ilata, associate dean be ugly and imprecise and instead favour a
children after more than 8,000 working-class parents who could A ban on after-school classes children and their parents,’ a University said that Ielts had became Pasifika in Auckland University’s Turkish-style writing system.
parents signed a petition to the not afford the hog wan fees. for six-to-eight year-olds in state ministry spokesperson said. ‘a major issue’. education faculty, says she hopes to Outcry has also erupted on social media,
country’s president. Korean preschools are mostly schools, however, comes into effect The entry requirement for all reinstate the course next year. with complaints that use of apostrophes will
However, the government has privately owned state-subsidised this month. Meanwhile, Lesley Hoskin, make it impossible to do Google
announced further measures to businesses, many of which offer The crackdown on hog wan 8,000 106 deputy chief executive of teachers’ searches for many Kazakh
stop licensed language schools, cheap English language classes after ‘kindergartens’ is also set to professional body the Education words or create hashtags on
known as hog wan, from operating school. continue. Heavy fines for centres parents Council said all teachers should
illegally as kindergartens, website They employ tens of thousands without a preschool licence are signed a Childcare centres offering be required to have a good level of Twitter. One thing’s for sure,
Korea Bizwire reports. of preschool English teachers, already in place and further bilingual programmes – English and/or Maori, New Zealand’s judging by how hard it is
The government is concerned who were set to lose their jobs, measures are planned, the Korean petition to including: 61 Samoan, 31 two official languages. to teach the use of the
that extracurricular courses put according to the Korea Times. At Herald reports. the country’s Tongan, 7 Cook Islands Māori, ‘It is possible that we could consider apostrophe in English,
young children under stress. a press conference announcing ‘We will check the status quo president raising the attainment level in the the last thing the
A ban on afterschool English the temporary lifting of the ban, and look into hog wan and their 4 Niuean, 1 Tokelauan, 1 Fijian future, but we would not consider Kazakhs need is more
classes for primary children also a spokesperson for the country’s operating systems – the safety of and 1 Pukapukan. lowering it,’ Hoskin said.
Courtesy: Republic of Korea of them.
10 February 2018 editorial@elgazette.com 11