National Action in Y7-8 Languages

Learning Languages in NZ

When at a UK curriculum leaders conference, in Warwick (Shakespeare's theatrical turf), England, 1999, I found myself caught in a situation that NZ students today, should never experience. ESOL was the topic and in an auditorium of over 1200 people, I raised the only hand at this question: 'Who knows no other language, other than English?'. While I was working in Brunei at the time, learning snippets of Malay, this didn't count. All bore reference to what was learnt at school.

Matapu School, Taranaki, NZ

To the south east of Mt Taranaki, lies a school who's leading the way in its adoption of the new Y7-8 curriculum mandate, re: the learning of languages. While there may be schools dotted across the country who've ventured thus far, Matapu School has a very 21st century, inter-school, online learning, collaborative approach. As partners in action, Cambridge East school in the Waikato are also hot on the case. Spanish lessons by teacher Jarad, beam out of Matapu School to two other interested schools and Cambridge East. French lessons beam in from Cambridge East School, under the fluent facilitation of French speaker Sandra.

This team has become the latest case study for a contract AEO Ltd has with NZ's Ministry of Education's eLearning Department. In production mode, is a Virtual Learning Network (VLN) Primary/Intermediate development plan. Matapu School presents a wonderful model, with doors open to enrol more students. The development plan is a work in progress and while languages is but one focus, there's also music and Te Reo...

National Action in the field of online learning continues to thrive, but just as remarkably so...so too is the learning of languages for students in NZ - thankfully not something a student can only do at secondary level, but now also primary. The beauty of it all, a school need not have the specialist factor to teach a language. Beaming out for it, is in action! It's hugely encouraging...!

Care Packages Gone Global.

Operation Christmas Child

Several members of Solway School online G&T team delightfully set out to add a 'wow factor' to Christmas, for a group of Pacific Island students.

Enrolled in a Learn-Now International Community Service programme, one could wonder 'where were the online elements to this very hands on project'? While their virtual office housed forums to contribute to and study sites to soak up requested details, videos, skype and email created the additional authentic touch. While this team was in Masterton, they had online peers working from Canterbury, Otago, Hawkes Bay and Bay of Plenty join the project as well. In total, Learn-Now members contributed 34 boxes to Operation Christmas Child, with an alternative meaning to Christmas, not so far from their own reality.

Team Tapu, NZ to Team California...
Meanwhile, further north and east, Tapu School in the Coromandel and Valley Preparatory School in Redford, California, went global together. Videos fly in from California on a regular basis and the introduction to email for students at Tapu School has them buzzing with the communication potential it promises. Forums and a wiki will follow and thanks to http://www.onetruemedia.com, videos will fly back to California.

The Highlight?
The exchange of care packages! Amidst the gifts, clocks in California time sit proud on a Tapu classroom room, and as for marmite? This definitely didn't go down well in California! From a NZ angle, the programme integrated Te Reo, cultural inclusion, profile descriptions, photography and also maths with regards to timezones, parcel travel and cost comparisons. Learn-Now brokered the exchange, facilitated the online connectivity and will foster further exchange within wikis next year.