Teaching M¯aori in preschools a no-brainer
My 2-year-old son learns more in a day than I do in a month. He can already switch from French to English, sing in te reo Ma¯ ori and count to 10 in all three languages (albeit not necessarily in the right order).
People often comment on how lucky he is to grow up in a bilingual household, which makes me wonder why Kiwis don’t make more use of their two other official languages – Ma¯ ori and sign language.
My husband and I feel lucky that our son has access to an incredible preschool with caring teachers and lots of room to play and explore. As most preschools do, ours include te reo Ma¯ ori as part of its curriculum.
My son is learning the basics through waiata, karakia and stories there, which is great because we have limited knowledge of te reo. But I wish he could learn more of it – if all preschools had some of their teachers speaking Ma¯ ori fluently to the children, it would make a huge difference.
Of course some preschools offer full immersion – there are 460 Ko¯ hanga Reo throughout
Aotearoa – but why not bring bilingualism to the mainstream? It would contribute to the revitalisation of the language and Ma¯ ori culture that is already happening.
Preschoolers would also benefit from learning sign language. I wrote a story last year about a Christchurch preschool using sign language because two of the children attending are profoundly deaf. All staff learned it and children quickly picked up on it. The youngest ones especially enjoyed communicating with their hands as they learned to speak.
There is a lot of research around the ‘‘bilingual advantage’’ – using more than one language strengthens other abilities including attention and social skills as well as protecting bilinguals against dementia later in life. Some of the findings have been questioned in recent years but solid recent studies confirm bilingualism benefits people beyond being able to communicate in two languages.
A longitudinal study published in Developmental Science in 2017
My son delights in exploring different sounds and switching from one language to another is like a game to him.
suggests that the demands associated with managing two languages give children cognitive advantages extending beyond the language domain.
Researchers followed more than a 1000 preschoolers and found the bilingual group had better ‘‘inhibitory control’’, which means they can stop and think to select the best response before acting, in the same way they pause to select the appropriate language to use when they speak.
‘‘Inhibitory control and executive function are important skills for academic success and positive health outcomes and wellbeing later in life,’’ one of the researcher said.
‘‘Children with strong inhibitory control are better able to pay attention, follow instructions and take turns. This study shows one way in which environmental influences can impact the development of inhibitory control during younger years.’’
The best thing about bilingualism is that it is fun for preschoolers. Once they start school, learning another language might be seen as more of a chore but before that, it’s just part of their life. My son delights in exploring different sounds and switching from one language to another is like a game to him.
In Bilingual Revolution: The Future of Education is in Two Languages, published last year, Fabrice Jaumont tells the story of parents and educators who founded dual language programs in New York City public schools. In a Psychology Today interview, Jaumont said: ‘‘I am convinced that bilingual education is a universal good that should be offered to all students … these programs can positively transform a child, a family, a school, a community, and even a country.’’
Making te reo Ma¯ ori a compulsory subject in school is still controversial, which is a shame because languages are more than a useful skill to add to a resume. They open up children’s world, imagination and empathy.
Making te reo Ma¯ ori and sign language a bigger part of the preschool experience with some of the teachers speaking these languages fluently and exclusively to children could have a huge impact – not only on the kids’ brain development, but on New Zealand culture as a whole.