Diversity brings its challenges

More than 110 different languages are spoken throughout Auckland schools.

And as the city continues to become more ethnically diverse, a raft of new challenges are placing more pressure on teachers.

But educators say schools don’t have the resources to meet the needs of a rapidly changing school-aged population.

Auckland Primary Principals’ Association president Diane Manners says teachers are already expected to be experts on the curriculum, how children learn and multiple types of learning disorders.

‘‘Now on top of that there’s a capacity need in teachers to know how English as second language learners acquire learning and the English language,’’ she says.

‘‘That’s massive in terms of your capacity to deliver and engage with the New Zealand curriculum.’’

Roll growth in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) has increased by almost 10 per cent across the country in the past calendar year.

In 2015 almost 24,000 of the country’s 36,000 ESOL students were attending school in Auckland.

The Ministry of Education allocates $28.4 million of ESOL funding which is predominantly used to hire specialist staff for one-on-one tutoring.

But principal Josephine Willmoth says there is a conscious shift away from the withdrawal of students.

‘‘It’s all about inclusiveness and retaining children within the classroom learning environment,’’ she says.

‘‘For classrooms that may have large numbers of non-English speaking background students, providing extra learning support to the teacher and students can be beneficial in improving student learning outcomes.’’

Migrant and refugee students are entitled to funding for up to five years beginning at $850 and $1250 per year respectively.

New Zealand-born ESOL students are only eligible for $650 of funding a year for up to three years.

Willmoth says most children begin communicating effectively in English after six months of total immersion. But growing numbers of New Zealand-born ESOL students means total English immersion is becoming rare in many suburbs.

Almost 55 per cent of Auckland’s ESOL students in 2015 were New Zealand-born.

Manners says many schools are being unfairly judged.

There needs to be a reevaluation of funding allocated to schools with high ESOL rolls.