Language Policy and Education in New Zealand and the South Pacific
The language situation in an area as extensive as the South Pacific region is, not surprisingly, characterised by its complexity and diversity.
Maori bilingual education and language revitalisation
The attempts at Maori language revival started in the 1970s, at a stage when there were few children still growing up speaking the language. The most important innovation has been the development of pre‐school language nests; several thousand children now come to elementary school after a pre‐school programme taught entirely or mainly in Maori. There are some bilingual schools; a growing number of elementary schools with Maori immersion in the first one or two years; and some high school programmes. The paper describes a number of these schools, discusses the way that the bilingual programmes define and establish Maori space in the schools, mentions the issue of local and tribal concerns, and argues that there is the basis here for revitalisation of the language.
Bilingual/bicultural education for Maori cultural preservation in New Zealand
Abstract As the Maori heritage is being recognised as a central part of New Zealand history as well as a cultural treasure whose value can only serve to strengthen the country's mainstream culture, a policy of cultural preservation, if not also cultural integration, has been formulated. In the course of a survey showing the historic relationship in New Zealand of the Maori and European settlers to the land and to each other, the assimilation, despite discrimination, and concurrent decline of Maori language use are delineated. Today, although Maoris constitute only one‐eighth of New Zealand's population, Maori nationalism is on the rise. Basic values in Maori culture, such as respect for the land and love as demonstrated in sharing with and caring for others, are presented. The article goes on to describe bilingual/bicultural programmes being introduced, namely the ‘language nests’ for pre‐school children and their parents and the immersion programme in the first years of primary school. Social studies gui...