Linguistic Kai Time

As I've shared in the past, bicultural practice is a vitally important part of the NZ Early Childhood Curriculum, Te Whāriki. In fact, a new, updated version has just come out this year, and bicultural practice is even more highlighted and effectively woven through it than before.

Being the language geek that I am, my favourite part of bicultural practice is teaching in te reo Māori. ("Te reo" means "language," and I have found that using the full phrase "te reo Māori" is the most respectful way to refer to the Māori language.) 

Helping young children learn new languages is a very rewarding experience, because their brains are primed for language learning, and so they can understand and remember quickly and capably. However, they need consistent and repeated exposure to pick up on things, and that can be hard when none of the teachers are even fluent, let alone native speakers. I have found that routines throughout the day are perfect for this, because kaiako (teachers) often say pretty much the same thing each day, and the meanings of words tend to be concretely represented in what is going on, so the children can make meaningful connections between the words and the actions or objects. It is not helpful to language learning to say something in the target language and then immediately repeat the same meaning in the child's native language, because it communicates that the meaning is secondary or even unnecessary. Plus, children aren't dumb and will just learn to wait for the English. Also, I find it to be ideal when we can teach both the question and the response, so that a two-way communication can occur. Anyway, we find times when we can consistently use te reo Māori in meaningful exchanges with the children throughout our routines, with no English involved.

Kai (food) time, and particularly lunch time, has proved an extremely successful time, and we have integrated a great deal of te reo Māori into this routine. After our karakia mō te kai (which you can read about in my post by clicking here), a kaiako goes around the table and asks each child, "He aha māu?" and the child can respond, "He iti koa" or "He nui koa." The children can also answer questions about whether they would like wairanu and tīhi. (See translations below.)

He aha māu? ------- What would you like?

He nui koa. ------- A lot, please.

He iti koa. ------- A little, please.

He wairanu māu? ------- Would you like sauce?

He tīhi māu? ------- Would you like cheese?

(We also know the words for lots of other foods, which we can use here.)

Āe. ------- Yes.

Kāore. ------- No.

He kai māu āno? ------- Would you like more food?

Homai tō kumete koa. ------- Give me your bowl, please.

Homai tō pereti koa. ------- Give me your plate, please.

Ānei tō kai. ------- Here is your food.

Tīkina te ipu wai. ------- Get the pitcher of water.

Riringihia tō wai. ------- Pour your water.

He pai ēnei kai. ------- This food is good.

He mutunga kē mai ō te reka. ------- This is delicious.

We started with just the interactions in the paragraph before the translations, and have slowly added on the subsequent phrases. Some teachers are more comfortable just sticking with the original ones, which is fine, but the children are increasingly familiar with all of them and respond appropriately. They are fantastic at context cues, and at first mostly responded based on those, but many of them are moving beyond that now. For example, at first when I would ask them, "He kai māu āno?" (Would you like more food?") they would answer, "He nui koa" (A lot, please) or "He iti koa" (A little, please). While this effectively communicates, it indicated to me that they weren't differentiating between the specific words in the phrase, but rather responding to the context. In addition, it meant they were unsure what to respond if they did not, in fact, want more kai. Now, when asked that question, many of the children will respond with "Āe" (Yes) or "Kāore" (No) and then wait for me to ask, "He aha māu?" (What would you like?") before telling me how much. This delights me, because it means that the language is being integrated authentically and their learning is accessing the linguistic part of their brains and not just the rote memorization part. It's fantastic!

I have a million other very exciting linguist exploits to share, but I'll do my best to remember that not all of you get as excited about phrasing as I do. As my first recognition of that, I will stop here, and will spread out my subsequent language posts over time. You're welcome.