Language Loss and Culture Identity:
The first think popped in my brain when I read this topic is the movie "Windtalker" by Nicolas Cage.It talked about how a indigenous language--Navajo was used to encode military message in world war II. Although it is one of the extreme examples about language, but language is definitely the step stones for the society development and identity. It is about respect and confidence. I didn't have this strong feeling until I came to NZ.
Two years ago, when I and my family first came to NZ, Both my son and I met the language problem. In term of my son, he barely speak English when he just started his school. Because he can't talk and understand, he can't even figure out when to start his lunch and when to finish. For the whole week, the first question I asked him was "Have you finished your lunch?". Also, because of this culture shock reason, he was reluctant to read English book. When we went to library, the most book he borrowed is Chinese book.Even his favorite, comic, he would prefer Chinese one. I think he read most ever Chinese books in Y2013 than any years in china. :). Although he didn't speak it out, but I can feel his anxiety and hopeless at the beginning year. To him, the language barrier means disconnect of culture and no support from our old community. While for me, although I can speak English,language barrier means confidence and my identity. When i just started my teacher job in kindergarten, I tried to hide my identity and don't talk Chinese. It was because I didn't know what will be the response if I talked Chinese? Will the management accept Chinese culture? will parents accept me as a teacher if I talked some Chinese stories in the class? Those kind of thinking stopped me running some projects based on china's history and made me less confidence to show my culture identity in public. Although those living experience on us are trivial and both my son and I had went through that period, but I am pretty sure those kind of similar experiences happened to other indigenous groups. Language, as the carrier of culture, is important as air and water. We get support and confidence from it daily. Missing language diversity will definitely cause isolation and rebel between different cultures, which we has seen so many time in South African's racial segregation and racial discrimination in US.
I am very happy that NZ government took different approaches from south African and US.Since 1840, when Maori added keeping their language and culture in the Treaty of Waitangi, Culture identity had been set as one of backbone of NZ society. Although there were disturbances happened in the last hundred years, in general, I think NZ government did a very good job in this area. One obvious evidence can been seen in education. Here in school and my working place, both Maori and English are formal languages. When teacher taught numbers, they taught not only English, but also in Maori. Children will not feel embarrassing for talking another language. Accepting Maori language culture and language set a very good model for accepting other language and culture, such as china or middle east culture in the society.Going back to my son's case, assigning an Chinese speaking buddy at the beginning and providing additional ESOL class give him a big help to overcome that language barrier in the first years study in NZ.
Because of respecting to other culture and language, teachers will show more patience and more forgiveness to children from other culture. There was one case in my kindergarten. There was one girl from China and she can't speak any English word in the beginning. Rather than pushing her to try another language immediately, out teacher here gave her enough time(around 3~4 months) and patience to letting her choose her play, introducing some Chinese speaking buddies to her. For the first 3 months, she didn't talk, even in Chinese to me.Most of the time, she was just watching or seldom join in other children's play.But we knew she was not worried as she started. While 3 month later, both her parents and we found she started to talk to her buddies suddenly. If there was no patience, or respect to other culture, I don't think that amazing thing can happen.
Besides two above reasons, based on Te Whariki, Language/culture learning, or experiencing, is boring. It is living thing in daily activities. In my room, Greeting in mat time is allowed to use different language, which encouraging children confidence to their home culture. Also every year, our preschool celebrated Dawali or Chinese New Year by inviting children dressing up with their designed cloth or making dumpling themselves.
By embedding children in multi-culture environments and enjoying the differences of different cultures, children in NZ will absorb and accept those differences, which will lead to harmony society of NZ.
While in daily teaching, sometimes it is harder to let children understand another culture with traditional way, like Chinese Opera, It goes so slow and children will easily lose their patience. or Haka, some of our girl wanted to join the Haka dance like boys, we found there was less information around that area. But if we can use the modern tools, such as youtube or scratch etc, and give the power of children the right to interpret cultures/languages in their own way, that will make it more meaningful for their learning.
The first think popped in my brain when I read this topic is the movie "Windtalker" by Nicolas Cage.It talked about how a indigenous language--Navajo was used to encode military message in world war II. Although it is one of the extreme examples about language, but language is definitely the step stones for the society development and identity. It is about respect and confidence. I didn't have this strong feeling until I came to NZ.
Two years ago, when I and my family first came to NZ, Both my son and I met the language problem. In term of my son, he barely speak English when he just started his school. Because he can't talk and understand, he can't even figure out when to start his lunch and when to finish. For the whole week, the first question I asked him was "Have you finished your lunch?". Also, because of this culture shock reason, he was reluctant to read English book. When we went to library, the most book he borrowed is Chinese book.Even his favorite, comic, he would prefer Chinese one. I think he read most ever Chinese books in Y2013 than any years in china. :). Although he didn't speak it out, but I can feel his anxiety and hopeless at the beginning year. To him, the language barrier means disconnect of culture and no support from our old community. While for me, although I can speak English,language barrier means confidence and my identity. When i just started my teacher job in kindergarten, I tried to hide my identity and don't talk Chinese. It was because I didn't know what will be the response if I talked Chinese? Will the management accept Chinese culture? will parents accept me as a teacher if I talked some Chinese stories in the class? Those kind of thinking stopped me running some projects based on china's history and made me less confidence to show my culture identity in public. Although those living experience on us are trivial and both my son and I had went through that period, but I am pretty sure those kind of similar experiences happened to other indigenous groups. Language, as the carrier of culture, is important as air and water. We get support and confidence from it daily. Missing language diversity will definitely cause isolation and rebel between different cultures, which we has seen so many time in South African's racial segregation and racial discrimination in US.
I am very happy that NZ government took different approaches from south African and US.Since 1840, when Maori added keeping their language and culture in the Treaty of Waitangi, Culture identity had been set as one of backbone of NZ society. Although there were disturbances happened in the last hundred years, in general, I think NZ government did a very good job in this area. One obvious evidence can been seen in education. Here in school and my working place, both Maori and English are formal languages. When teacher taught numbers, they taught not only English, but also in Maori. Children will not feel embarrassing for talking another language. Accepting Maori language culture and language set a very good model for accepting other language and culture, such as china or middle east culture in the society.Going back to my son's case, assigning an Chinese speaking buddy at the beginning and providing additional ESOL class give him a big help to overcome that language barrier in the first years study in NZ.
Because of respecting to other culture and language, teachers will show more patience and more forgiveness to children from other culture. There was one case in my kindergarten. There was one girl from China and she can't speak any English word in the beginning. Rather than pushing her to try another language immediately, out teacher here gave her enough time(around 3~4 months) and patience to letting her choose her play, introducing some Chinese speaking buddies to her. For the first 3 months, she didn't talk, even in Chinese to me.Most of the time, she was just watching or seldom join in other children's play.But we knew she was not worried as she started. While 3 month later, both her parents and we found she started to talk to her buddies suddenly. If there was no patience, or respect to other culture, I don't think that amazing thing can happen.
Besides two above reasons, based on Te Whariki, Language/culture learning, or experiencing, is boring. It is living thing in daily activities. In my room, Greeting in mat time is allowed to use different language, which encouraging children confidence to their home culture. Also every year, our preschool celebrated Dawali or Chinese New Year by inviting children dressing up with their designed cloth or making dumpling themselves.
children are make their own hawaiian hula dancing
Children learned "hongi" by watching the video
Children observed Koru and tried to make their own Koru in chalk board.
Children made the costume and playing the lion dancing to celebrate Chinese new year.
By embedding children in multi-culture environments and enjoying the differences of different cultures, children in NZ will absorb and accept those differences, which will lead to harmony society of NZ.
While in daily teaching, sometimes it is harder to let children understand another culture with traditional way, like Chinese Opera, It goes so slow and children will easily lose their patience. or Haka, some of our girl wanted to join the Haka dance like boys, we found there was less information around that area. But if we can use the modern tools, such as youtube or scratch etc, and give the power of children the right to interpret cultures/languages in their own way, that will make it more meaningful for their learning.
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