At the recent seminar in Tauranga on the teaching and learning of Mandarin, organised by The New Zealand China Friendship Society, Programme Co-ordinator Laytee George outlined the organisation of Mandarin Programmes in local schools.
As a National Curriculum 2007 requirement, all schools are required to offer additional languages to English.
Historically Latin and French had a place of emphasis; Te Reo Maori has for the last thirty years had an increasingly important role; and in more recent times Japanese, Spanish and German have been taught in our schools. With the development of China as a world power and now our second largest trading partner, Mandarin is increasingly important for our children to learn.
Laytee George discusses twelve years of success with various Mandarin programmes particularly in the Rotorua area.
Mrs George discussed the cost effective programme available to all schools to address the curriculum requirement for language. Funds are available so there is no financial reason for any school to hold back from introducing Mandarin; numerous teaching resources are available both from overseas (China, Australia, etc) and now also from New Zealand. Community interest in Mandarin is a primary drive for the teaching of Mandarin in any school. Parents wanting Chinese language for their children need to talk with their school, the principal, Board of Trustees, HOD Language, etc. The co-facilitation model involves the everyday classroom teacher, the programme itself (books, Power Points, etc) and a native speaker of Chinese all working together in a classroom.
“No stress – little (extra) work and heaps of return” says Mrs George. Experience with the programme over the last twelve years has shown many cross curricular benefits, many students studying Chinese have experienced improved results in their general school achievements.
The seminar was organised by New Zealand China Friendship Society. If you are interested to know more about Mandarin in local schools phone 07 577 0583.
