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Activities
Effective pedagogy for language teaching
Effective pedagogy research is integrated into these teacher support materials.
The New Zealand Curriculum (pages 34–36) summarises evidence of the kinds of teaching approaches that consistently have an impact on student learning.
Research into second language acquisition pedagogy reviewed in Ellis (2005) establishes ten principles for teacher actions that promote student learning.
Research into intercultural communicative language teaching (Rivers, based on Newton et al., 2010 [1]) establishes six principles for a pedagogy that is effective in achieving the outcomes specified in The New Zealand Curriculum.
Language learning activities
Choose or adapt these learning activities to suit your students’ diverse needs and the particular objectives they are to achieve.
Listening comprehension – focus on meaning
This cloze activity is based on page 4 of the storybook. The students make meaning from what they hear, and reinforce their knowledge of words used in particular contexts.
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"Goodbye, ______" said Lopa. "______ ______ ______ ______!" Lopa met up with Toni on their way to ______. "Let's play ______ with the ______ at break", ______ said to ______. "I ______ ______ ______ ______", said Lopa. "What about a ______ ______ then?" asked Toni. "______! It's my ______ sport", Lopa said. "______ ______ ______" said Toni.
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Read the passage aloud, or arrange for a speaker of gagana Tokelau to read it. As they listen, the students write the missing information in the gaps, in English. Repeat the reading so that your students manage to complete their entries. The students check their responses using the storybook or English translation.
Dictation
The students recognise particular sound-spelling combinations and learn to write texts with appropriate use of macrons and correct spelling.
Try the following sentences. Read them out one at a time. Say each sentence twice, giving the students time to write the sentence in their books.
- Kua fofou lele ke fakailoa ki tona kāiga te tala fiafia.
- Ko koe lā kua i te kau lakapī a te ākoga.
- Kua matuā fiafia lele ia Toni.
- Ko to mātou malae lakapī i Ātafu he tamā malae lele.
- I te mālōlōga pukupuku kua fano ia Toni ki fafo ma ana uō fou.
Project the sentences, or hand out copies of the storybooks for the students to find the sentences, so that they can correct their own work. Ask them how well they managed the task. Tell them to write a note to themselves about what they need to improve the next time they write in gagana Tokelau.
Reading aloud
This activity has a focus on pronunciation and reading fluency in gagana Tokelau.
The students work in groups. They take turns to read the story aloud. Group members give feedback to the readers, congratulating them by saying Lelei or Mālō lava, or suggesting they try again to get the pronunciation right. This helps them to monitor the development of their pronunciation of gagana Tokelau. You may wish to invite a gagana Tokelau speaker to help develop your students’ pronunciation skills.
Sequencing
The students read the story (or parts of it) and demonstrate their understanding. To encourage rapid reading, place a time limit on their task.
Photocopy (or retype) sentences from pages 7 and 8 onto card. Cut the card so that each piece has one sentence. Hand out the sets of sentences, one to each pair or group of students. The students arrange the sentences in sequence, without referring to the storybook. Let the students use the storybook to check their work, or read the pages aloud as students check their sequences.
Patterns of language
The students recognise and use particular phrases in different contexts to reinforce their learning. They develop their understanding of how gagana Tokelau is organised in particular ways.
As a class, focus on particular words or phrases used in the story. For example, students look at the language used to describe people and places, and choose sentences like these:
- Kua matafakanoanoa ki lāua. / They looked sad.
- Ko te koutou malae lakapī foki he malae mutia! / And your rugby field has grass!
The students select the patterns they can use. They write these sentences in their books, so that they can use them in other contexts, or adapt them to suit, for example, Na mālō tana kau. / Her team won.
Language and cultural knowledge discussion
The students research, explore, and present information on aspects of agānuku Tokelau mentioned in the story and the values they express. The students develop their understanding of how people view and use places differently.
Explore the following discussion points with your students. They work in pairs, or groups, and then share their findings with the rest of the class.
Focus areas:
- Describe what the illustrations show, and make connections between the illustrations and the written text.
- Compare and contrast aspects of playing rugby in the two countries.
- Explore particular language and cultural practices, for example:
- formulaic expressions used in the story
- clothes people wear in the illustrations
- a description of the Lalo Pua and its cultural significance
- the relationship between the eldest grandson and grandfather.
The information in the story Ko te Tokotoko o Toku Tupuna/ Papa's Tokotoko [item no. 16274] is relevant to this story.
Poster presentations
The students deepen their understanding of how Tokelau culture is organised in particular ways and make connections with the cultures they know.
The students work in pairs or groups, choosing a particular aspect of agānuku Tokelau to research. They organise their information on a poster with written and visual texts. When they present their poster, each group member also makes a connection with a related aspect of their own culture. Display the posters on the classroom wall or in a suitable place within your school.
Role-plays – spoken communication
This task reinforces the specific learning outcomes of Unit 5 in Muakiga! The students process vocabulary and language structures, develop fluency in speaking, and adapt language to suit their own communicative purposes. They also develop their capability to:
- receive and produce information
- show social awareness when interacting with others.
The students work in groups to prepare role-plays using the storybook content to guide their scripts. They rehearse their role-plays before they present them to the class, so that they can say their lines confidently and fluently.
Telling the story
The students produce information by telling the story to others.
The students, individually, give a short spoken presentation to their group or to the class. They retell the story in about ten sentences. They tell the story from the point of view of Toni or Lopa.
The students prepare their talk. They practise it until they are reasonably fluent. They may use notes as a prompt.
Record these talks. Play the recording so that students can self-monitor their performances as well as receive others’ feedback about the improvements they need to make. This feedback may include:
- comment on how well they can be heard (audibility)
- comment on how well they can be understood (pronunciation, stress)
- comment on how well the story makes sense (logical sequence of actions)
- comment on how well the story is presented (fluency, lack of hesitation, not looking at notes).
Technologies for sports
The students develop their understanding of how society and environments impact on and are influenced by technology in historical and contemporary contexts.
The story shows contrasts between rugby grounds in Tokelau and in New Zealand. Facilitate a discussion with your students, or set research questions, about how the use of locally available materials influences the development of particular games and sports in New Zealand and Tokelau settings. The students can explore, for example, the use of shells in the Tokelau game tiuga (see Unit 5, Muakiga!), or stones in the Māori game mu torere.
Reflecting on their learning
Help the students to reflect on their learning, and also on how they learn. Students could share these reflections with another student, with a small group of students, or with the whole class. As a prompt, ask the students questions such as:
- What strategies or activities helped you to understand the story?
- What strategies or activities helped you to remember the new language?
- How can you use the new language in other contexts?
- Can you identify aspects of new learning about Tokelau culture?
- How have you improved your use of gagana Tokelau?
For example, a student might say:
“I can now tell the story about Toni who came to New Zealand from Tokelau and learned how to play rugby the New Zealand way. Telling the story helped me to remember new language. I learned about the special relationship Toni has with his grandfather.”
[1] Newton, J., Yates, E., Shearn, S., and Nowitzki, W. (2009). Intercultural Communicative Language Teaching: Implications for Effective Teaching and Learning. Wellington: Ministry of Education.