Te Kete Ipurangi Navigation:

Te Kete Ipurangi
Communities
Schools

Te Kete Ipurangi user options:

You are here:

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.

Link to prior learning

The students recall their prior learning of gagana Tokelau. They use this knowledge to help them read the story and understand it.

The students work in groups. They read the story and share with each other what they think the story is about. They use the words and expressions listed in the glossary to help them to make meaning from the written text. Each group presents their version of what the story is about to the class.

Project the English version, or hand out copies of it. The students read the gagana Tokelau text again, referencing the English version as they read, so that they can enjoy the story.

Dictation

The students write texts with appropriate use of macrons and correct spelling. They develop their understanding of how gagana Tokelau is organised in particular ways.

Dictation sharpens the students’ recognition of sound-spelling combinations and builds good spelling habits. Try these sentences. Note that they focus on the words matua, mātua, and matuā, which students need to distinguish in both spelling and meaning. Say each sentence twice. Give the students enough time to write each sentence in their books.

  • Ke lea au ki toku mātua.
  • E fanatu tō tuagane matua oi kave koe?
  • E matuā lelei uma nā kauhiva ma e gali o lātou tēuga.

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. Find out how well they managed the task. Ask them if this activity helped them to learn the spelling and associated meanings of these words. Tell them to write a note to themselves about what they need to do to improve their written accuracy.

Role-play reading

The students develop their pronunciation and reading fluency in gagana Tokelau. They develop their understanding of the story when it is read aloud.

The students work in groups. One student takes the role of narrator, or shares this role with others. To help the students become very familiar with the story as they read, give them copies of the English translation to refer to so that they can make meaning of what they are reading. You may wish to get a competent gagana Tokelau reader to help with the pronunciation.

Within their groups, the students read the story aloud, as a role-play. Ask group members to give feedback to the readers, congratulating them by saying Lelei or Mālō lava, or suggesting they try again to get the pronunciation right. This process helps them to develop their critical awareness of the pronunciation of gagana Tokelau.

Sequencing

The students recall their prior learning of gagana Tokelau and develop their understanding of how gagana Tokelau is organised in particular ways.

The students work in pairs or groups. Photocopy (or retype) sentences from page 11 onto card. Cut the card so that each piece has one sentence. Hand out the sets of sentences, one to each pair or group. The students arrange the sentences in sequence without referring to the storybook. They use the complete text to check their work. Or read the passage aloud so that the students can check their sequences. To encourage rapid reading, place a time limit on their task. Repeat this activity using other pages in the storybook.

Patterns of language – instructions

The students connect with their learning in Unit 18. They respond to instructions in a genuine situation and use language, positioning, and movement when performing. The activity also enables them to explore and describe dances from another culture, and to prepare and share dance movements individually and in pairs or groups.

Arrange for community members to come to your class and teach students a hiva (dance). Discuss with them the kinds of language that students have learned in Unit 18. Then have the hiva teacher use these instructions (and other instructions the person considers important) to teach the students the movements and positioning for the hiva.

If you do not have people to play music for the hiva, use a song from the print and CD resource Fātuga Faka-Tokelau: Tokelauan Songs [item 31047].

Presenting information

The students explore and reflect on how language and culture are organised in particular ways when they research and present information on aspects of Tokelau culture and values included in the story. They also make connections with the language(s) and culture(s) they know.

The students work in pairs, or groups, and then present their information on posters to the rest of the class. They make their presentations orally, supported by posters that have a combination of written and visual texts for them to refer to as they speak.

Possible themes:

  • a list of formulaic expressions used in conversations in the story, prepared as a poster for the classroom wall for others to refer to and use in appropriate contexts
  • types of hiva, with brief descriptions of them
  • instruments used to accompany hiva, and their technologies
  • costumes people wear for hiva, and the technologies used to make them
  • Easter Tournament activities and events
  • particular colours or symbols in Tokelau culture, and where these are used, for example in costumes
  • the significance of hiva, and the values associated with them.

The students use a range of sources from which to gather their information, including the Internet, reference books, and Tokelau community members. Tokelau people would be able to discuss the significance of hiva and the values associated with them. Your students can make comparisons and connections with associated practices in their own culture(s).

Viewing and presenting – spoken communication

The students process vocabulary and language structures, develop fluency in speaking, and adapt language to suit their own communicative purposes.

Make photocopied sets of the illustrations from the storybook (minus the written text), enough for one set per group. The students work in groups. They prepare a retelling of the story (narrative and/or conversation) using the illustrations to guide their presentations. They may need to prepare written scripts to support their presentations.

Give them time to rehearse their presentations, to enable them to become more fluent when speaking.

Challenge your students to retell the story without using any notes. Students who are more confident in their use of gagana Tokelau may be able to respond to this challenge.

Telling the story – spoken communication

The students produce information by telling the story to others.

The students give a short, spoken presentation (to their group or class) based on the storybook content, as an individual task. They retell the story in about ten sentences. They tell the story from the point of view of Te Hei or Lehi.

The students prepare their talk and then 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)
  • they can be understood (pronunciation, stress)
  • the story makes sense (logical sequence of actions)
  • the story is presented (fluency, lack of hesitation, not looking at notes).

Technologies for the performing arts in agānuku Tokelau

The students develop their understanding of how society and environments impact on and are influenced by technology in historical and contemporary contexts. They make connections with other language(s) and culture(s) that they are familiar with.

The story shows aspects of preparations and performances at a Tokelau Easter Tournament in New Zealand. Facilitate a discussion with your students, or set research questions, about the different facilities and technologies used in the performing arts in New Zealand and Tokelau settings. The students explore how the use of locally-available materials influence the development of costumes and the choice of musical instruments.

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, a small group of students, or the whole class. As a prompt, ask the students questions such as:

  • What strategies helped you to understand the story?
  • What strategies 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 agānuku Tokelau?
  • How have you improved your use of gagana Tokelau?

For example, a student might say:

“I can now tell the story of Te Hei, who learned to dance the Tokelau way. Retelling the story helped me to remember new language. I learned a hiva and managed to follow the instructions in gagana Tokelau.”

[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.

Back to top ^

Footer:

New Zealand Government

© Crown copyright.