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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.

Link to prior learning

The students recall their prior learning of gagana Tokelau so that they can read the story and understand it.

The students work in groups to read the story. They 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 and reflect on their understandings of the gagana Tokelau text. Give them time to reread the gagana Tokelau text, referencing the English version as they read, so that they can enjoy the story.

Language structures – focus on form

The students develop their knowledge of how gagana Tokelau is organised in particular ways.

Take the theme of “expressing agreement and disagreement”. The students study the written text  and find examples of:

  • agreement
  • disagrement
  • the use of hē to express a negative.

This activity sharpens the students’ recognition of language patterns used to express these ideas. To highlight this focus, choose some of the language patterns to dictate to your students to develop their writing skills and sound–spelling combinations.

Try these sentence patterns. Say each sentence twice, giving the students enough time to write each sentence in their books.

  • “Io, ē hako!” ko te tali atu ia a Telehia. “Te lelei, nī?” [agreement]
  • Kua uhu nei te pehe a te mātua tupuna kae fakalogologo ia Whotovalu. [agreement]
  • “Ko au e fītā. Ko au nae takalo netipolo ananafi. Tātou nonofo vēnei, nī?” [disagreement]
  • Kua hē ia mafaia oi takalo lakapī. [negative]

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.

Role-plays – controlled and free production

The students communicate with others in particular situations, and monitor their own skills development.

Unit 9 of Muakiga! (pages 239–240) develops in students the skills to assess their own role-play presentations, using particular assessment criteria.

This activity offers a further opportunity for them to use tasks defined as “controlled production” and “free production” based on the story. Depending on the level of confidence of your students, choose from the following:

(a) This task is “controlled production”. The students use prescribed content.

Hand out copies of the storybook. Divide the students into groups of seven to role-play the story. The roles include the six characters in the story and a person to act as narrator. They share out the roles within their group. Give the students time to rehearse their parts to develop their confidence and fluency.

(b) This task is “free production”. The students create their own content.

Divide the students into groups. Each group makes up its own role-plays based on the storybook and any language from Units 1–9 in Muakiga! Alter the numbers of students in the groups, depending on the scenario the students develop and the number of characters they need. Allow enough time for them to create their role-plays and practise them. This may take several lessons.

Video-record these performances, or get someone else to record them. Show the video to the students for them to assess the performances. Give them time to apply the criteria to their own performances and discuss their assessments with each other.

Sequencing

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

Photocopy (or retype) sentences from page 5 onto card. Cut up the card so that each piece of card has one sentence. Hand out the sets of sentences, one set per pair or group. The students arrange the sentences in sequence, without referring to the storybook. Read the story aloud so that the students can check their sequences. To encourage rapid reading, place a time limit on their assembly task. Repeat this activity using other pages in the storybook.

Songs

The students learn how gagana Tokelau and agānuku Tokelau are organised in particular ways through discussing examples of pehe and the meanings of the songs. They also identify and describe the characteristics of music associated with a range of sound environments, in relation to historical, social, and cultural contexts.

Review the songs you and your students have learned to sing through using Muakiga! Play some other Tokelau songs to your students. Use the Tokelau songs in the print and CD resource Fātuga Faka-Tokelau: Tokelauan Songs [item 31047], some of which were included in Songs to Celebrate Pasifika Languages and Cultures; Songs and Music to Support the Pasifika Learning Languages Series for Years 7 – 10 (Wellington: Ministry of Education, 2010). Or arrange for community members to come  to your class and teach students some Tokelau songs and their meanings.

The students consider these songs and choose one that they would describe as he pehe mālie (a sweet song), giving reasons for their choice.

Presenting information

The students research, explore, and present information on aspects of Tokelau culture and values included in the story.

Possible themes:

  • a list of formulaic expressions used in the story, prepared as a poster for the classroom wall for others to refer to and use in appropriate contexts
  • the Tokelau Easter Tournament in New Zealand – the different kinds of activities and events
  • Easter activities and celebrations in different parts of Tokelau
  • the significance of the Tokelau Easter Tournament to the Tokelau communities in New Zealand, and the values associated with the event
  • in-depth research into one kind of event, activity, or genre, for example, hiva fātele, kilikiti, or pehe, making cross-cultural comparisons, for example, between how kilikiti is played in Tokelau and Sāmoa
  • profile a Tokelau songwriter or artist.

The students use a range of sources to gather their information, for example, the Internet, reference books, and Tokelau community members. They work in pairs or groups. They present their information on posters to the rest of the class.

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 in the storybook (minus the written text), one set per group. The students work in groups to share a retelling of the story (narrative and/or conversation) using the illustrations to guide their presentations. Tell them to keep the story simple and use the written text to support the story they develop. Give them time to practise telling their story before they present to the class, to enable them to say their lines fluently.

Record these presentations. Play the recordings so that the 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, no notes).

Writing text

The students write texts with appropriate use of macrons and correct spelling as they communicate with others in particular situations.

The students write a short story based on the storybook content, as an individual task. They retell the story. Set a sentence limit, for example, ten sentences. They tell the story from the point of view of Whotovalu, in either the first person “I” form, or the third person “he” form.

The students prepare their written text, then hand it to another student to read and comment on. They then review their own text and prepare their final copy. Display their writing on the classroom wall. Store copies in your students’ portfolios.

Tokelau culture and the Easter Tournament in New Zealand

This activity helps students to understand how the movement of people affects cultural diversity and interaction in New Zealand.

The story shows aspects of preparations and performances at a Tokelau Easter Tournament in New Zealand. The Tournament often caters for 3,000 people or more. Facilitate a discussion with your students, or set research questions, about the facilities and circumstances that affect the activities that take place during the Tokelau Easter Tournament. The students explore how the environment influences the kinds of organisation required to host such a large event, and what is offered. The environment includes such issues as the use of locally available materials (food, drinks, materials for costumes), the setting, the buildings, and the climate.

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

For example, a student might say:

“I can now tell the story of Whotovalu and the Easter Tournament. Telling the story helped me to say and write new language. I learned some new formulaic expressions in gagana Tokelau. I listened to some Tokelau songs, and chose one I can describe as ‘he pehe mālie’. I know a lot more about the Tokelau Easter Tournament in New Zealand now, and why it is so important to Tokelau people.”

[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.

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