English for all

The New Zealand Curriculum provides all students with equal educational opportunities.

The school curriculum will recognise, respect, and respond to the educational needs, experiences, interests, and values of all students: both female and male students; students of all ethnic groups; students with different abilities and disabilities; and students of different social and religious backgrounds. Inequalities will be recognised and addressed. All programmes will be gender-inclusive, non-racist, and non-discriminatory, to help ensure that learning opportunities are not restricted.

The New Zealand Curriculum Framework, page 7

In selecting authors and texts, schools will have regard to gender balance and to the inclusion of a range of cultural perspectives.

The curriculum will promote the use of language that does not discriminate against particular groups of people. Provision will be made for students who have special learning needs in the area of communication.

The New Zealand Curriculum Framework, page 10

Language development is based on the language that learners already have and is inextricably linked with their gender, social and cultural backgrounds, and individual needs.

All students should have equal access to the English curriculum. An inclusive curriculum, which is responsive to the wide diversity of perspectives and linguistic backgrounds in New Zealand, can enrich English education for all students. Learners not experiencing success in terms of participation and achievement should be identified so that equitable access to all learning activities is assured.

The gender-inclusive curriculum
The gender-inclusive curriculum "acknowledges and includes the educational needs and experiences of girls equally with those of boys, both in its content, and in the language, methods, approaches, and practices of teaching".

The New Zealand Curriculum Framework, page 1

Although girls are more successful than boys in English at school, their attainments in English are not always transferred into the full range of vocational training and employment options. Boys, on the other hand, may be restricted because of lack of achievement in English. A gender-inclusive curriculum has a critical role to play in producing and maintaining equitable outcomes for all students.

Both boys and girls are disadvantaged by the ways in which oral, written, and visual language can create, reflect, and reinforce gender stereotyping. Through analysing the language of a range of texts, students can find out what they reveal about attitudes towards sex roles and gender, and how these attitudes are constructed.

The programme should provide a supportive learning environment, in which girls and boys receive equitable access to resources, including teachers' time and attention, technology, learning assistance, and a range of roles in group activities

The experiences and values of both girls and boys should be included. Texts should include and reflect the achievements, interests, and perspectives of girls, women, boys, and men.

English for Māori students

The New Zealand Curriculum recognises the significance of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The school curriculum will recognise and value the unique position of Māori in New Zealand society.É The school curriculum will acknowledge the importance to all New Zealanders of both Māori and Pakeha traditions, histories, and values.

The New Zealand Curriculum Framework, page 7

Programmes must be planned so that Māori students are able to achieve confidence and excellence in English. The achievement in English of Māori students will be enhanced when teachers are knowledgeable about Māori culture and when Māori knowledge is affirmed and respected in the classroom.

The growth of Māori-medium classes (bilingual programmes, total immersion programmes, and kura kaupapa Māori) has considerable implications for the English curriculum. Teachers need to be aware that some Māori students ø particularly those in bilingual classes ø may have to meet two sets of cultural expectations. This has implications for bilingual teachers, who need to maintain the balance between the English curriculum and te marautanga Māori (the Māori curriculum).

Teachers in mainstream classes need to plan their programmes so that they are relevant to Māori students. The teaching, learning, and assessment examples in this document provide a variety of suggestions for texts and activities which reflect students' needs and interests.

All students should be encouraged to appreciate New Zealand's bicultural heritage. In their approaches to learning and teaching, in the issues that are addressed, and in their selection of spoken, written, and visual texts, teachers should include Māori perspectives. New Zealand texts, including those by Māori authors and about Māori, should form a significant part of the wide range of texts that students will explore.

Each kura kaupapa Māori has its own approach to the way English is to be taught, through Te Aho Matua which affirms English as a heritage language of New Zealand. Central to the growth and development of kura kaupapa Māori is the need for Māori students first of all to develop a secure base in their own language and culture. Students in kura kaupapa Māori are expected to be fluent in spoken and written Māori before the study of English

Mo nga tamariki, kia rua nga reo. Ko te reo o nga matua tupuna tuatahi, ko te reo o tauiwi tuarua. Kia orite te pakari o ia reo, kia tu tangata ai nga tamariki i roto i te ao Māori, i roto i te ao o Tauiwi.

For the children, let there be two languages. First the language of the ancestors, second the language of the settlers. Let the growth of each language be equal, so that the children stand strong in the Māori world and in the world of the settlers.

Students from language backgrounds other than English

The New Zealand Curriculum reflects the multicultural nature of New Zealand society.

The school curriculum will encourage students to understand and respect the different cultures which make up New Zealand society. It will ensure that the experiences, cultural traditions, histories, and languages of all New Zealanders are recognised and valued. It will acknowledge the place of Pacific Islands communities in New Zealand society, and New Zealand's relationships with the peoples of Asia and the South Pacific.

The New Zealand Curriculum Framework, page 7

Students from language backgrounds other than English add valuable language resources and experiences to the classroom. Competent use of one language is an excellent foundation for developing a second or third. The prior knowledge, first language, and culture of each student should be respected and incorporated in English programmes. Where students have some facility in a first language, they should initially be encouraged to explore tasks in that language, moving between their first language and English.

Although students from language backgrounds other than English should work towards the same objectives for English as native speakers, they will approach the objectives differently and may at times be working at different levels from most of the class. The classroom environment and organisation should affirm cultural values, such as individual or group learning, in order to support these students. Time and a range of learning opportunities should be provided, including opportunities to use language for both formal and informal purposes.

For such students, it is particularly important to make connections with other areas of learning. The ways in which different kinds of English are used for many different purposes should be made explicit by teachers. Teachers in all curriculum areas should develop approaches to teaching and learning that recognise the vital role of language competence in extending learning.

Some new learners may need transition time within an intensive English language class as a first step. The transition is best managed, however, by planned immersion experiences in mainstream English classrooms.

Learners with other special needs

There are a significant number of learners for whom the acquisition of skills in formal English is difficult.

The English language programme must offer students with communication difficulties and disabilities every opportunity to develop their communication skills. Such students should have access to the balanced English curriculum. They may also require opportunities for intensive teaching in order to learn skills specific to their needs through, for instance, visual communication in deaf culture; technology, such as Braille; and special intervention, for example, in the Reading Recovery programme, and in the provision of readers, writers, or interpreters.

Many of the teaching and learning examples in this curriculum statement provide access for a wide range of learners, emphasising both group support and individual activity.

Gifted and talented students

The aims and objectives described in this curriculum statement provide goals and challenges for all, including gifted and talented students. Teachers should adapt learning contexts to stimulate and extend these students.

Many of the learning and teaching examples suggest contexts for acceleration and enrichment ø for instance, the processes and knowledge needed for complex language activity or research, and the emphasis on individual challenge, experiment, and excellence. The curriculum's openness with regard to the choice of literary texts also offers opportunity for challenge and extension to students with special language abilities.