In this webinar, Associate Professor Mere Skerrett from Victoria University of Wellington shares insights into her work on bilingualism and language development in early childhood settings. Mere has a background in early childhood teaching and also research and tertiary teaching in the areas of bilingual education, language development in young children and equity issues as they relate to Māori as Tāngata Whenua.
To help you navigate the webinar easily, there is a list of the key topics covered in the session below, including the time each was discussed.
The key ideas discussed in this webinar are also shared in a short insight article.
Topics discussed in this webinar
Times shown in minutes and seconds from the start of the video
| 4.12 | Why promote Māori-English bilingualism in early childhood settings |
| 8.25 | How to support children to become bilingual in the early childhood context of Aotearoa |
| 22.30 | Language development research in Kōhanga Reo |
| 24.03 | Teaching Māori literacy and the development of the Arapū |
| 39.30 | Music as a tool for language learning |
| 44.20 | Power relationships and language hierarchies |
| 50.39 | Māori-English bilingualism for all children |
Questions for exploring the key ideas from this webinar
How might you improve your proficiency in both spoken official languages of Aotearoa New Zealand?
What specific pedagogies might you use to promote oral and written language development in your setting?
What are the needs of your families and community in relation to language learning? How can you find out about language regeneration plans in your area?
How can you distribute resources for language learning more equitably across your community?
Further reading
Access Mere’s powerpoint slides here.
