A survey of educational language policies in the Pacific region

Robert EarlyUniversity of the South Pacific

Vanuaturobert.early@vanuatu.usp.ac.fj

MICRONESIA

POLYNESIA

MELANESIA

Melanesia : 1151Micronesia : 16Polynesia : 22

COUNTRY NO. OF LANGUAGES WITHFEWER THAN 200 SPEAKERS

PERCENTAGE OFTOTAL LANGUAGES

Irian Jaya 40 20%

Papua New Guinea 114 15%

Solomon Islands 12 20%

Vanuatu 41 40%

New Caledonia 5 18%

Vanuatu languages and their status

1980 ConstitutionNational language: BislamaOfficial languages: English, French, BislamaMain languages of education: English, French

+ 135 vernaculars

[Only Rwanda, Seychelles, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Vanuatu have three official languages, while Singapore has four.]

Language map of

Vanuatu

135 active languages

population275,000

Malakula language density

42 languages

40,000 population

< 1000 speakers per language

From François et al. 2015

Language sizes in Vanuatu

Bislama, the national language• A stigmatized language variety• “Broken English”, English of uneducated people• Predominantly oral use• No widely accepted standardized written form• Lacks technical vocabulary• Anglophone and Francophone variants• A creolizing pidgin, and first/only language of

many urban youth

Language repertoires

A B C D

L1 Vernacular Vernacular Bislama Bislama

L2 English French French English

L3 French English English French

(L4 Bislama Bislama)

Low levels of educational achievement across the region, e.g. Marshall Islands

Year 1-4

Year 6,8

Numeracy

Literacy levels for Vanuatu

13% (1980) Vanuatu MDG country report.

About 30% (2003) Survey by Vanuatu government and UN (Hayashi, 2003)

33.5% (1997, reported in 2007) The Asian Development Bank Country assistance plan.

32.0% (1990) and 34.0% (1997) Vanuatu MDG Goals indicators.

34% (2001 and currently) SPC and NZAID (justifying a 47% increase in aid to the Pacific).

at least 40% (1989, reported in 2000) IVanuatu EFA country report, based on Census.

less than 50% (1997, reported in 2000) Melanesian Ministers, eradication of illiteracy. Shipman 2005: “More than fifty percent of students are illiterate when they finish primary school”.

50% (2002) Vanuatu Statistics Office.

53% (current) National Geographic; literacy rate is based on primary school enrolments. Also World Vision (1995).

55%-70% (current) Website “Countries and their cultures”.

about 60% (1999) Vanuatu country report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

61%-90% (current) Ethnologue (www.ethnologue.com).

64% (1998) United Nations website System-wide Earthwatch, based on the UNDP 1994 Pacific Human Development Report, also quoted by Siegel (1996:78).

70% (1998) Vanuatu report on UN Human Rights Indicators, 1998.

74% (1999) UNESCO Institute of Statistics. Also UNICEF’s Basic indicators for Vanuatu. The literate population is those aged 15 years and over who have completed four years of schooling.

75% The ADB Country strategy and program update for Vanuatu for 2004-2006: Vanuatu ranks among the lowest in ADB's Pacific developing member countries for adult literacy.

under 80% The UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report for 2006.

• 3300 subjects• School leavers• Urban and rural• In Bislama and L2

Literacy SurveyEarly & Tamtam 2007

Year 6+• 27% could not write three short dictated sentences. • 20% could not write simple statements, such as their

name, the name of their village or island.• 65% could not write the names of a number of everyday

items that they see and use every day. Year 10+• Only 53% could answer easy basic comprehension

questions based on an easy short story. • Only 10% could write a small , simple short story.

Literacy level 38%

Year 6+• 49% could not write a 7 digit number, e.g.

‘3,500,000’. • 25% could not write a large number and the

date.• 45% could not group and count objects and

write answers in written form. • 50% could not answer basic number story

questions.

Numeracy Level 40%

VEPAC 2011• 85% of subjects said they

could read and write.

• On a simple test, only 27.6% attained a level that indicates they are literate.

VanEGRA showed:• In some Anglophone schools:

➢Year 1: 1% at grade level for literacy➢Year 2: 5% at grade level for literacy➢Year 3: 24% at grade level for literacy

➢In some Francophone schools:➢Year 1: 0% at grade level for literacy➢Year 2: 5% at grade level for literacy➢Year 3: 23% at grade level for literacy

Shaping language policy in VanuatuMissionization from 1850Vernaculars widely used and churches responsible for education

Colonial era under France and England from 1906French and English formal education promoted

1980 IndependenceBislama as national language, English and French as main languages of education

After independenceGovernment took over from churches and French and English government school

system consolidated

Under impetus from UNESCO and EFA during 1990sPilot vernacular education in some schools but no policy support

From around 2000“Rethinking Pacific Education” movementConcern growing about service delivery and low educational outcomes

Shaping language policy in Vanuatu2001 Education ActProvision made for vernacular education

2007 Education summit and further corporate plansFurther supports vernacular education, but articulates an over-riding goal of

English/French bilingualism

From 2009 policy development processVanuatu National Curriculum StatementVanuatu National Education Language PolicyVanuatu National Assessment and Reporting Policy

2014-2017 Vanuatu Education Support ProgramDonor funded sector development program

24

Policies now guiding educational reform in Vanuatu

Référential National du Curriculum du Vanuatu

Vanuatu NationalCurriculum Statement

25

Policies now guiding educational reform in Vanuatu

Politique Nationalede l’Évaluation et

du Rapport au Vanuatu

Vanuatu National Assesment and Reporting Policy

26

Policies now guiding educational reform in Vanuatu

Politique Linguistique Nationale du Vanuatu

Vanuatu National Language Policy(for education)

27

Policies now guiding educational reform in Vanuatu

Vanuatu National Syllabuses Primary Years 1-3

Vanuatu National Syllabuses Primary Years 4-6

Stated Language Policy for Education: Vanuatu

N1L = nambawan lanwis: Vernacular or BislamaN2L = nambatu lanwis: Eng (anglophone schools), Fre (francophone schools) N3L = nambatri lanwis: Fre anglophone schools, Eng in francophone schools

Expanding répertoires• Develop and implement a Language Transition Plan for

Years 1-6.• But in Bislama, not using the terms “transition” or

“bridging”, but “ademap lanwis”.• There will be a gradual increase in the number of

subject lessons from Years 4-6 using a content and language integrated learning (CLIL) approach.

• CLIL involves combining teaching content from a curriculum area with explicit teaching of the target language vocabulary and structures required for the curriculum area, with support from L1.

Implementational challenges

1. Awareness2. Vernacular languages (number, sizes, internal

complexity)3. Resource requirements4. Teacher placement5. Teacher quality

1. Awareness of factors favoring MLE• Social factors

– Overcome community/school barrier• Communication factors

– Teachers and students share a common code• Pedagogical factors

– Effective learning in L1• Cultural factors

– Education for tomorrow’s citizens based on identity• Economic factors

– Better returns on investment in education

2. Vernacular number and sizes• Need to scale the size of the task• Cut-off language size of 1000 speakers:

– Such a language size should have a cohort of Year 1 children (2.5% of pop) of around 25 students

– 46 such languages identified, covering 86% population

– but dialectal diversity resulted in materials being prepared for 60 language varieties

3. Resource requirements• Teacher support materials

– teacher guides

• Student learning resources– primers for phonics– big books– sets of graded readers

• Classrom resources– alphabet cards– word charts

36

Teacher Guides

37

Year 1 Graded Readers

Bislama + 46 languages

24 titles

6 copies per class

72,000 readers

+ Big Books

High frequency vocabulary

Syllable cards

4. Teacher placement

• MOET VEMIS needs to contain a field of information about teachers’ first languages

• Schools need to be tagged with community language

• Commitment to match these two factors

5. Teacher quality

• Teachers have limited Bislama literacy skills• Teachers not familiar with local orthography• Teachers below required levels in L2• Current Year 1 teachers:

– Nearly half not gone beyond Y10– Only 10% with teacher training

Jennifer Attison Year 1 atSeaside Primary School- Nov 3rd

2015 – International Literacy Day

Teaching year 1 in the children’s first language has made a big difference in my teaching ... the kids and I can really talk and express ourselves freely. It makes a big difference!I have taught for 18 years but this year is the first time that I have really enjoyed my teaching.

MICRONESIA

POLYNESIA

MELANESIA

Fiji: troubled MLE implementation

Solomon Islands: MLE friendly

Indonesia: No official support

PNG: Policy instability

New Caledonia: Mixed policy environment

Vanuatu: MLE being implemented

Bilingual Education Program in Sāmoa

MICRONESIA

POLYNESIA

MELANESIASamoa, Tonga, Niue: MLE implemented

Tuvalu: MLE friendly

Outliers: Varying fortunes as minority languages in larger polities

Cook Is: Language decline and complexity

French Polynesia: Unsupportive policy environment

New Zealand: Heritage language revival

Bilingual Education Program in Marshall Islands

MICRONESIA

POLYNESIA

MELANESIA

Marshall Islands: MLE policy being adopted

FSM: MLE policy being developed

Kiribati: MLE implemented

Guam; CNMI: Language decline

Nauru: Language standardisation issues

Belau: support

Continuing challenges

• Policy frameworks• Best practise transition to L2• Reform in pedagogical approach at teacher

education institutions• Teacher quality, supply, placement• Resources