International Mother Tongue Day Launch

21 February 2006

Eight women from the literacy programme class at the Porirua scheme were presented with booklets by Minister of Ethnic Affairs, Chris Carter, on International Mother Tongue Day, 21 February.

The celebration was informal and the Minister accommodated the group of very active pre-schoolers admirably. He greeted the guests in both Arabic and English and stressed the importance of keeping a mother tongue alive while developing good English skills. The booklets were developed as a class project for the Family History Project 2005 and immersed the learners in the 'language experience' environment. They worked on the wording in English and their mother tongue, and decided which family photos to include.

'The booklets have a very simple text in English and Arabic, the learners 'mother tongue', said Mary Roberts, coordinator of the ESOL-Literacy Programme. 'Some of the family photos included in them were brought from their homeland, as treasures, to New Zealand.' They're for parents and children to enjoy together, to strengthen the links between New Zealand and the homeland, and give both the mothers and children a focus for using written language.'

The fact that the books are bilingual emphasises that the mother tongue and English are both important in a settlement context.' The Nelson and Christchurch schemes also produced booklets for their literacy classes. Twenty-two families received the booklets altogether.