Refugees' book bought for schools

27 February 2007

A multilingual book of traditional stories produced by refugees in an ESOL Home Tutors literacy class is being distributed to Hamilton schools by the Ministry of Education.

The literacy class is run by ESOL Home Tutors (Waikato) for learners with low levels of reading and writing in their first language. The book was produced as an English language learning exercise. Each story is printed in English and also in the mother tongue of the learner who contributed it - Somali, Arabic, Dari, Khmer, Afar or Farsi. The English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) literacy classes aimed to teach learners the English language they needed for everyday activities in New Zealand. But project coordinator Jenny Field says creating a written record of each story in two languages acknowledged the importance of maintaining the learners' mother tongue.

Why not just English?

"People might say, why don't they just speak English all the time?" she said. "That's not easy for people just beginning to learn a language, and it would limit their communication to a very basic level. "There are consequences for families too. Their children growing up in New Zealand will learn English in school, but if they don't also use the family's mother tongue at home, the children may lose the ability to communicate with older generations. Grandparents, and even parents who don't speak English fluently, will not be able to talk to them." "Publishing these stories gives the learners a way of sharing their language and their culture with their children, as well as encouraging them to read together."

Launch on International Mother Tongue Day

The learners involved in the Waikato project celebrated with their families, tutors and supporters at a publication launch on International Mother Tongue Day (21 February) with readings from the book. Another literacy class, run by ESOL Home Tutors (West Auckland) produced a series of booklets showing how to make some traditional dishes such as Afghan nan and Ethiopian injera. International Mother Tongue Day celebrates the diversity of languages in the world, and recognises that many are disappearing. Throughout New Zealand, more than 100 mother tongues are represented among ESOL Home Tutors' 6,500 learners. About half of the learners are tutored one-to-one by volunteers.

Learning more than just New Zealand English

"It's not just about teaching words and how to pronounce them," says Jenny Field. "Newcomers need to know how things work in New Zealand - things the rest of us take for granted, like how the school system is organised, and what's expected in different situations. Knowing those sorts of things helps migrants and refugees become part of the community," she says. "We train volunteer tutors to provide some of our services. The migrants and refugees learn about New Zealand, and the tutors learn about other countries and cultures. The community benefits as we understand each other better.""