Macawa ni Vosa Vakaviti - Fijian Language Week
This page contains suggested activities and curated website links to help you and your learners learn about and celebrate the Fijian language.
About this resource
This resource includes suggested activities and curated website links to help you and your learners learn about and celebrate indigenous Fijian language and culture. It will help you demonstrate that you value Fijian as a heritage language and are willing to partner with learners, families, and communities to make it part of learning at and beyond school. The suggestions are consistent with culturally responsive pedagogy as described in Tapasā: cultural competencies framework for teachers of Pacific learners.
Macawa ni Vosa Vakaviti - Fijian Language Week
Bula Vinaka!
Fijian Language Week is part of an annual series of Pacific language weeks that aim to promote and raise awareness of the diversity of our Pacific languages in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
To find out the date and theme for this year’s Fijian Language Week, visit the Ministry for Pacific Peoples website.
Pacific language weeks: More than a celebration describes more about the purpose of the language weeks and suggests links to help you build your knowledge and competencies as an effective teacher of Pacific learners.
How can you get involved?
You may have learners and whānau with Fijian heritage as well as speakers of vosa vakaviti in your school community who may be willing to share their knowledge and expertise with you and your learners. Work collaboratively with these experts to build your own knowledge of the Fijian language and to design activities for the week of celebrations.
Ministry for Pacific Peoples website: Download a range of resources to promote Fijian Language Week in your school community.
Ministry of Pacific Peoples Facebook page: The Ministry’s Facebook page provides up-to-date information on what is happening each year.
Fijian Language Week Facebook page: Join this Facebook group for specific news, events, and information about Macawa ni Vosa Vakaviti.
Ministry for Pacific Peoples regional offices: There are a range of events taking place across New Zealand to promote the importance of Fijian language, culture, and heritage. Contact the regional offices of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples to find out what's on near you.
Keeping the language alive: Listen to teachers from a variety of settings and cultural backgrounds share why Pacific language weeks are so important to them and how they capitalise on local expertise to celebrate the language weeks. Use the reflections on the video page to think about how you embrace and keep Pacific languages alive and thriving in your classroom.
We know that talk is the foundation of all learning, and so it is important to create an environment in which:
- Speakers of Fijian feel comfortable to use their language and where others feel supported to give it a try
- everybody feels safe to share, explore, and debate information and ideas about Fijian and its place in Aotearoa New Zealand.
If learners or families at your school are speakers of Fijian, you could invite them to model and teach their language. However, be careful not to make assumptions about their language knowledge and use. They may not know their heritage languages or may not feel confident or comfortable in speaking them.
Vosa Vakaviti Language Cards: Use these cards as a starting point for learning Fijian language. The cards include a pronunciation guide, the alphabet, everyday phrases, a short prayer, and a hymn.
Fijian language activity book: This resource, co-created by Te Papa Tongarewa and the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, includes word searches, colouring pages, a drawing challenge, and a cloze activity to help younger learners understand the language and culture of Fiji.
Fijian language online games: Learners can use these free games to explore numbers, phrases, animals, and other vocabulary.
Useful Fijian phrases: Learn useful phrases in Fijian from the online encyclopedia of writing systems and languages. The site also provides information about spoken and written Fijian and numbers in Fijian.
Learn Fijian words: Share this video with learners to learn the correct pronunciation of words and phrases.
It is important to note the multiple ways in which people express themselves. The suggestions here include opportunities for you and your learners to explore traditional and contemporary artworks and artefacts and discuss what they say about the culture and heritage of Fijian people.
Watch this video as a whole staff to hear different perspectives about being Fijian. Use the reflections on the video page to consider the best ways to meet the needs of Fijian learners and whānau at your school.
I am a Pacific person: A Fijian Indian perspective: Alka Prasad shares her Fijian Indian perspective on identity and belonging. Kaiako and older learners could read this article to gain insights into the migration and settlement experiences of Fijian Indian New Zealanders.
Tales from Te Papa: A Whale Tooth Tale: Watch this video with learners to find out about the cultural importance of tabua. Discover the gifting traditions of tabua and consider what this highly significant object tells us about Fijian culture and history. Compare the tabua in Fiji with prized adornments in other cultures. What is similar, and what is different?
Let’s Meke!: Learn about the meke, an indigenous Fijian song/dance that is performed as part of the celebrations of significant events. Learners can:
- examine the different types of meke
- learn about the different musical instruments used in meke
- explore how music is a powerful tool for transmitting cultural knowledge.
Pasifika poetry:This resource includes poems by people of Pacific descent. You might make poetry part of your week, engaging with poems by Fijian poets and writing your own. Or you could look at other art forms that use language, such as plays or action songs. These could become part of a performance for the people who have supported you to plan the week.
Fiji Masi: These teacher notes from Pātaka Museum can be used to explore the Fijian art of masi (decorated bark cloth). Masi has many uses, including wall decorations and ceremonial clothing. The patterns on traditional masi have special meaning for Fijian people and can be read and understood like a story.
2018 New Zealand census: New Zealand’s Census results provide a wealth of information, including patterns of language use in Aotearoa New Zealand. They show that in 2018, around 33% of the 19,722 Fijian people living in New Zealand could speak more than one language. You and your learners might explore the data further. For example, you might like to consider patterns of migration and what that reveals about the need to ensure this rich language use is sustained.
A great way to get your students involved in Macawa ni Vosa Vakaviti is to incorporate texts on Fijian topics and themes within your teaching and learning programme. Along with these texts, you and the students might also draw upon the knowledge and perspectives of community members as part of a bigger enquiry into significant themes and topics from across the curriculum, such as migration, navigation, climate change, or colonisation.
Learn about Fijian settlement to Aotearoa New Zealand through the following resources:
Te Ara The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand | Story Fijians
Your learners could interview Pacific peoples in your community whose families have also migrated here to find out:
- when and why their families moved to Aotearoa New Zealand
- how the stories are similar and different to each other.
Books from the library
Order books from the National Library or your local library.
Book list from Auckland libraries: Source texts from this book list to learn about the language and cultural heritage of Fiji.
Aotearoa NZ’s Histories: Connections across the Pacific: This resource shows how four texts from the School Journal series can be used to support learning in the context of whakapapa me te whanaungatanga through the topic of voyaging.
Digital Pasifik: This website aims to empower people in and of the Pacific Islands by enabling them to see, discover, and explore items of digitised cultural heritage that are held in collections around the world. Your learners can use this resource to explore the diverse cultural heritage of specific nations and for examining similarities and differences across multiple nations.
The Long Pause: This article from Connected explores the mystery of the long pause between the two major periods of Pacific migration. Use this text with learners to explore some of the connections between Māori and Pacific peoples, particularly in terms of whakapapa and navigation.
Tuia Mātauranga: Tuia Mātauranga is a programme developed by the Ministry of Education to support teaching and learning about our dual heritage and shared future. It highlights local people, places, and events that have helped shape our nation’s histories. It has four main topics: voyaging, first encounters, Aotearoa New Zealand histories, legacy of learning.
Potential language loss is an issue facing many New Zealand based Pacific communities. Work with your learners to understand the issues around language loss and revitalisation and encourage them to consider what action they can take to make a positive difference.
Tagata Pasifika: Fijian language celebrated in New Zealand: Watch this video with learners and discuss the aims and outcomes of the first ever Fiji Language Week in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Discuss the actions you can collectively take to ensure that Fijian language and traditions thrive.
Use the following questions to prompt discussion about the purpose of Pacific language weeks and ways to sustain the heritage languages of the Pacific:
- Why is it important for all New Zealanders to celebrate and learn Fijian?
- What benefits will this bring to New Zealanders of Fijian descent?
- How can we share what we have learned about Fijian language and culture with the wider community?