The New Zealand Curriculum - Learning languages

Languages link people locally and globally. They are spoken in the community, used internationally, and play a role in shaping the world. Oral, written, and visual forms of language link us to the past and give us access to new and different streams of thought and to beliefs and cultural practices.

Te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) are the official languages of New Zealand. Because of New Zealand’s close relationships with the peoples of the Pacific, Pasifika languages also have a special place.

By learning an additional language and its related culture(s), students come to appreciate that languages and cultures are systems that are organised and used in particular ways to achieve meaning. Learning a new language extends students’ linguistic and cultural understanding and their ability to interact appropriately with other speakers. Interaction in a new language, whether face-to-face or technologically facilitated, introduces them to new ways of thinking about, questioning, and interpreting the world and their place in it. Through such interaction, students acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes that equip them for living in a world of diverse peoples, languages, and cultures. As they move between and respond to different languages and different cultural practices, they are challenged to consider their own identities and assumptions.

As they learn a language, students develop their understanding of the power of language. They discover new ways of learning, new ways of knowing, and more about their own capabilities. Learning a language provides students with the cognitive tools and strategies to learn further languages and to increase their understanding of their own language(s) and culture(s).

This learning area puts students’ ability to communicate at the centre by making communication the core strand. This strand is supported by two further strands, which are directed specifically at developing the linguistic and cultural awareness needed for communicative competence.

In the core "communication" strand, students learn to use the language to make meaning. As their linguistic and cultural knowledge increases, they become more effective communicators, developing the receptive skills of listening, reading, and viewing and the productive skills of speaking, writing, and presenting or performing.

In the supporting "language knowledge" strand, students study the language in order to understand how it works. They learn about the relationships between different words and different structures, how speakers adjust their language when negotiating meaning in different contexts and for different purposes, and how different types of text are organised. This strand helps students to develop explicit knowledge of the language, which will, over time, contribute to greater accuracy of use.

In the supporting "cultural knowledge" strand, students learn about culture and the interrelationship between culture and language. They grow in confidence as they learn to recognise different elements of the belief systems of speakers of the target language. They become increasingly aware of the ways in which these systems are expressed through language and cultural practices. As they compare and contrast different beliefs and cultural practices, including their own, they understand more about themselves and become more understanding of others.

The content of the learning area is specified in terms of a general proficiency statement for each progressive pair of levels, together with achievement objectives for the core strand and the two supporting strands. The achievement objectives in the communication strand provide the basis for assessment. The two supporting strands are only assessed indirectly through their contribution to the communication strand.

The achievement objectives are generic in order to encompass all languages that may be offered for learning in schools. Language-specific guidelines provide further information.

The achievement objectives in the "communication" strand provide the basis for assessment. The two supporting strands, "language knowledge" and "cultural knowledge", are only assessed indirectly through their contribution to the "communication" strand.

Reading, writing, and maths teaching time requirements

The teaching and learning of reading, writing, and maths¹ is a priority for all schools. So that all students are getting sufficient teaching and learning time for reading, writing, and maths, each school board with students in years 0 to 8 must, through its principal and staff, structure their teaching and learning programmes and/or timetables for delivering the National Curriculum Statements, including this one, to provide:

• 10 hours per week of teaching and learning focussed on supporting their progress and achievement in reading and writing in a typical school week, recognising the important contribution oral language development makes, particularly in the early phases of learning.
• 5 hours per week of teaching and learning focussed on supporting their progress and achievement in maths in a typical school week.

Where reading, writing, and/or maths teaching and learning time is occurring within the context of National Curriculum Statements other than English or mathematics and statistics, progression of students’ reading, writing, and/or maths dispositions, knowledge and skills at the appropriate level must be explicitly and intentionally planned for and attended to.

While the terms reading and writing are used, these expectations are inclusive of alternative methods of communication, including New Zealand Sign Language, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and Braille.

¹ For simplicity, ‘maths’ is used as an all-encompassing term to refer to the grouping of subject matter, dispositions, skills, competencies, and understandings that encompass all aspects of numeracy, mathematics, and statistics.

These teaching time requirements came in for most schools and kura with students in years 0 to 8 at the start of Term 1, 2024. Specialist schools with students in years 0 - 8 must ensure this from the start of 2025. Kura with a specified kura board must ensure this from Term 3, 2024.