title: Exploring languaging through an ontological register

authors: Gurney, Laura

subjects: language

abstract: Law and Mol (2020) provide an insightful critique to dominant approaches to language, arguing that “to talk of language is to imply that it is possible to disentangle how people talk (or sign or write) from the practices in which they do so. It is to suggest that vocabularies and grammars (or signs and syntax) lead lives of their own on a plane removed from their mundane incarnations” (emphasis added, 268). What is effectively being critiqued is the notion of language(s) as clearly bounded and stable systems, existing ‘out there’ beyond specific instances of use, rather than as language—or rather, languaging—coming into being through performances, practices, and enactments. As researchers with a keen interest in language studies and applied linguistics, a key component of our work has been to theorise what language might be—in other words, what are its constituent parts, what does it do, and where may it be found? What makes something ‘language’? This text explores these questions in line with Law and Mol’s (2020) concerns, and discusses the notion of languaging across two axes: firstly, language is addressed in an ontological register in an effort to rearticulate language from ‘object’ to ‘practice’; secondly, we trace the emergence of languaging as a concept derived from outside English-language academia and beyond scholarly fields which study language per se. While in recent years the so-called multilingual turn within language studies has led to a substantial body of work on languaging (as well as on associated concepts such as translanguaging and metrolingualism), the term is seldom examined in relation to its roots outside this field or the English language academe, and beyond human language practices.

text: Exploring languaging through an ontological register Law and Mol (2020) provide an insightful critique to dominant approaches to language, arguing that “to talk of language is to imply that it is possible to disentangle how people talk (or sign or write) from the practices in which they do so. It is to suggest that vocabularies and grammars (or signs and syntax) lead lives of their own on a plane removed from their mundane incarnations” (emphasis added, 268). What is effectively being critiqued is the notion of language(s) as clearly bounded and stable systems, existing ‘out there’ beyond specific instances of use, rather than as language—or rather, languaging—coming into being through performances, practices, and enactments. As researchers with a keen interest in language studies and applied linguistics, a key component of our work has been to theorise what language might be—in other words, what are its constituent parts, what does it do, and where may it be found? What makes something ‘language’? This text explores these questions in line with Law and Mol’s (2020) concerns, and discusses the notion of languaging across two axes: firstly, language is addressed in an ontological register in an effort to rearticulate language from ‘object’ to ‘practice’; secondly, we trace the emergence of languaging as a concept derived from outside English-language academia and beyond scholarly fields which study language per se. While in recent years the so-called multilingual turn within language studies has led to a substantial body of work on languaging (as well as on associated concepts such as translanguaging and metrolingualism), the term is seldom examined in relation to its roots outside this field or the English language academe, and beyond human language practices.

year: 2022-03-01

title: Supporting English language learning by bridging from childrens' first languages in Papua New Guinea: An analysis of Grade 3 teachers' conceptions and practices

authors: August, Matilda

subjects: bilingual

abstract: This is a descriptive study that was conducted with selected Grade 3 teachers in the East New Britain Province of Papua New Guinea. Grade 3 teachers implement bridging in bilingual education using the children's local vernacular language and/or Tok Pisin to help the learning of English. Three main reasons underpin this study. First, the study aimed to identify the participants' conceptions and beliefs about bridging. Second, the study wanted to document and analyse the bridging strategies and practices that teachers were employing to support the children's English learning, and third, the study was interested in identifying effective strategies and practices that could be recommended for all teachers in Papua New Guinea involved in bridging between the languages children know and English. 
A qualitative approach was used with focus group interviews, classroom observations, and a post-observation interview. The data generated from these methods captured teachers reporting what they do, what they think about bridging, and what they think are factors affecting implementation of effective bridging. The data also showed what teachers actually did in their classrooms, and how they explained what they did.
When teachers talked about their conceptions of bridging and how they implemented bridging, the model of bilingual education that seemed to be guiding the participants' idea of bridging is the Transitional Bilingual model, where the L1 is replaced by the L2 over a period of time. When teachers talked about how they implemented bridging, they represented it mainly as a process of translation from one language to another. Teachers also talked about the use of both Tok Pisin and the vernacular in terms of scaffolding learning of new words. When asked what they thought about bridging, it seemed that many did not see a value in continued support of the L1 in that bridging was to get the children to learn English as soon as possible. They did not express very positive attitudes about the use of the vernacular or Tok Pisin. Teachers identified issues to do with language complexity and diversity as being the most important in terms of affecting implementation of effective bridging. Teachers also identified lack of resources and a lack of clear guidelines from the Department of Education as issues. When observed, teachers made no use of the vernacular. Students in their classrooms spent a great deal of the time listening to teacher monologue, or involved in teacher-led questioning sequences that focused on getting students to produce language forms, particularly vocabulary. Of the discourse strategies observed, direct translation and metalinguistic comparison were common.  Teachers also provided elaborated metalinguistic explanations, and at times they codeswitched extensively in these explanations. 
The research has pointed to the fact that, while teachers use some effective strategies, they would be better supported by having research-informed professional development and resources in the area of bilingual education and bilingual instructional strategies. There is a need for all, including teachers, schools, the Provincial Educational Authorites and the Department of Education to work together to get the best language and educational outcomes for children in PNG.

text: Supporting English language learning by bridging from childrens' first languages in Papua New Guinea: An analysis of Grade 3 teachers' conceptions and practices This is a descriptive study that was conducted with selected Grade 3 teachers in the East New Britain Province of Papua New Guinea. Grade 3 teachers implement bridging in bilingual education using the children's local vernacular language and/or Tok Pisin to help the learning of English. Three main reasons underpin this study. First, the study aimed to identify the participants' conceptions and beliefs about bridging. Second, the study wanted to document and analyse the bridging strategies and practices that teachers were employing to support the children's English learning, and third, the study was interested in identifying effective strategies and practices that could be recommended for all teachers in Papua New Guinea involved in bridging between the languages children know and English. 
A qualitative approach was used with focus group interviews, classroom observations, and a post-observation interview. The data generated from these methods captured teachers reporting what they do, what they think about bridging, and what they think are factors affecting implementation of effective bridging. The data also showed what teachers actually did in their classrooms, and how they explained what they did.
When teachers talked about their conceptions of bridging and how they implemented bridging, the model of bilingual education that seemed to be guiding the participants' idea of bridging is the Transitional Bilingual model, where the L1 is replaced by the L2 over a period of time. When teachers talked about how they implemented bridging, they represented it mainly as a process of translation from one language to another. Teachers also talked about the use of both Tok Pisin and the vernacular in terms of scaffolding learning of new words. When asked what they thought about bridging, it seemed that many did not see a value in continued support of the L1 in that bridging was to get the children to learn English as soon as possible. They did not express very positive attitudes about the use of the vernacular or Tok Pisin. Teachers identified issues to do with language complexity and diversity as being the most important in terms of affecting implementation of effective bridging. Teachers also identified lack of resources and a lack of clear guidelines from the Department of Education as issues. When observed, teachers made no use of the vernacular. Students in their classrooms spent a great deal of the time listening to teacher monologue, or involved in teacher-led questioning sequences that focused on getting students to produce language forms, particularly vocabulary. Of the discourse strategies observed, direct translation and metalinguistic comparison were common.  Teachers also provided elaborated metalinguistic explanations, and at times they codeswitched extensively in these explanations. 
The research has pointed to the fact that, while teachers use some effective strategies, they would be better supported by having research-informed professional development and resources in the area of bilingual education and bilingual instructional strategies. There is a need for all, including teachers, schools, the Provincial Educational Authorites and the Department of Education to work together to get the best language and educational outcomes for children in PNG.

year: 2010

title: Introduction and dedication to Matiu Dickson

authors: Te Aho, Linda

subjects: Dickson, Matiu

abstract: This edition of the Waikato Law Review is dedicated to our dear friend and colleague, Matiu Dickson, and we thank Judge Craig Coxhead for his wonderful tribute to Matiu. The morning of the 7th of April 2016 will forever be imprinted in our minds and hearts. Matiu passed away that morning having just delivered the final speech in the opening ceremony for our new Law Building here at Waikato University. It was said at his tangi that this was a high price to be paid for such a building. A price that we would never have chosen to pay. That price brings an obligation to honour and respect the legacy that Matiu has left us, his commitment to the Faculty’s founding goals and, in particular, the promotion of a bicultural legal education for Māori and non-Māori alike; that tikanga is recognised as the first law of Aotearoa New Zealand and continues to form a central part of our curriculum. Matiu personified the bicultural mission of Te Piringa Faculty of Law; that, through its curriculum, research activities and its structures, the Faculty would be the forefront of the development of a bicultural legal philosophy. Matiu worked hard to ensure this mission remained a stated goal of the Faculty and to give it meaning over his 20 year tenure. He constantly worked to infuse it into the structures and processes of this Law Faculty. He worked and campaigned for years, and successfully so, to make sure the name gifted to the Faculty by Dame Te Atairangikaahu at its founding, “Te Piringa”, became our Faculty’s officially recognised name. He was passionate about the use of te reo Māori in assessment. He encouraged and facilitated the use of te reo Māori mooting. It was our colleague, Ani Mikaere, who, during her time here as a legal academic, first publicly articulated tikanga Māori as the first law of Aotearoa. Through the years, Matiu and our academic colleagues, including Stephanie Milroy, Craig Coxhead, Caren Fox (all now Māori Land Court judges), Leah Whiu, Harata Paterson, Nan Seuffert, Ruth Bush, Wayne Rumbles, Robert Joseph, Valmaine Toki and ourselves, reaffirmed tikanga as the first law of Aotearoa in our teaching and research. Years later, the article “Lex Aotearoa: An Heroic Attempt to Map the Māori Dimension in Modern New Zealand Law” by Justice Joseph Williams2 developed the idea further and is currently the leading piece on the weaving of tikanga and Anglo-New Zealand law.3 Matiu Dickson was an expert in tikanga, the first law of Aotearoa. He lived it every day. He created and taught courses on it and made sure it was integrated throughout the curriculum. In Matiu’s honour, it is entirely appropriate that there are a number of contributions in this Review that have a Māori or Indigenous theme, and we hope future issues will likewise assure such a balance.

text: Introduction and dedication to Matiu Dickson This edition of the Waikato Law Review is dedicated to our dear friend and colleague, Matiu Dickson, and we thank Judge Craig Coxhead for his wonderful tribute to Matiu. The morning of the 7th of April 2016 will forever be imprinted in our minds and hearts. Matiu passed away that morning having just delivered the final speech in the opening ceremony for our new Law Building here at Waikato University. It was said at his tangi that this was a high price to be paid for such a building. A price that we would never have chosen to pay. That price brings an obligation to honour and respect the legacy that Matiu has left us, his commitment to the Faculty’s founding goals and, in particular, the promotion of a bicultural legal education for Māori and non-Māori alike; that tikanga is recognised as the first law of Aotearoa New Zealand and continues to form a central part of our curriculum. Matiu personified the bicultural mission of Te Piringa Faculty of Law; that, through its curriculum, research activities and its structures, the Faculty would be the forefront of the development of a bicultural legal philosophy. Matiu worked hard to ensure this mission remained a stated goal of the Faculty and to give it meaning over his 20 year tenure. He constantly worked to infuse it into the structures and processes of this Law Faculty. He worked and campaigned for years, and successfully so, to make sure the name gifted to the Faculty by Dame Te Atairangikaahu at its founding, “Te Piringa”, became our Faculty’s officially recognised name. He was passionate about the use of te reo Māori in assessment. He encouraged and facilitated the use of te reo Māori mooting. It was our colleague, Ani Mikaere, who, during her time here as a legal academic, first publicly articulated tikanga Māori as the first law of Aotearoa. Through the years, Matiu and our academic colleagues, including Stephanie Milroy, Craig Coxhead, Caren Fox (all now Māori Land Court judges), Leah Whiu, Harata Paterson, Nan Seuffert, Ruth Bush, Wayne Rumbles, Robert Joseph, Valmaine Toki and ourselves, reaffirmed tikanga as the first law of Aotearoa in our teaching and research. Years later, the article “Lex Aotearoa: An Heroic Attempt to Map the Māori Dimension in Modern New Zealand Law” by Justice Joseph Williams2 developed the idea further and is currently the leading piece on the weaving of tikanga and Anglo-New Zealand law.3 Matiu Dickson was an expert in tikanga, the first law of Aotearoa. He lived it every day. He created and taught courses on it and made sure it was integrated throughout the curriculum. In Matiu’s honour, it is entirely appropriate that there are a number of contributions in this Review that have a Māori or Indigenous theme, and we hope future issues will likewise assure such a balance.

year: 2016