Book: Multilingualism, literacy and dyslexia

Peer, L., & Reid, G. (Eds.). (2016). Multilingualism, literacy and dyslexia : Breaking down barriers for educators. Taylor & Francis Group.

Chapter 7: Language, Literacy, Identify and Culture: Challenges and responses for Indigenous Māori learners

Sonja Macfarlane, Te Hurinui Clarke and Angus Macfarlane

In response to the disparities that continue to exist for Maˉori learners across a range of social indicators, in 2001 at the Hui Taumata Maˉtauranga (Maˉori Education Summit), Sir (Professor) Mason Durie outlined a framework for educational achievement for Maˉori which includes three specific goals: To live as Maˉori; To actively participate as citizens of the world; and To enjoy good health and a high standard of living (Durie, 2001).

Culturally diverse literacy patterns

It has long been established that the development of literacy skills in children closely correlates to levels of academic enjoyment and success (Cowie & Moreland, 2015; Washington, 2001). Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory and Bronfenbrenner’s (1986) ecological theory give weight to the influence that interactions between people, and between people and their environments, have on learning. These theories contend that literacy skill acquisition, language, and concept development happen within relationships between people and places – specifically, the education setting and the home context.

Given the significance of the home context, it needs to be recognised that many Maori learners are exposed to particular (and dual) language patterns and events that contribute to supporting their literacy trajectory at school. Many Maˉori learners are raised in bilingual homes, where te reo Maˉori is their first language; others are exposed to te reo Maˉori and English in equal amounts; and others are raised hearing predominantly English, with some te reo Maˉori.

These varying amounts of exposure to two languages require educators to consider the grounded and growing body of research evidence that identifies the inextricable links between language, literacy, culture and identity (Brown, 1994; Clarke, 2011; Klippel, 1994; A. Macfarlane, 2007; Ministry of Education, 2008a, 2013; Saluveer, 2004, Thanasoulas, 2001). In her 2001 book entitled Growing up with Two Languages, Cunningham refers to the significance of identity, by declaring that: ‘The language that people choose to use can be an expression of where they stand’ (Cunningham, 2011, p. 128).

Culturally responsive approaches

It is important to note that according to White, Zion and Kozleski (2005), everyone has a culture, and this helps us to see how people are connected. Shaped by their own socialisation patterns, teachers bring their life experiences and cultural beliefs into the learning context (Phinney & Rotheram, 1987). They bring in their own assumptions and beliefs about what is of value, how people should interact, what is right and wrong, and what is deemed to be success or failure. It is critical that teachers who are working with culturally and linguistically diverse learners acknowledge and understand how their own cultural mores impact on their teaching practices, and on their learners’ experiences.

A further strategy specific to literacy that is proposed by Gay (2000) is the notion of culturally responsive literacy instruction. Seven elements (summarised below) are suggested:

1. Establishing the learner’s ownership of literacy, by teachers acknowledging and valuing the legitimacy of the learner’s cultural heritage;

2. Engaging and valuing the role and contributions of the home, by teachers incorporating the cultural language of the home in the teaching and learning;

3. Including cultural knowledge, stories and literature, by teachers incorporating this in the curriculum;

4. Recognising the collective nature of Indigenous learners’ culture, by teachers utilising preferred/reciprocal learning styles;

5. Connecting to the cultural community of the learner, by teachers integrating cultural values, language and experiences into the curriculum;

6. Providing authentic learning opportunities, by teachers enabling learners to use new learning and share knowledge in non-threatening settings;

7. Utilising culturally congruent (not culturally biased) assessment approaches, by teachers drawing on strengths-based, holistic and ecological information.

Specific teaching and learning strategies

Many of the preferred teaching approaches promoted as being effective for use with learners with specific learning difficulties (dyslexia) (Reid, 1998), are in tandem with a range of Indigenous learning styles that are shared globally, as highlighted by Metge (1984).

• Overlearning or rote learning (e.g. chants) are important aspects of a multisensory approach (oral, visual, auditory, tactile and kinaesthetic) to learning, in particular the opportunity to be exposed to a wide variety of oral literature.

• Use of rhymes, alliterations and patterning, which are important components for children acquiring knowledge and skills about sounds. This then lays the foundations for confident transmission of oral language. Such oral knowledge acquired through rote learning strategies is not superficial learning but rather learning that is as complex as it is deep (Glynn & Bishop, 1995).

• Taped assisted reading, which is a highly structured and sequential step method of teaching reading where the student moves to the next level once mastery (or criteria) have been reached.

• Paired reading structures where children of similar reading abilities read to each other in turn. One child reads and the other listens. Topping (1996) suggests the strategy of paired reading can reduce the anxieties of reading for dyslexic children, reduce their all-consuming fear of failure and encourage reading practice.

Each Maori learner also possesses inherent strengths and potential, and it is these factors that need to guide the teaching and learning strategies that promote their inclusion, participation, learning and success. To that end, a culturally grounded framework is now presented to guide educators in their approaches to working with Maˉori learners with specific learning difficulties (dyslexia).

Te Pikinga ki Runga (S. Macfarlane, 2009, 2012) literally means ‘raising possibilities’, and is a framework that is intended to guide educators who are working with Maˉori learners and their whanau.

Te Pikinga ki Runga is not a recipe for ‘treating’ a particular situation or individual. Rather, it has at its foreground an intention to raise the aspirations of whaˉnau, and unlock the potential of Maˉori learners as they grapple with learning, socialisation, peer interactions and – in some cases– the very essence of their own cultural identity.

it is important that educators do not dismiss learners’culture, but recognise the gifts, uniqueness and potential that come with the culture to which they belong. It is argued in this chapter that a bicultural approach to responding to the specific needs of Maˉori learners should be premised on a form of cultural consciousness that promotes Partnership, Protection and Participation: the three fundamental tenets that provide meaningfulness and direction within the country’s founding agreement, Te Tiriti o Waitangi.