Duration: 2:23
Primary school teacher, Bridget Harrison – Kimi Ora Community School – talks about using digital stories to support students with English as a second language.
One of the benefits that I’ve seen for Molini and Valu in particular (as both the two students in here who came to the classroom with no English) is that they have such a confidence and success because they can do something in their first language as easily as the other children are doing it in English. Then they only need assistance with the actual writing of the English. So you’ve removed that barrier straight away. This is about Mr Lincoln coming to school, this is recorded in English using the Easi-Speak microphone and Tongan using the Easi-Speak microphone. You’ll hear that Molini has quite halting English.
Mr Lincoln comes to the school. Nau hau a Mr Lincoln ki apiako.
Jasmine and Mr Lincoln. Jasmine mo Mr Lincoln.
Mr Lincoln played his trumpet. It has four buttons. Nae vainga a Mr Lincoln Moene meaifi. Oku i ai ne fakamau e 4.
I am sitting by Mr Lincoln. Oku ou tangatu he tafa’aki a Mr Lincoln.
Molini has a hearing disability and this week has gotten a hearing aid so these last three days she’s just in heaven. She’s really a part of the class now and I think as a child with a disability and a second language this is a tool that will really help her to continue to accelerate her progress. Valu wrote this after speaking with whaea Ana, our other teacher aide. She and Valu talked in Tongan, discussed it and he went away with Meli and he did it on a digital story. The children are again speaking about their own experience in their first language, they’re owning everything they do so already they’re positive and in a good space to learn.