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Pacific Languages Government Action Plan

Pacific Languages Government Action Plan

Pacific Languages Government Action Plan

Pacific communities are the leaders, owners and drivers of their languages; however, the New Zealand Government and key government agencies have an important role to play in creating the conditions for Pacific languages to thrive. Much like the journey of te reo Māori language revitalisation, the successes and efforts of Pacific communities to protect their languages have remained steadfast, in the face of many obstacles and often little external support.

The Pacific Languages Strategy 2022 – 2032 sets the strategic direction and key objectives for Pacific language support, but it will be implemented through this Pacific Languages Government Action Plan (the GAP) and the Community Action Plans (CAPs).

Vision: Thriving Pacific Languages build a prosperous Aotearoa
Recognise the value of Pacific languages across Aotearoa Strengthen pathways and resources for learning Pacific languages and learning in Pacific languages Create environments for Pacific languages to be used more often and in more spaces

The Government Action Plan is a partnership with the Ministries of Education, Culture and Heritage, Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Pacific Peoples. It will be reviewed as part of the Budget process each year and where relevant, new actions will be added.

The Strategy and Action Plans move together like the double-hulled vaka, with the GAP as one hull, CAPs as the other, bound together by the objectives of the Strategy and the Pacific Wellbeing Strategy, which coordinate and connect our efforts to achieve the vision: thriving Pacific languages build a prosperous Aotearoa.

Vaka Draft Graphic

What this means:

  Government Action Plan Government agencies work together to show what they will do to advance the key objectives and the vision of the Strategy. As the journey continues, the priorities and actions of Communities in the CAPs will help direct and shape the actions of Government. The two must move together.
  Pacific Languages Strategy Vision and Objectives and the outcomes of the Pacific Wellbeing Strategy The Pacific Languages Strategy objectives are what bind together the focus, priorities and actions of Government and Communities. They ensure we are advancing together in an organised and strategic way. All actions by Government and community are guided and tied together by the objectives. These all support the broader outcomes of the Pacific Wellbeing Strategy. All the actions in this Government Action Plan are aligned with both the Languages Strategy and the outcomes of the Wellbeing Strategy.
  Community Action Plans Communities carve and build their vaka by creating a plan – setting priorities for their languages. These articulate what is needed to achieve the vision and objectives of the Strategy from a community perspective. These Plans inform what actions Government needs to take.
  Te Tiriti and relationship with tangata whenua The waters this work operates in, that support this work and provide the context for which it exists is Te Tiriti. The land on which Pacific communities in Aotearoa live is the land of tangata whenua. It must be honoured and considered in all areas of the work.
  Monitoring & Evaluation The steering paddle is used to make small adjustments to the direction of the vaka. We will evaluate the effectiveness of actions through the Leo Moana o Aotearoa project, the census data and engagement with communities and make adjustments to our actions where needed.

Objectives:

ACTION AGENCY
Ensure legislation and policy embed Pacific languages:
  • Develop a long-term policy on Pacific bilingual and immersion education
 MOE
  • Refresh the New Zealand Curriculum documents, including Learning Languages learning area, to explicitly include the place and value of Pacific languages in the New Zealand Curriculum in 2025
 MOE
  • Provide guidance on interpretation of NZC in Pacific bilingual contexts
 MOE
  • Provide seed funding for the establishment of a Tokelau language commission in Tokelau
 MFAT
Ensure the collective and individual strengths of Pacific multilingualism are recognised, understood, and protected:
  • Develop gagana Tokelau and vagahau Niue as new NCEA Achievement Standards subjects and related workforce and resource supports
 MOE
  • Pacific Language Champion Honours Awards
 MPP
Help people understand the connection between thriving languages and Pacific wellbeing:
  • Develop a comprehensive communications campaign to raise awareness of and promote the value of Pacific bilingualism
 MPP
  • Socialise the Pacific Languages Strategy to raise awareness of the significance of Pacific languages for Pacific wellbeing
 MPP
Potential actions to consider in the future:
  • Explore the potential to establish a Pacific languages commission for New Zealand​ and advance legislation to formalise the status of Pacific languages
 MPP
  • Provide scholarships and research grants for Aotearoa-specific research into the Pacific languages
 MPP
  • Work with Pacific nations to identify opportunities for fostering, and promoting the benefits of, Pacific bilingualism
 MFAT
  • Consider options for implementing a ‘bilingual bonus’ for public sector employees who operate in minority languages (including Pacific languages) as part of their role
 MPP
Note: potential actions to consider in the future would be in discussion with communities, informed by the Community Action Plans and dependent on accessing new funding.

Indicators of progress:

  • Levels of support for Pacific languages in major pieces of Government policy​
  • The strength of Pacific language rights guaranteed in legislation​
  • The level of investment in Pacific languages and Pacific bilingualism from Government
  • The readiness of Pacific nations to support the revitalisation and maintenance of their languages
    Pacific young people’s Pacific language competencies are valued and recognised in the education sector
  • All Pacific people’s Pacific language competencies are valued and recognised across a broad range of domains (e.g., education, trades, business, health, sport)
  • The number of Pacific (and non-Pacific) that believe being bilingual or multilingual in Pacific languages is beneficial in Aotearoa
  • The number of Pacific (and non-Pacific) that believe Pacific languages are an important part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s national identity​
  • Availability of research that shows a link between Pacific language competency and wellbeing​
  • Ability of both Pacific and non-Pacific to link wide-ranging wellbeing benefits associated with Pacific bilingualism/multilingualism
ACTION AGENCY
Create more bilingual and immersion learning pathways in schools and other settings:
  • Deliver additional operational funding for schools with Pacific bilingual units from January 2022
 MOE
  • Deliver Pacific Education Innovation Fund bilingual funding to sector and community groups
 MOE
  • Support governance and management of Pacific early learning services
 MOE
  • Introduce a managed network approach to ensure high quality, diverse and sustainable early learning provision
 MOE
  • Progress work to invest in and support the development of programmes and pathways for learning in Pacific languages in Tertiary
 MOE
Help people access Pacific language learning pathways appropriate for their level:
  • Fund the Centre for Pacific Languages to deliver Pacific language classes​ to communities across Aotearoa
 MPP
  • Provide correspondence (distance) learning for gagana Samoa at NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3
 MOE / Te Kura
  • Provide Pacific language learning in NCEA​ for gagana Samoa, lea faka Tonga,
    te reo Māori Kūki ‘Āirani, vagahau Niue, and gagana Tokelau
 MOE
  • Languages funding for community-led initiatives through the Ministry for Pacific Peoples
 MPP
 Make sure quality language and cultural resources are available at appropriate levels:
  • Create an online hub for language learning resources and resources in Pacific languages
 MPP
  • Develop further curriculum resources for Pacific bilingual and immersion units in schools
 MOE
  • Shared Pacific language resource development - New Zealand and Pacific nations​
 MFAT
  • Reprint of 100 copies of Tokelau language dictionary
 MFAT
  • Gana Tuvalu children’s books developed and sent to Tuvalu
 MFAT
  • Develop resources, guidance, and tools to support literacy & communication learning for culturally and linguistically diverse ākonga (Literacy & Communication and Maths Strategy)
 MOE
Ensure Pacific language teachers are supported, valued and their numbers are grown:
  • Deliver Reo Moana, Pacific bilingual Professional Learning and Development programme for schooling​
 MOE
  • Review language competency requirements for entry into initial teacher education (ITE) and for teacher registration (Pacific Peoples and Education – Teaching Council and NZQA)
 MPP, MOE
  • Provide targeted support for Pacific people to meet current English language requirements
 MOE
  • Review qualification settings for Pacific bilingual and immersion early learning education and care services
 MOE
Use technology to enable the growth of languages and culture:
  • No current actions
  
Potential actions to consider in the future:
  • Invest in the development of digital and print resources, especially for realm languages, gagana Samoa and lea faka Tonga 
 MPP
  • Support communities and schools wanting to establish bilingual and immersion options in education (Pacific Peoples with support from Education)
 MPP, MOE
  • Support community language experts to work with teachers and children and young people in education (Pacific Peoples with support from Education)
 MPP, MOE
  • Target assistance for people to train and register as Pacific language teachers in early learning and schooling by providing support to meet current English language requirements
 MOE
  • Explore options to grow accredited language learning pathways in Tertiary education, including expanding current provision in universities, Te Pūkenga, and Private Training Establishments, in order to help build proficiency for careers in education, translation, interpretation and other relevant fields
 MOE
  • Review property and network settings for Pacific bilingual units in schools
 MOE
  • Investigate options to grow Pacific early learning-focused employment-based initial teacher education and other Pacific bilingual and Pacific language teacher training pathways (Education – Teaching Council)
 MOE
  • Investigate options to have a New Zealand Scholarship pathway for Pacific languages
 MOE
  • Investigate options to support growing the network of Pacific early learning centres
 MOE
Note: potential actions to consider in the future would be in discussion with communities, informed by the Community Action Plans and dependent on accessing new funding. 

Indicators of progress: 

  • Access to Pacific bilingual and immersion education
  • The ability of the education system to meet demand for Pacific bilingual and immersion education​
  • The level of participation in bilingual and immersion education across the education pathway
  • Number of people learning Pacific languages in education and in the community
  • The number of language learning options in formal education (across different levels of language ability)
  • The number of language learning options in community education (across different levels of language ability)
  • The number of language qualifications awarded through NZQA​
  • The level of funding through TEC / MOE for language learning provision
  • Access to quality Pacific language resources in education settings, the home, communities, and online​
  • The quantity of new resources being developed and shared, both in New Zealand and in the Pacific region
  • Access to resources that support learning and using Pacific languages at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels
  • The number of Pacific language and Pacific bilingual and immersion teachers
  • The options to train as a Pacific language teacher in pathways that are culturally appropriate
  • Fewer barriers to entering the teaching workforce for Pacific language teachers
  • Reported experiences of the impact of digital technology, media, internet on connection to language and culture
  • Accessibility of quality language learning digital platforms
ACTION AGENCY
Create opportunities to speak and practice Pacific language and culture in daily life that are visible and available:
  • Support the sustainability of the Pasifika Festivals ecosystem (Culture and Heritage and support from Pacific Peoples)
 MCH
  • Deliver Pasifika Early Literacy Project, including support for Pacific realm languages ​
 MOE
  • Deliver ongoing Talanoa Ako Pacific parent education programmes, including the Talanoa Ako digital app and Talanoa Ako radio programme
 MOE
  • Develop Pacific Studies NCEA Achievement Standards subject
 MOE
Ensure Pacific history, culture and language are embedded into relevant settings (e.g., public information, signs, broadcasting):
  • Pacific Translation Fund
 MOE
  • New Zealand on Air funding increase to continue to build high quality channels and platforms and engage with younger Pasifika through enhanced digital content
 MCH
  • Invest in the modernisation and sustainability of Pacific media and broadcasting
    (Culture and Heritage, Pacific Peoples and Foreign Affairs and Trade)
 MCH, MPP, MFAT
Ensure people are supported to champion their languages and cultures:
  • Languages funding for community-led initiatives through the Ministry for Pacific Peoples
 MPP
  • Pacific Language Week funding for activities in communities
 MPP
  • Support community-led initiatives through Tatou Fa’amalosi Fund to support Pacific Languages
 MOE
Guarantee quality translation services are accessible and reliable:
  • No current actions
  
Potential actions to consider in the future:
  • Develop a Strategy for the modernisation and sustainability of Pacific media and broadcasting, in consultation with key stakeholders (Culture and Heritage, Pacific Peoples, Foreign Affairs and Trade)
 MCH, MPP, MFAT
  • Increase the number of gagana Samoa and lea faka Tonga bilingual and immersion units in schools to support use of the languages in education
  MOE
  • Increase community languages funding
 MPP
  • Build community capability and capacity to deliver Pacific Language Weeks
 MPP
  • Establish a translation funding pool for public sector
 MPP
Note: potential actions to consider in the future would be in discussion with communities, informed by the Community Action Plans and dependent on accessing new funding.

Indicators of progress: 

  • People have opportunities to, and feel comfortable to, use their languages in many different settings (education, sports, business, social events, homes, etc.)
  • People who work in different domains (education, sports, business, etc.) are using Pacific languages in interactions
  • The visible presence of Pacific languages in communities (signage, labels, notices, etc.​)
  • Access to key Government documents in Pacific languages ​
  • Access to important public information in Pacific languages ​
  • Access to media, broadcasting and art content in Pacific languages
  • There are more local community initiatives creating opportunities for speaking and sharing Pacific languages​ in homes, families and communities

Download the Pacific Languages Government Action Plan

Pacific Languages Government Action Plan