Bringing mahi tahi into Hindi Language Week

By Education Gazette editors

Issue: Volume 97, Number 15

Posted: 27 August 2018

Reference #: 1H9kEW

Hindi Language Week is one of many opportunities schools have to celebrate diversity. For Royal Oak Intermediate, it is also a chance to further explore their schoolwide theme for the year.

Like many schools in New Zealand, Royal Oak Intermediate School in Auckland has a range of students from different backgrounds and cultures.

The school’s theme for this year is mahi tahi, or working together as one. One of the ways in which students are exploring this concept is by learning about the different cultures within their school and about different languages spoken by members of their school community.

Royal Oak Intermediate teacher Renu Lata says the school will be hosting a range of activities to introduce students to the Hindi language, including a quiz, market and art activities.

Renu is also working with students who are entering a Hindi speech competition or performing a dance routine to Hindi music at an extracurricular event hosted by the Hindi Language & Culture Trust of
NZ (HLACTNZ).

Renu uses the teaching and learning opportunities presented by Hindi Language Week to tie into the curriculum and into students’ inquiry focuses.

“It could be tied with maths, it could be tied with literacy, with myths and legend. If I’m doing Hindi now, a lot of our reading about rangoli and Diwali are in literacy and school journals. So if it’s a certain season or event, the whole school will be choosing journals according to that,” Renu says.

“As a teacher, I need to know about all the kids and the kids need to know each other as well, to build those relationships within the classroom and build a positive learning environment.”

HLACTNZ organises NZ Hindi Language Week (7–14 September) to coincide with World Hindi Day, which falls on 14 September each year.

For more information and to access teaching resources email info@teachhindi.org.nz.