Languages

Languages

Students who invest in a language during the critical middle school years boost their prospects for success later on in life. At Maidstone Intermediate, we encourage the learning of languages for the following reasons:
 
  • It increases confidence and sense of personal achievement – learning another language is an accomplishment of which everyone can, and should, be proud 
  • It feeds the brain – bilinguals often have better problem-solving skills, as well as improved memory, concentration, and mental flexibility.
  • It lets one travel to new heights – traveling as a speaker of the local language has a positive effect on the travel experience.  
  • It creates more empathetic and thoughtful people – speaking another language is the most direct link to another culture. It allows you to gain cultural understanding and deep insights into how other people see the world.
 

Te Reo

In honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi Te Reo is being offered as part of a specialist subject with a Poutoko as the facilitator.
 
The focus is that students will:
  • develop a basic understanding of tīkanga (culture) 
  • develop some confidence in speaking and using Te Reo Māori as part of their everyday language
  • develop a basic understanding of how the Māori language is structured and used.

 

Other languages

Students have the opportunity via online Education Perfect, to learn languages such as German, Spanish, French, and Japanese. Students appreciate that learning a new language extends their linguistic and cultural understanding. It equips our students for living in a world of diverse people, language and culture, and is important for their future.
 

Mandarin and Korean

Maidstone Intermediate will be the only Intermediate in the greater Wellington region to provide opportunities for our ākonga to learn Mandarin and Korean from native speakers.
 
Via connections with Confucius Institute at Victoria University we annually host a Mandarin Language Assistant at school. The role of the MLA is to assist classroom teachers to teach Mandarin more effectively. This involves providing information and insight into Chinese culture and language, providing accurate pronunciation and intonation, and developing resources.
 
Our kura is also part of a small group of NZ schools that are funded by the Korean Education Centre to have a Korean teacher as part of the staffing.