Maitreyee Banerjee, a new teacher at our Palmerston North centre organised her English Language Groups class to do a speaking activity to celebrate International Mother Language Day.
Maitreyee asked class members to introduce each other in pairs – practising their names, home countries, the name of their mother tongue and the words they use to greet each other in their language.
It was a great ‘getting to know each other’ activity after the learners, both new and previous arrived in class after the summer holidays.
Meet my friend Hari Priya Luitel. She is from Bhutan. Her mother tongue is Nepali. She says namaste to greet in Nepali.
Meet my friend Devi Sanjel. She is from Bhutan. Her mother tongue is Nepali. She says namaste to greet in Nepali.
Meet my friend Juliette Inanga She is from Congo. Her mother tongue is Bembe. She says mbote to greet in Congo.
Meet my friend Jai Narayan Chamalagai. He is from Bhutan. His mother tongue is Nepali. He says namaste to greet in Nepali.
Meet my friend Krishna Dhungel. He is from Bhutan. His mother tongue is Nepali. He says namaste to greet in Nepali.
Meet my friend Marcel. He is from Congo. His mother tongue is Bembe. He says mbote to greet in Bembe.
Meet my friend Hari Bhattarai. He is from Bhutan. His mother tongue is Nepali. He says namaste to greet in Nepali.
Meet my friend Ly Pen. She is from Cambodia. Her mother tongue is Khmer. She says Suasdhey to greet in Khmer.
Meet my friend Sithan Lohn. She is from Cambodia. Her mother tongue is Khmer. She says Suasdhey to greet in Khmer.
Meet my friend Ran Maya Gurung. She is from Bhutan. Her mother tongue is Nepali. She says namaste to greet in Nepali.
In support of International Mother Language Day (21 February) and Race Relations Day (21 March), English Language Partners New Zealand (ELPNZ) and Community Languages Association of New Zealand (CLANZ) have created a poster featuring the phrase “Our people, our cultures, our languages” in 29 languages, including Maori, NZ Sign Language and English.
The poster’s design also features a mix of flowers from around the world, chosen for their significance to many of Aotearoa’s ethnic communities. The design symbolises the many different nationalities and ethnicities that today make up our country’s unique identity.
Download an A3 or A4 copy of the poster to share in your community, home and workplace:
https://www.englishlanguage.org.nz/celebrating-our-people-cultures-and-languages/
For a paper poster, contact English Language Partners New Zealand at natoffice@englishlanguage.org.nz.
Posters are free (while stocks last), however, there is a cost to cover post and packaging:
($10.00 North Island | $15.00 South Island)
MORE ABOUT ELPNZ: Nationally, ELPNZ works with over 7,000 former refugees and migrants. Over 1,700 volunteers from many different social and cultural backgrounds help by teaching English. Learn more at www.englishlanguage.org.nz
