Te reo Maori (the Maori language) continues to be learned by Maori and Pakeha from Aotearoa New Zealand. The concept of language anxiety has been the topic of study by numerous authors due to its ability to interfere with second language production from cognition to output. For a group of Pakeha (New Zealand European) learners of te reo Maori,…

This article examines Indigenous-language immersion (ILI) schooling, an innovative approach in which most or all instruction occurs in the Indigenous language, with a strong culture-based curriculum. With the goals of promoting language revitalization, academic/holistic wellbeing, and cultural identity and continuance, ILI is a form of sustainable…

The present study investigates the connections between macro-language policies, access to resources, classroom micro-policies, and teacher identities of three Pakeha ('New Zealand European') primary school teachers at three New Zealand schools. As New Zealand educators are increasingly expected to incorporate te reo into the classroom, this…

Localising knowledge and dispositions helps to predict the likely success of top-down language policies. In so far as language acquisition is a pillar of language revitalisation policy, then community perspectives on learning a minority language deserve attention. This article presents the knowledge, dispositions, and ideas of around 1,300…

Substantially less is known about the motivations of indigenous heritage language learners than the motivations of learners of colonial languages. This study explores the motivations of Maori indigenous New Zealanders and the identity-related motivations they have for learning their heritage language. Interviews with 19 Maori language learners…

Identity labels are used by in-group and out-group members to define themselves both referentially and socially. This article explores the use of identity labels in interview data from the Pasifika Languages of Manukau Project, a project that examined the language maintenance and use of Samoan, Tongan, Cook Island, and Niuean peoples in Auckland,…

Hawai'i's massive language shift began a century ago. In the late 1800s, everyone spoke Hawaiian, but being monolingual in Hawaiian marked one as unsophisticated. Then Hawaiian medium schools were banned, resulting in young people speaking Hawaiian with adults and Hawai'i Creole English with peers. The next generation could understand, but not…

This article analyzes how minority-language students responded to what they felt to be disrespectful behavior of a mainstream teacher towards their language from a case at an Aotearoa/New Zealand school in 1997-1998. Even when minority language is recognized officially and institutionally, as in Aotearoa/New Zealand, some minority-language…