Professional Pathways for Schools and Teachers for Learning Languages

Enabling schools and teachers to offer effective and sustainable languages programmes for all students 

ILEP supports schools and teachers to implement the Learning Languages curriculum area through the promotion of a five-stage professional learning pathway for schools and teachers in years 7-13. The pathway has been designed to ensure that support and resources offered through Ministry of Education initiatives and programmes are targeted in a coherent and sustainable manner. Our goal is to consolidate the professional learning and development offered at various stages of the pathway to help schools achieve sustainable learning languages programmes.

Five-stage PLD pathway for schools and teachers in Learning Languages

Support available at each stage of the pathway 

Initiation Stage

At this stage ILEP works with principals and senior management, heads of departments, senior teachers and teachers of years 7 -13 to establish a learning languages strategy and framework and to prepare teachers for participation in intensive stage professional learning opportunities such as Teacher Professional Development Languages (TPDL). 

Support ILEP offers for Principals and School Leaders

Our Professional Learning Coordinator Dr. Christine Biebricher is available to discuss the practicalities of establishing a learning languages programme in your school. She can tell you:  

• How to access resources and initiatives designed to support learning languages programmes
• How engaging students in the learning of another language support your teachers to achieve cultural and linguistic responsiveness and inclusiveness for all students in all learning areas
• How engaging students in Learning Languages can strengthen literacy in English

Support ILEP offers for Teachers

National Advisers for Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish provide workshops and undertake school visits that focus on:

• Developing teacher’s language and cultural knowledge
• Building local networks for teachers
• Supporting teachers to use the Learning Languages Series resources, designed specifically for initiation stage teachers to use in their classrooms
• Preparation of teachers to continue to the next stages.

To find out how ILEP can support you in the initiation stage, please contact Professional Learning Co-ordinator: Dr. Christine Biebricher. 

Intensive Stage

At this stage of the pathway teachers engage in more intensive professional learning in order to develop their language teaching pedagogy and to improve their linguistic and cultural knowledge of the target language.

 Possible support at the intensive stage  

• participation on the Teacher Professional Development Languages Programme (TPDL) offered in Chinese, Cook Islands Maori, French, German, Japanese, Niuean, Samoan, Tongan, Tokelauean, Spanish 

• working with clusters of teachers on teaching, focusing on the effective use of resources outlined in the initiation stage and through the Learning Languages Community Pages at http://learning-languages.tki.org.nz  

To find out more about how you can be supported in the intensive stage, please contact our Professional Learning Co-ordinator: Dr. Christine Biebricher. 

Consolidation Stage

At this stage of the pathway the learning of teachers is consolidated through the targeted support of language specific advisers and language assistants. Priority for the allocation of support at this stage is given to schools and teachers who have already engaged in the initiation and intensive stages of the pathway or who can demonstrate a strong commitment to prior professional learning and development in learning languages and who have a clear curriculum based focus to their professional learning requirements. 

 Possible support at the consolidation stage  

• working with clusters of teachers focusing on intercultural language teaching
• workshops, school visits, online and email support from National Language Advisers for Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish
• immersion type experiences coordinated in New Zealand by National Language Advisers for Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish
• placement of French, German, Japanese, Spanish and Mandarin Foreign Language Assistants to assist New Zealand teachers and students to develop their linguistic and cultural knowledge and ability to be effective intercultural communicators
• placement of Specialist fixed-term teachers of the target language.  

To find out more about how National Language Advisers can support you in the consolidation stage, please contact our Professional Learning Co-ordinator: Dr. Christine Biebricher. 

To find out more about how Foreign Language Assistants and fixed-term teaching assistants can support you in the consolidation stage, please contact our Exchange Programme Co-ordinator: Jocelyn Laine. 

Sustainability Stage

At this stage of the pathway language teachers are offered the opportunity to improve their intercultural communicative competence through the opportunity to apply for international immersion experiences and scholarships to countries in which the target language is used. Priority for the allocation of support at this stage is given to schools and teachers who have already engaged in preceding stages of the pathway or who can demonstrate a strong commitment to prior professional learning and development in learning languages and who have a clear student-outcomes focused goal  for the relevant programme.  

Possible support at the consolidation stage

• advice and guidance for applying for Ministry of Education Language Immersion Awards for periods of one month, three months or one year full immersion in the target language 

• subsidised participation in various intercultural exchange programmes and scholarships funded collaboratively through the New Zealand government and relevant donor governments including: 

  • Intensive three week Chinese language and culture scholarships to Peking University
  • French immersion experiences in New Caledonia
  • Goethe Institute scholarships to Germany
  • Various intensive language and culture scholarships provided by the Japan Foundation in Sydney and Japan
  • Intensive three week Spanish language and culture scholarships to Spanish Universities 

Note: This is not an exhaustive list of all programmes that may be on offer in any one year. Details of current programmes are available on the Programmes page. 

To find out more about how ILEP can support you in the Sustainability Stage, please contact our Exchange Programme Co-ordinator: Jocelyn Laine.

Future Opportunities Stage

At this stage of the pathway language teachers are encouraged and supported to undertake leadership in the learning languages community of practice to further enhance the sustainability of Learning Languages in New Zealand.  

Possible examples of such opportunities

• Membership of selection panels for the various intercultural and exchange programmes available at the sustainability stage of the pathway
• Speaking opportunities at learning languages conferences and professional learning opportunities
• Lead teachers within their schools for Learning Languages
• Opportunities to gain employment in pre-service and in-service teacher education programmes such as TPDL in-school facilitators, national advisory roles
• Leadership opportunities in subject associations such as NZALT
• Curriculum related development opportunities such as membership on writing groups for teaching and learning guides.

To find out more about the Future Opportunities Stage, please contact the Programme Manager for Strategy: Rhys McDonald.