Language Learning in New Zealand’s Schools: Enticing Opportunities and Enduring Constraints

In the English-dominant context of New Zealand, the learning of international languages in the school system has been subject to significant challenges. Theoretically, language learning recently achieved greater prominence through a revised national curriculum, published at the end of 2007 and mandated from the start of 2010. This revised curriculum introduced a new learning area that for the first time created dedicated space for language learning—Learning Languages. However, despite a stronger position in the curriculum, school statistics on enrolments into language programmes reveal a challenging scenario. In the primary school sector, we are witnessing growth in uptake. In the secondary sector, there is decline. This chapter goes back to the early 1990s, when government rhetoric around addressing the uptake of language learning through a national languages policy was at a peak. It explores the enticing opportunities that appear to have been offered for language learning in New Zealand, in particular through the new curriculum area. It also considers the constraints that have limited language learning in New Zealand’s schools since the early 1990s. These limitations continue into the present and, in spite of a revised curriculum, hold New Zealand back from enabling languages to be vibrant and central components of school learning programmes. The chapter draws on the enrolment statistics, alongside the national and international literature and recent New Zealand media reports, to bring the story of language learning in New Zealand up to date, and to present an overview for an international audience.