For example, the New Zealand Police Force recently saw people from Zimbabwe, Malaysia, Philippines, Turkey and Japan graduate from Police College and this acknowledgment of multiculturalism is also reflected in the desire to recruit people who are bilingual.

An acknowledgment of different languages and cultures is also an advantage if working in the $7 billion New Zealand tourism industry, which sees many non-English speaking tourists through the country each year.

I would like to learn another language… what are the first steps?

Your age and how much time and money you want to invest in the experience will determine which method of learning a new language you may like to use.

Do-it-yourself
The easiest method would be to invest a phrase book and use that as grounding for your studies. It would be preferable to buy one which comes with an audio component so you can listen to how words should be pronounced rather than relying on your interpretation.

Often words can be misconstrued if you pronounce them wrong and so it is important to ensure your pronunciation is correct. This method is probably best only for those who are intending to travel and use the language overseas short-term, as it lacks the necessary oral component provided by other language courses.

Tutoring
The cheapest method of learning a language would be to get in contact with the local foreign language / ESOL School. There are always students who are interested in meeting and conversing with locals as a way of practicing what they learn in class.

It often works on the basis that they will teach you about their language and culture if you teach them about yours.

This is a very flexible option as you can decide week to week when, where, and for how long you want to meet. It is a great way to form a strong grounding in the oral component of a language.

Night / Correspondence School
These are short term courses with the aim of teaching you the basics of the language. Night courses are often offered at community centres or schools. They usually run for a period of 6-8 weeks, meeting once a week for 1-2 hours. It is a good way to meet people and practice the oral component of a language.

Correspondence courses allow you to learn at your own pace and use a mixture of aural and oral assignments as a foundation for learning. These options are best suited to those who are pursuing the language as an interest.

University/ Polytechnic
There are a wide variety of language courses offered at universities and polytechnics, ranging from beginners classes to more advance courses. These are intense courses, and are relatively time consuming, but you are taught all components of the language.

Regular assessments allow you to apply and improve your understanding. You can choose to do the course for personal interest or you can complete a language diploma or degree which usually takes 3 years. At the end of it you will have gained the skills and knowledge to be considered fluent in the language.

What can I expect in learning a second language?

All languages are made up of 4 parts: Reading, Writing; Aural and Oral.

Reading and Writing
At first you can expect to learn basic vocabulary and grammar which can be used in everyday situations. A useful method of learning to read and write a language is rote learning. It can be time consuming but it allows the vocabulary to become engrained in your memory. Most language courses will provide you with a vocabulary list from which to learn set phrases or important words. Learning these provides a firm foundation for the other parts of the course. As the course progresses, you will gain the confidence to translate simple passages from English to the foreign language and vice versa.

Aural and Oral
Aural and Oral components are probably the most important aspects of learning a language. The understanding and ability to converse in a foreign language is essential if you intend on using the language in your job. Building upon your reading and writing skills, aural and oral skills allow you to actively apply the language. The assessment methods used may vary from speeches, role plays, and reading out the material or answering questions. Again, memorising sentence structures and vocabulary is the best way to succeed.

This article was kindly supplied by NZS, New Zealand Search. To learn more, click here.

Whatever your background, here are some survival tips for learning as an adult:

• Bring your own experience to your learning:
  Remember that you have more life experience than younger students. In many fields, this will give you more historical, social, political or personal context in which to place the information you are learning. Add on to this the fact that you might have technical skills, travel experience, other languages, a greater depth of reading experience and many more positives that can add to your learning.
• Manage your time:
  Talk to your family, partner, employer or others affected by your return to education. You may need support from them and it is likely that if you are returning to study, compromises will be on the cards at some point. Make sure you allow enough time to study and do extra reading or practical exercises. Being stressed might prevent you from enjoying and succeeding in your learning.
• Establish good study habits:
  This is essential to successful learning. Think about how you learn best – is it by seeing, hearing, doing, or a combination of these? Apply this to your study and note-taking habits. Some lecturers provide recordings and written transcripts of their lectures. Perhaps you will learn best if you tape each lecture and take notes while listening over the lecture later? Learn what is right for you. It’s also good to implement a well organised system for your notes and a calendar, so that you can keep track of assignments, lecture breaks and test dates.
• Use the resources available to you:
  If you’re having trouble entering the academic world or adjusting to your classes, take time to see the university career counselor. For those with children, there is often daycare onsite, as well as a student health service if needed.
• Be open to technology:
  There’s no need to be afraid of the technology which will undoubtedly be part of your learning experience. You will have to deal with electronic student cards, computerised library catalogues, word processing of assignments and essays, photocopiers and email. Don’t let this intimidate you if it’s new to you – there are always people there to help. Investigate one of the free introductory classes covering the basics of computing and word processing.

In terms of education, it’s never too late. Many adult learners, despite doubts about returning to the classroom, find that adult education in New Zealand offers rewarding experiences and allows discovery of untapped abilities. If you are interested in continuing your education, check out the range of degree, diploma and workshop courses on offer at your local university or polytechnic.

 

This article was kindly supplied by NZS, New Zealand Search. To learn more, click here. Looking for more information? Find New Zealand adult education in the NZS.com directory. 

Computer gobbledygook

• Desktop
  The main screen you see when your computer first starts up.  It will have some small pictures or icons, and a Start button.

• Programme
  Also known as software.  Some comes installed on your computer eg word processing, email, and others can be installed later like games, or photo editing software.

• Icons
  The little pictures on the Desktop which are shortcuts to programmes.

• Start Button
  When this is clicked once with the left mouse button, it will display a list of all programmes on your computer.

• Double click
  This refers to the action of clicking twice quickly on the left mouse button.  This will open and run programmes, files and folders.  You can also click once to select something, or right click to access formatting menus.

• Mouse
  This is what you use to point to things like programmes or folders.  This may be a device that you plug in to your computer, or on a laptop may be a touchpad.

• Hourglass
  This will be displayed when your computer is working on something eg. opening a programme, or as your computer is first starting up.

• Scroll bar
  This is displayed down the side and the bottom of a page in a document or webpage.  This allows you to move up and down in a document by clicking on the scroll arrows, or box in the middle of the scroll bar.

• QWERTY keyboard
  The standard keyboard on computers is often referred to as this.  This relates to the layout of the keys on the keyboard.  Fortunately there is no difference in the placement of the letter keys and only slight variation in other keys.  Practicing typing is really the only way to learn the layout of the letter keys and to get faster at typing.

What kind of computer are you using?
There are two main types of computers; laptops and desktops.  The names are self explanatory and the uses of them much the same, however, a laptop is more portable.

You can do much the same things on both a laptop and a desktop, and there is not much of a price difference either.   You can also choose an Apple Mac or a Windows operating system.  This is simply the overall system that operates your computer.

The uses for a computer are almost unlimited and can include;

• Email to communicate with friends, family and business in New Zealand and around the world,

• Internet to surf the web to find information on shopping, education, history, upcoming events, news and pretty much anything – sign up with an Internet provider like Woosh to get started,

•  Word processing to type a letter, create a flyer or poster, write a novel, or become a freelance writer,

• Spreadsheets to keep a household budget, create a graph of your savings, and keep financial records for your business

•  Publisher or powerpoint to create presentations for school or work in slideshow format,

• Games which are great for the young and young at heart. Educational games are great for reinforcing basics Maths and English skills, while all games in moderation help with hand eye coordination and computer skills

• Photo-editing programmes, which include basic software that comes with a digital camera. You can buy more advanced programmes as well, giving you the capability to edit people in and out of digital images and create personalized cards, calendars and alike.

Gaining more skills
There are lots of short night classes available for all forms of computing.  Polytechnics offer computing courses, and there are also providers who offer one to one tutoring which moves at your own pace.

You could hire a good beginner computer book from the local library or check out all the different computing magazines.

Other computer user tips;

• Take regular breaks; even micro breaks of dropping your arms, looking away at the distance for a few seconds
• Ensure you are sitting comfortably at your computer
• Get regular eye checks, and ensure the area is well lit to minimize eye strain
• Seek medical attention if you suffer prolonged discomfort

The best thing you can do is get stuck in and have a go.  The more you practice the better you will get.  Have fun and discover a whole new world.

This article was kindly supplied by NZS, New Zealand Search. To learn more, click here. For more information about learning to use your computer check out Computer Training in the NZS.com directory

Loans for students typically provide several deferment options and a number of extended repayment terms.

Student study loan criteria in New Zealand

In order to be eligible for a student loan in New Zealand, you must be either:

• a New Zealand citizen,
• a New Zealand permanent residence
• a refugee
• or a protected person under the Immigration Act 2009.

You must sign a contract with the government as well as enroll in a tertiary education approved course. The course can be full time or limited and can be 32 weeks or longer.

One point worth noting is that permanent New Zealand citizens and Australian citizens must go through a two-year stand down period before they receive their study loan. This specifies that either you must reside in New Zealand for at least two years or be an ordinary citizen of New Zealand.

People who are not required to complete this formality are refugees, people sponsored by a family member of New Zealand, protected persons under the Immigration Act 2009 and, of course, New Zealand citizens.

As a transition measure, the government has exempted students who are applying for study between 1st January and 31st July, 2011 from the criteria of completing two years of residency.

This can be achieved by those students who can demonstrate their commitment to study for some time, who are suffering from financial crisis and on compassionate grounds such as personal circumstances.

Student loan restrictions

There are some circumstances prevalent in life that can prevent you to use all parts of your loan, such as if you are in prison and if you are receiving a training-incentive allowance.

You are also not entitled if you are either bankrupt or already sponsored by government loan on a course and if you are already on benefit.

In these circumstances, you can use only few parts of study loan and may not be entitled for entire benefit of loan. Check with your loan provider if you have special circumstances that you think may affect your entitlement to your student loan.

This article was kindly supplied by NZS, New Zealand Search. To learn more, click here.

The recent decline in Maori language speaking in New Zealand is alarming. Showing that only 18 percent of Maori are fluent in Te Reo Maori. The best way to revitalise the language is to teach young children in their home and schooling environment.

In many New Zealand homes parents are beginning to speak to their children in both English and Maori in an attempt to raise a more culturally aware and a naturally bi lingual youth. Interested in learning more Maori? Here are some hints and tips to refresh, reinforce and begin learning Maori around the home!

Label it
I decided to start learning Maori when I first went to meet my partner’s family. Being greeted at his mothers front door with a “Kia Ora! Kei te pēhea koe?” left me at a bit of a loss. My understanding of the Maori language started and ended with Kia Ora. It took an uneasy smile and a red flush across my face for his mother to ask how I was in English. From that moment on I decided it was time for me to learn more about New Zealand and Maori.

To begin my brand new language lease on life my partner bought fluorescent pink post its and began labeling everything in our house. He wrote everything out as neatly as possible, first in Maori then phonetically. If you’re not lucky enough to have a fluent Maori speaker and writer in your home check out Maori language sites for translations, spellings and pronunciations of common Maori words. These visual connections with words helped me a great deal in remembering words. Children and adults alike can use this technique to help with memorising new words.

To begin with I still spoke English throughout the house, just with the occasional Maori noun thrown in. After a few weeks I began double checking less, and eventually I stopped checking the post its all together.

Language Zones
Creating Maori zones of the house is a good way to begin conversation building and proficiency. As I had learnt mostly kiihini (kitchen) related words during this time we decided that the kitchen would be our first Maori only zone. I then began learning basic phrases such as “can you pass the…” (“homai te..”) and “put away the..” (“whakahokia…”) “are you hungry?” (“E mate kai ana koe?”) and so on. The aim was to learn 10 new Maori words a week and at least two new phrases. Within a matter of weeks I was confident in my control of kitchen Maori, and also nagging in Maori.

Maori Media
A good way of picking up new phrases and grammar practices is to listen to, read and watch Maori language media. The more you surround yourself with Maori the more a part of life it will become, even something as simple as changing your google page to Maori can help. Also young children are more likely to pick up new things the more they are confronted with them. Try reading aloud in Maori to your children and do small fun tests on the vocabulary.

Ask for Help
Never be ashamed to test out your newly learned Maori words and phrases on more seasoned Maori speakers. Most will be supportive and happy to help you in your learning endeavors. They can even offer helpful advice on pronunciation or more colloquial phrases. Being public about learning Maori can be most useful when in a class room environment. Taking up a part time language course in Maori will help you along enormously and help you meet new friends in the same situation!

Get Interested
The best way to begin learning Maori is to talk about things that interest you or things you talk about on a regular basis. Fun things such as singing songs in Maori or learning how to flirt can spark your interest more than boring drills!

Using these helpful hints you too could be on your way to learning the beautiful, soulful, metaphorical Te Reo Maori and showing your support for Kiwi heritage.

This article was kindly supplied by NZS, New Zealand Search. To learn more, click here.

There are a large number of variations of design diploma that are readily available to study in New Zealand institutions.

Diplomas in Design available in New Zealand include:

• Computer Graphic Design
• Animation and Digital Video
• Interactive Design
• Digital Media

Diploma in Computer Graphic Design

Diplomas in Computer Graphic Design will help you to develop and combine your creative skills with technological skills in order to communicate ideas and information in a way that is visually appealing while efficiently promoting your message.

These design courses also give you skills and knowledge in print design theory so that you can competently create a wide range of printed promotional and informative materials at a commercial level.

Diploma in Animation and Digital Video

You only have to look at what’s screening at your local cinema to see that 3D animation is becoming more and more popular and more and more advanced. If this is something that inspires you to flex your creative mind, a diploma in animation and digital video will give you the skills and recognition you need to start your career in digital animation.

Creative design skills combine with storytelling and audio to create stunning animations and 3D imagery.

Diploma in Interactive Design

The interactive design industry is thriving throughout the world with more and more people and businesses becoming regular users of the internet.

Diplomas in Interactive Design provide you with skills to create a wide variety of interactive digital media including web design and interactive advertising design as well as the popular fields of interactive game design and development.

Diploma in Digital Media

Digital media provides the optimal outlet for a desire to combine creative talent with skills in digital technology. If you were to take on a Diploma in Digital Media, you can expect to use digital still imagery and video cameras and computers to create a range of original art combining both traditional and digital media.

This diploma will advances your skills in digital illustration techniques as well as the ability to create images and pages suitable for web publication. Skills learnt in this diploma will benefit your career in print, motion graphics or interactive media.

To find an educational organisation that provides the diplomas listed here and more, visit the industry training organisations category in the NZS.com directory.

This article was kindly supplied by NZS, New Zealand Search. To learn more, click here.

For those who aren’t too sure about it though, it can be a confusing thing to comprehend, so let’s break it down.

Some ways that the internet assists the learning process:

1. Online Lectures. Believe it or not, you can now often receive university-quality lectures and presentations from the comfort of your own home! It’s becoming increasingly common for professors and teachers to upload their class notes and content online for students to view in their own time, and Skype and Audioconferencing make it possible for even interactive classes to take place over the internet.
2. Student Interaction. Online message boards have become more and more popular across all channels of the web, and now they’re being tapped to help students interact online. Students can share notes, have discussions and work on assignments all within a message board. This helps decrease the feeling of isolation for distance students.
3. Evaluation tests. It may sound weird to have tests online- after all, can’t the students just use Google and cheat? However, all that’s required to make them work is an adjustment to the way tests are set. By testing student’s understanding of ideas and concepts rather than basic fact retention, teachers can accurately assess how well they’re doing in class.
4. Assignment work. These days, even normal schools and universities often take advantage of an “online drop-box” system, allowing students to submit work from home (and often right up until the deadline). So it makes sense that distance learning institutions take advantage of this as well, making it easy for teachers to set assignments, and for students to hand them in regardless of their availability during the day.
5. A customised work process. Not everybody learns the same way, or at the same rate. Online learning facilitates a range of learning styles, allowing students to go at their own pace. Some will grasp concepts easily and leap ahead to do more of their own reading. Others will enjoy being able to absorb lecture notes slowly, without the hurry to take everything down.
6. Feedback through email. Even for students who go to school, finding time to speak with the teacher about their work and receive feedback can be difficult. Teachers are often only available a few hours per week. But by exchanging feedback through email, it’s possible to use the time that each party is free to have a more in-depth discussion, and explain issues in more detail.
7. Online learning systems. Systems such as Blackboard and Moodle already in use at universities throughout the world, simply because they’re so useful for learning. Combining a forum, announcements, class notes and assignment submissions into one convenient place, these systems transfer seamlessly into a distance-learning environment.

The internet has amazing power to help our lives, and in particular when it’s applied to education it can do great things. By bringing the learning environment to people of all job types and dispositions, it can be effectively used at primary, intermediate, secondary or even tertiary level. For those who require learning to take place away from school, the internet is an essential tool.

This article was kindly supplied by NZS, New Zealand Search. To learn more, click here.

Although choosing a high school can be a key decision in determining your offspring’s success, academic achievement and social adjustment, it’s important to remember there are many factors that contribute to the success of a child within the NZ secondary school system. To ensure you make the best possible choice, take an easy step-by-step approach:

1. Compile a list of possible New Zealand high schools
Make a list of local NZ secondary schools, considering:

• How close the school is to your home
• How your child will travel to school each day
• Schooling arrangements for other children in your family

2. Narrow down your options
Think through your options, bearing in mind the differences between schools. There are often good and not-so-good elements within each option, so it sometimes helps to make a list of pros and cons when making your decision. Some of the choices you might have to consider are:

• Co-educational or single sex?
• Integrated (religious) or non-denominational?
• Private or state-funded?
• Boarding school, correspondence or day school?
• Special needs or regular school?

3. Contact your favoured schools
At this point, contact selected schools to learn more about what they offer. You might want to find out:

• The size of the school
• The number of students in each class
• Whether the school has streaming (this divides students of the same age group into classes ranked according to their general ability)
• Facilities for any special needs or requirements your child may have
• The school’s zoning policy (All students are entitled to enrol at the state school which is nearest to their home. Schools that experience overcrowding can define a geographical zone, which means only students in this area have the right to be enrolled at the school. If you live outside this zone, you can enrol under some circumstances, such as if you have a brother or sister at the school or if you need access to special education programmes. Selection of pupils is carried out through a controlled ballot)

4. Consider the quality of education at the school
Another important component of choosing an NZ secondary school is the quality of education on offer. A word of warning here: a school often has a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ reputation, which is not always deserved. Base your choice on your own observations and research, not on what others say. To ensure you are well informed:

• Read the school’s ERO report (this report from the Education Review Office outlines a school’s achievements and standards in a wide range of areas, and is carried out every three years. Reports are available at no cost from schools and ERO offices)
• Talk to members of the Board of Trustees, the principal and the teachers
• Find out how teaching and learning are managed at the school
• Check out the range of subjects on offer by reading the school’s prospectus – this will give you an idea of the school’s areas of strength

5. Visit the school
As a parent or a prospective pupil, you also have the right to visit a New Zealand high school and meet with the principal and/or staff before enrolment. Make appointments to visit the schools you are considering. This will give you an opportunity to:

• Talk to the school’s teachers
• Talk to current students (do they seem happy, bored, interested?)
• Observe interactions between teachers and students
• View the school’s classrooms and facilities
• Ask questions about the school’s policies, fees, schedule etc

Choosing a school is just part of a person’s educational path. When choosing a school, the best you can do is ensure that you can see your child feeling comfortable in the school environment – and make sure that your child feels the same way. Although zoning can mean you can’t always get your child enrolled in your top pick, any success your child achieves will be down to their own ambition, talent and drive!

This article was kindly supplied by NZS, New Zealand Search. To learn more, click here.