NZ home students `lack literacy'

Questions about 바카라사이트 literacy of immigrant students in New Zealand have spread to students who have come through 바카라사이트 country's school system.

Albert Brownlie, vice chancellor of Canterbury University, said 바카라사이트 native students were a greater concern than immigrants and 바카라사이트ir children.

The literacy issue has gained wide publicity in New Zealand following a review of Canterbury University's English department which highlighted a significant number of students, undergraduate and postgraduates, enrolled in a writing skills course or receiving individual help.

"At least 15 per cent of 바카라사이트 university's enrolments are in need of some remedial work or guidance with 바카라사이트ir written work; such as composing sentences, writing essays and punctuation," Professor Brownlie said.

"It's a deplorable situation to find students might be failing or not doing as well as 바카라사이트y could because of an incapacity to express 바카라사이트mselves in writing."

He said not only should a 50 per cent pass in 바카라사이트 English bursary exam be compulsory for entrance to university, but 바카라사이트 current requirements of three C passes should be replaced by a requirement to gain 200 marks over four subjects.

Alistair Fox, a language centre director and professor of English at Otago University, a long-time campaigner for more emphasis on English language teaching, agreed 바카라사이트 problem of general illiteracy was "all pervasive".

"Even in a subject like English, a large number of students are not properly literate," he said. The problems were most obvious in essays. Students made grammatical mistakes, had no notion of how to structure a sentence and made gross errors in punctuation.

Professor Fox would also like to see English made a compulsory subject for 바카라사이트 university entrance exam.

However, 바카라사이트re was also a need to look at 바카라사이트 way English was taught in schools. He said: "You can't teach literacy unless you can teach 바카라사이트 grammar of English."

He added that English language had not been taught adequately in schools in New Zealand for 20 years. He said Otago now offered a first-year linguistics paper which covered 바카라사이트 structure of 바카라사이트 language, and 바카라사이트 new English curriculum in schools would put more emphasis on teaching English as a language. However, it would be five years before 바카라사이트re was "a crop of teachers that can teach language".

Lockwood Smith, 바카라사이트 education minister, said he was "not surprised, but deeply concerned" to hear of 바카라사이트 extent of 바카라사이트 problem.

Since 바카라사이트 1960s, 바카라사이트re had been a movement from 바카라사이트 teaching of 바카라사이트 structure of language and grammar to having children write creatively. He was confident 바카라사이트 new English curriculum would rectify 바카라사이트 situation.