Nikhat Shameem | University of Cumbria (original) (raw)

Papers by Nikhat Shameem

Language Education and Diversity Conference Proceedings, Waikato University 2005, 2005

This study was undertaken jointly by UNITEC, Auckland University of Technology, and the National ... more This study was undertaken jointly by UNITEC, Auckland University of Technology, and the National Home Tutors Association with the primary aim of determining literacy gains on a one-semester literacy programme for low-level and pre-literate ESOL students. A majority of the students were refugees and the remainder new immigrants. The students were from seven different source countries. Sixty-two students completed most of the tasks and tests associated with the project. The research involved various methodologies. These were the use of tutor and student profiles, use of self-assessments at the beginning, mid-point and end of the project, the design and administration of parallel performance tests at the beginning and end of the programme, the use of case studies, classroom observations and personal interviews. This paper looks at some of the issues that arose in the project and how we dealt with them. We also discuss the two major issues within the ESOL literacy programme that we were concerned about: the effectiveness of bilingual tutors and English-speaking tutors and the time of instruction needed at this level to ensure significant literacy gains.

Directions. Journal of Educational Studies. University of the South Pacific, 2022

Fiji Hindi (FH), a Girmit Hindustani (GH) developed and became widely used on the plantations i... more Fiji Hindi (FH), a Girmit Hindustani (GH) developed and became widely used on the plantations in Fiji by the labourers (Girmityà) who were shipped from colonial India (1879-1916) during indenture (Girmit). Girmit is a period in history with which the descendants of the labourers around the diaspora identify. It stems from the word ‘agreement’ to represent the contracts that were signed prior to departure from Calcutta by their forefathers and mothers to a range of countries where cheap labour was needed by colonizers. Between 1834 and 1916 nearly 1.2 million Girmityà were taken to more than 17 countries (Lal, 2012). This meant that the languages and dialects the Girmityà spoke merged with local languages. By the time their children were born, their GH was informally standardised and was their first language. The proposal for a Universal GH orthography for all the languages formed during Girmit, has presented Fiji Hindi with the opportunity for standardisation and alignment to other GHs. The proposal developed by the Universal Girmit Hindustani Committee, made up of writers, linguists, ethnographers, and activists in the wider Girmit diaspora, sets out a draft orthography for potential adaptation to all Girmit Hindustanis. While the current links of Fiji Indians to their language and culture is irrefutable, any standardised orthography for literary purposes and documentation has never been adopted by the community.
This conceptual paper addresses the issues in adapting an orthography and a script for a pre-literate language like Fiji Hindi. The first consultation around the orthography was fortuitous, the orthography team received a grant from UNESCO New Zealand, to trial and discuss the proposed orthography with a group of Fiji Indians who have emigrated from Fiji and now live in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Although ideally, the first trial of the orthography should be in the country of origin of a language, receiving the UNESCO grant and having access to a group of Fiji Indian volunteers in Auckland gave the team a unique opportunity for its first trial. The preliminary trial of this script showed that the ‘Universal Roman Code for Girmit Hindustani’ can be adapted to FH with minimal changes, so long as the examples used are contextualised to the Fiji Indian context. This paper presents the suggested orthography for Fiji Hindi. More trials and consultations are needed with stakeholders and Fiji Indian communities in Fiji and in the diaspora to ascertain specific usage, enable revisions and allow adoption of the Fiji Hindi orthography.

Multilingual Proficiencies in Fiji Primary Schools, 2002

Multilingualism implies the use of two or more languages by a society, community, family, or indi... more Multilingualism implies the use of two or more languages by a society, community, family, or individual to fulfil certain purposes. This study determined language proficiency among multilingual Indo-Fijian primary school children who have the languages, Fiji Hindi, Standard Hindi, Urdu, English, Fijian and Fiji English in their speech repertoire. Policy states that Fiji has a transitional education system with English replacing the mother tongue as the medium of instruction from Class 3 (age 8-9). However, while Standard Hindi and the Bauan Fijian dialects have been designated as the vernacular languages of Indo-Fijian and Fijian children respectively, children may have little knowledge of these languages. Both languages have been imposed by force of circumstances because they are vehicles for literacywhile Fiji Hindi and the other Fijian dialects are pre-literate.This researchdetermines primary school language proficienciesspecificallyfor Indo-Fijian children whose mother tongue, Fiji Hindi, is a non-standard language of low internal status in the community. It identifies the variables which affect multilingual proficiency in this group and determines whether classroom practice reflects educational policy. This research has implications for mother-tongue education in societies where there is classical diglossia or substantial differences between the standard and non-standard dialects.

Journal of the Applied Linguistics Association of New Zealand, 2006

This paper contrasts the two languages Fiji Hindi and English by looking at differences and simil... more This paper contrasts the two languages Fiji Hindi and English by looking at differences and similarities at lexical level and in metaphorical use. Although the usefulness of contrastive analysis in language learning and teaching has been debated extensively in the field of applied linguistics, this paper shows how it can be useful for the language learner and teacher particularly in a multilingual context. Fiji Hindi, because it is a pre-literate language and little effort has been made to standardise it, borrows a number of words and concepts from English. Code-switching and code-mixing with English and Fijian is common particularly in towns and cities. For Indo-Fijians who form 40% of Fiji’s population, the home language is Fiji Hindi. Indo-Fijians also have varying degrees of proficiency in Standard English which is taught at school as a subject of study and then used as medium of instruction, Shudh Hindi which they learn as a vernacular language at school, and Fijian, the mother-tongue of the Melanesian population. In addition, children also pick up a basilectal variety of Fiji English in school playgrounds and from the general ESL environment, where it is increasingly preferred as language of intra and interethnic informal communication among young, urban Fijians. For the purposes of this paper the term ‘English’ is used to describe the language used in Fiji and this ranges from the acrolectal variety used for formal and instructional purposes and the basilectal variety used for informal communication.

In M. Hobbs (Ed.) Autonomous Learning- here and there, here and now. Proceedings from the UNITEC Autonomous Learning Symposium 2-3rd May 2002. UNITEC, 2002

This paper outlines the factors that affect English language gain and first language loss among y... more This paper outlines the factors that affect English language gain and first language loss among young immigrants. I argue that first language maintenance is necessary, not only for social justice, but also for long-term cognitive and educational benefits, since English language acquisition and use among young immigrants often results in the loss of their first language skills. This paper presents a form that schools, and in particular ESOL teachers, can use to collate information about bilingualism and multilingualism among young learners in order to provide more targetted support. I illustrate the use of the form with a group of IndoFijian teenage immigrants living in Wellington, New Zealand (NZ). This case study illustrates the importance of identifying ESOL students as members of specific speech communities rather than simply assuming that they constitute a homogenous group. I argue that to empower ESOL students, we need to find out about their specific backgrounds. Teachers shou...

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2002

Multilingualism implies the use of two or more languages by a society, community, family, or indi... more Multilingualism implies the use of two or more languages by a society, community, family, or individual to fulfil certain purposes. This study determined language proficiency among multilingual Indo-Fijian primary school children who have the languages, Fiji Hindi, Standard Hindi, Urdu, English, Fijian and Fiji English in their speech repertoire. Policy states that Fiji has a transitional education system with English replacing the mother tongue as the medium of instruction from Class 3 (age 8–9). However, while Standard Hindi and the Bauan Fijian dialects have been designated as the vernacular languages of Indo-Fijian and Fijian children respectively, children may have little knowledge of these languages. Both languages have been imposed by force of circumstances because they are vehicles for literacy while Fiji Hindi and the other Fijian dialects are pre-literate. This research determines primary school language proficiencies specifically for Indo-Fijian children.

Australian Review of Applied Linguistics. Series S

As part of a research study on language maintenance and shift in the Indo-Fijian community in Wel... more As part of a research study on language maintenance and shift in the Indo-Fijian community in Wellington, New Zealand, a performance test was developed to assess the speaking and listening skills in Fiji Hindi of a sample of the Indo-Fijian teenagers. The design of the test needed to take account of the fact that Fiji Hindi is a preliterate vernacular language with no role in education and an ambivalent status within its own speech community. The test consisted of three main parts: a naturalistic conversation, two structured speaking tasks and a structured listening task. This paper focuses on some facets of the test administration, including the decision to administer it in the test-takers’ homes; the influence of various personal attributes of the interviewer; the ways of dealing with the lack of a script for Fiji Hindi; and the issue of live versus tape-based assessment of the test-takers’ performance. Both the test-takers and an independent rater provided feedback on the test th...

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 01434632 1994 9994580, Sep 14, 2010

International Journal of Educational Development, 2007

This paper looks at current practice in teaching multilingual Indo-Fijian children in eight Fiji ... more This paper looks at current practice in teaching multilingual Indo-Fijian children in eight Fiji primary schools. Indo-Fijians speak Fiji Hindi (FH) as their mother tongue, learn Shudh Hindi (SH) or Urdu, and English for formal and literacy purposes and use English and Fijian for interethnic communication. The current education policy states that children be taught in their mother tongue for the first 3 years of primary school before English becomes the medium of instruction. This practice was not apparent in the schools. In all 24 observed classrooms, English was the dominant language of instruction. There is an important need in Fiji for teacher training to address the issues around multilingual education so that teachers can confidently contribute to an educational system which maximises the use of Fiji's linguistic resources for the educational advancement of all sectors of the country's population. r

Language, Culture and Curriculum, 2004

... This current study was conducted to gauge attitudes of key players towards the languages that... more ... This current study was conducted to gauge attitudes of key players towards the languages that ... These attitudes may well shape the behaviour of students who are the next generation ... The pressures on the mother tongue from other languages in a multilingual environment are ...

Language Testing, 1998

... Wellington Indo-Fijians Nikhat Shameem University of Auckland ... Address for correspondence:... more ... Wellington Indo-Fijians Nikhat Shameem University of Auckland ... Address for correspondence: Dr Nikhat Shameem, Institute of Language Teaching and Learn-ing, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand; e-mail: n.shameemauckland.ac.nz ...

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1994

... Nikhat Shameem English Language Institute, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wel... more ... Nikhat Shameem English Language Institute, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand ... 0143-4632/94/05/0399-20$10.00/0 © 1994 N. Shameem JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT Vol. 15, No. 5, 1994 399 ...

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2002

... FH has been termed a koine (Moag, 1979; Siegel, 1993) but more recently it has been argued th... more ... FH has been termed a koine (Moag, 1979; Siegel, 1993) but more recently it has been argued that it be recognised as a language in its own right (Shameem, 1995). ... After Class 3, the vernacu-lars are meant to be taught as subjects in most schools. ...

Journal of Intercultural Studies, 2002

This paper reports on language use patterns in eight primary schools in Fiji. It looks specifical... more This paper reports on language use patterns in eight primary schools in Fiji. It looks specifically at the schism between policy and practice in vernacular language use in the classroom for Indo-Fijians, who form nearly half of Fiji’s population. Forty-eight Indo-Fijian children and their teachers were observed in multi- and mono-ethnic (Indo- Fijian) schools and in city, small town and rural schools. Indo-Fijians know Fiji Hindi as their mother tongue, English as the lingua franca and official language, learn Shudh Hindi/Urdu (SH/Urdu) at school and pick up Fijian from their neighbours and friends. SH/Urdu is the educationally acceptable mother tongue for use as the ‘vernacular’ language of instruction in the first 3 years of primary school. Indo-Fijians have limited proficiency in this language. The study looked at how each language was used in the classroom and for which functions as well as current student proficiencies in each language.

Fiji Hindi, a heritage language of Fiji. In C. Seals & S. Shah (Eds). Heritage Language Policies around the World. Oxford: Routledge., 2018

This chapter discusses the adhoc development of Fiji’s informal language policies, especially in ... more This chapter discusses the adhoc development of Fiji’s informal language policies, especially in education, in this complex plurilingual environment. It identifies the language proficiency, use and attitudes among FH speakers in Fiji to demonstrate how a girmit heritage language such as FH is faring more than 100 years after indenture was abolished. Perhaps the strongest contributing factor in the recent rise in status and use of FH has been its support through social media, which is now at the forefront of an inadvertent Indo-Fijian culture and language revival among Indo-Fijians in Fiji and in the diaspora.

Language Education and Diversity Conference Proceedings, Waikato University 2005, 2005

Directions. Journal of Educational Studies. University of the South Pacific, 2022

Multilingual Proficiencies in Fiji Primary Schools, 2002

Journal of the Applied Linguistics Association of New Zealand, 2006

In M. Hobbs (Ed.) Autonomous Learning- here and there, here and now. Proceedings from the UNITEC Autonomous Learning Symposium 2-3rd May 2002. UNITEC, 2002

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2002

Multilingualism implies the use of two or more languages by a society, community, family, or indi... more Multilingualism implies the use of two or more languages by a society, community, family, or individual to fulfil certain purposes. This study determined language proficiency among multilingual Indo-Fijian primary school children who have the languages, Fiji Hindi, Standard Hindi, Urdu, English, Fijian and Fiji English in their speech repertoire. Policy states that Fiji has a transitional education system with English replacing the mother tongue as the medium of instruction from Class 3 (age 8–9). However, while Standard Hindi and the Bauan Fijian dialects have been designated as the vernacular languages of Indo-Fijian and Fijian children respectively, children may have little knowledge of these languages. Both languages have been imposed by force of circumstances because they are vehicles for literacy while Fiji Hindi and the other Fijian dialects are pre-literate. This research determines primary school language proficiencies specifically for Indo-Fijian children.

Australian Review of Applied Linguistics. Series S

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 01434632 1994 9994580, Sep 14, 2010

International Journal of Educational Development, 2007

Language, Culture and Curriculum, 2004

Language Testing, 1998

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1994

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2002

Journal of Intercultural Studies, 2002

Fiji Hindi, a heritage language of Fiji. In C. Seals & S. Shah (Eds). Heritage Language Policies around the World. Oxford: Routledge., 2018

This report is in three main parts. First of all it surveys the literature related to community l... more This report is in three main parts. First of all it surveys the literature related to community language studies. It defines the key terms used in discussions on this subject, and traces what can happen to minority communities and languages in immigrant situations. It addresses the question, Why maintain languages and cultures? then looks at the nature of bi and multilingualism and lists the factors which contribute to additive and subtractive bilingualism. Next, I look specifically at the NZ situation and discuss the current available data on language maintenance in Asian, European and Pacific Island immigrant communities. Although NZ is a refugee accepting country, so far, no studies have been conducted in NZ on language maintenance of refugee and African languages up until the present time. I also look at the current policy and provisions for multi-lingual education in NZ and compare this with policy and provisions in two other Western countries, Australia, and Canada, which have been reasonably supportive of their immigrant populations in recent decades.

Second, I discuss the methodology used in this survey, list the research questions, and look at the drawbacks and strengths of using postal questionnaires. I identify the participants and discuss the human ethics requirements of the survey, which influenced the number of returns received in the survey.

Finally, I present the results of the survey and determine whether the immigrant community leaders, teachers, and recipients of community language instruction desire training for their teachers and why, the nature of training desired in terms of time and instruction and the subject areas that would need to be covered for this training provision to be useful for all stakeholders. I also list a range of organisations in Aotearoa that survey participants have indicated offer funding and support to language schools and classes in the hope that other small schools may also be able to tap into this resource for help and support.

Heritage Language Policies Around the World, 2018

Introduction Fiji Hindi (FH), which developed as a result of plantation contact during the indent... more Introduction
Fiji Hindi (FH), which developed as a result of plantation contact during the indenture period (1870–1920), is identifi ed by about 37.5% of Fiji’s total population and by a considerable diasporic Indo-Fijian population as their mother tongue ( Fiji Bureau of Statistics, 2007 ; Mangubhai & Mugler, 2006 , p. 97). Although this speech community perceives FH as its heritage language, an identifiable generic term has never been adopted to describe this or any other heritage language in Fiji. 1 FH is the language of girmitya descendants – indentured laborers brought to Fiji by the British to work on sugar and cotton plantations from 1870 to 1920.
The absence of a label for heritage languages is not unique to Fiji. The definition changes from place to place, differing with community power, language proficiency, and individual heritage (see Fishman, 2001 ). Hornberger and Wang (2008) define heritage language users as individuals with familial or ancestral ties to a language other than English who exercise their agency in classifying themselves as users of a heritage language. They state that this determines how these individuals negotiate their identity with other dominant cultures and standard languages they come into contact with ( Hornberger & Wang, 2008 , p. 6). The critical aspect of this definition requires self-selective membership of the heritage
language community. Differing definitions of heritage languages, when incorporated into policy, affect who takes responsibility for their inclusion in all spheres of life and the resources needed for their maintenance and transmission – the government, the educational system, the communities, or individuals themselves. Indo-Fijians, who learn their heritage language FH at home, have only interpersonal listening and speaking skills in FH, which is a preliterate language. FH is not taught at school. In 1987, Indo-Fijians were at the brunt of a racially motivated military coup, which saw large numbers emigrate to the diaspora in the following two decades. Very little state support has been extended to maintain or extend the use
of FH as anything other than a conversational preliterate language.

Language Learning and Teaching as Social Inter-Action, 2007