Pacific literature in the mix

Written by Cherelle Jackson
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
A gathering of great minds in Pacific literature is currently taking place at the National University of Samoa. Images, ideologies and realities in Oceania is the theme of this years literature conference which has seen Professors, Authors, Academics and well known literary personalities arrive on our shores. The topics of the conference range from neo-colonial tourism practices, to localization of television advertising and yet another revisit to the Mead/Freeman debate. The South Pacific Association for Commonwealth Literatures and Language Studies (SPACLALS) officially began on Monday with an opening ceremony attended by regional participants and lecturers from NUS. Todays two sessions will be based on local literacy and an analysis of reading gabits of Foundation studies. Presented by Judy-Anne Alexander-Pouno, the paper ‘Literacy in the Fale’ explores the motivational role of the family structure. “The problem of literacy is one of growing international concern, It is no different in Samoa, and if left unchecked may have a severe negative impact on the next generation,” the abstract states. According to Pouono the paper goes to prove that selected family members of a fale (traditional Samoan family residence) can be trained to beging the learning process in oral and writing skills with young children both in English and Samoa. “In addition the matai who are responsible for family and village affairs, can be the facilitators of this sustainable project in their own families first,” she said. The model she proposes looks at expanding that impact to their designed districts and strengthening on methods of sharing and learning from each other in familiar settings. The last paper today is presented by Amituatnai Venetta Heem, Silafau Professor Sina Vaai, Kathleen Arp and Eteuati Koria. The presentation is a result of a survey and interview questionnaire. The abstract states: “It provided valuable insights about the reading readiness of students and reading age, raising awareness for staff and students about the actual and potential reading difficulties and the crucial role that reading plays in the achievement of success.” According to the team the results of the study will have implications for academic advising through course restructuring and teacher/student performance at all levels. The SPACLALS conference will end tomorrow. Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Email Title Comment
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 28 November 2007 )

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