Tongan L7: Example 3
Example 3: Polyfest every two years?
Kalolaine — Malō e lelei kau fanongo kae ‘atā ke tau pōtalanoa ‘i he kaveinga. ‘Oku totonu ke fakahoko fakata ‘u ua ‘a e fe ‘auhi faiva ‘a e ngaahi ako´. Ben, malō ho ‘o lelei. Ko e hā ho ‘o lau ki he kaveinga´ ni?
Ben — Malō e lelei Kalolaine. ‘Oku ou poupou au ke fai fakata ‘u ua koe ‘uhi´ he ‘oku lahi ange ‘a e taimi ako faiva he Teemi 1´, ‘i he ‘eku tokanga ki he ako´.
Kalolaine — He ko e hā e lahi e taimi ako faiva´ Ben?
Ben — ‘Oku toki fai pe ia he tuku ‘a e ako he houa ‘e 1 pe 2 ka ‘oku ‘ikai keu lava au ‘o tokanga ki he ako´ he ‘oku ou fakakaukau pe au ke fei mo tuku ‘a e ako´ kau ‘alu ‘o fiefia he ako faiva´.
Kalolaine — Ko koe pē Ben ‘oku pehē pe ‘oku fai pehē mo e tamaiki kehe´?
Ben — ‘Oku tokolahi ‘a e tamaiki ‘oku fai pehē.
Kalolaine — Malō ‘aupito e vahevahe mai´ Ben ka tau fanongo kia Jane. Ko e hā ha ‘o lau ‘au Jane?
Jane — Malō e lelei Kalolaine, ‘oku ou sai ‘ia ke fai pē he ta ‘u kotoa. ‘Oku mahu ‘inga ke tau ‘ilo ki he ‘etau faiva´ he ko ‘etau koloa tukufakaholo, pea ‘oku mo ‘oni e lau ‘a e kau fakatotolo´, ka tuku´ ‘e ‘i ai e fānau ia ‘e vale he faiva fakaTonga´ pea ngalingali ko e kamata ia ‘ene mole´.
Kalolaine — Jane, ko e hā ‘a e faiva kuo ke poto ai´?
Jane — ‘Oku ou poto he ma ‘ulu ‘ulu´, sōkē´ mo e lakalaka´. Pea ‘oku sai mo ‘eku lea fakaTonga´ he ‘oku mau lea fakaTonga he lolotonga ‘a e ako faiva´.
Kalolaine — Malō e tā mai Jane. Fakamalō atu ki he ngaahi ‘uhinga lelei kuo tau fanongo ki ai mei he ‘etau fanau´. Malō ‘aupito ho ‘omou me ‘a mai’, ka mou me ‘a ā.
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Context and text type
A radio talkback show. The host, a native speaker of Tongan, invites learners of Tongan to share their views on the topic, 'the ASB POLYFEST should be held every two years'. Ben and Jane provide their views.
Text type
Structured interview. Interactive.
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Examples showing how the students are:
Communicating information, ideas, and opinions through increasingly extended and varied texts
Ben and Jane present their views on the topic:
- ‘Oku totonu ke fai fakata ‘u ua … ‘oku ou sai ‘ia au, ‘oku ou poto au.
Jane expresses her views and supports them with reasons; for example:
- ‘oku ou sai ‘ia ke fai pē he ta ‘u kotoa. ‘Oku mahu ‘inga ke tau ‘ilo ki he ‘etau faiva´ ko ‘etau koloa tukufakaholo.
The host expresses her appreciation to callers for their views and the reasons they have provided to justify their views:
- Fakamalō atu ki he ngaahi ‘uhinga lelei kuo tau fanongo ki ai mei he ‘etau fanau´.
The speakers mostly use the simple present tense, for example:
- ‘oku ou, ‘oku totonu, ‘oku sai pe, ‘oku mau … fakamalō atu … as is appropriate when sharing views on a live show.
The text illustrates the use of singular and plural possessive pronouns:
- Ou, au, tau, ho ‘omou, he ‘etau, mou, ‘eku, ho ‘o, he ‘eku, ‘etau.
Sentences vary in structure. Some are simple, as in the greeting:
But when the callers are expressing opinions, they use extended sentences. For example:
- ‘Oku mahu ‘inga ke tau ‘ilo ki he ‘etau faiva´ he ko ‘etau koloa tukufakaholo, pea ‘oku mo ‘oni e lau ‘a e kau fakatotolo, ka tuku ‘e ‘i ai e fanau ia ‘e vale he faiva fakaTonga’ pea ngalingali ko e kamata ia ‘ene mole.
Beginning to explore the views of others
When asked to elaborate whether other students are also affected, Ben implies that other students share his view:
- ‘Oku tokolahi ‘a e tamaiki ‘oku fai pehē?
Jane evaluates views expressed by some researchers; for example:
- pea ‘oku mo ‘oni e lau ‘a e kau fakatotolo´, ka tuku ‘e ‘i ai e fanau ia ‘e vale he faiva fakaTonga´ pea ngalingali ko e kamata ia ‘ene mole´.
Beginning to develop and share personal perspectives
Ben explains why he supports a biennial Polyfest:
- ‘Oku ou poupou au ke fai fakata ‘u ua. Ko e ‘uhinga he ‘oku lahi ange ‘a e taimi ako faiva he Teemi 1 …
Jane responds by talking about how her view is shared by others:
- … Ka tuku ‘e ‘i ai e fānau ia ‘e vale he faiva faka-Tonga …
Beginning to justify own ideas and opinions
Ben justifies his opinion that Polyfest should be biennial:
- ‘Oku ou poupou au ke fai fakata ‘u ua, koe ‘uhi´ he ‘oku lahi ange ‘a e taimi ako faiva he Teemi 1, ‘i he ‘eku tokanga ki he ako´.
Jane supports her viewpoint with a reason:
- ‘Oku mahu ‘inga ke tau ‘ilo ki he ‘etau faiva´ he ko ‘etau koloa tukufakaholo.
Beginning to support or challenge the ideas and opinions of others
Ben argues for a particular course of action:
- ‘Oku ou poupou au ke fai fakata ‘u ua koe ‘uhi he ‘oku lahi ange ‘a e taimi ako faiva he Teemi 1, ‘i he ‘eku tokanga ki he ako.
Ben reports his evaluation of other students’ reactions:
- ‘Oku tokolahi ‘a e tamaiki ‘oku fai pehē.
Beginning to engage in sustained interactions and produce extended texts
The speakers use connectives to join phrases and clauses, for example:
- Koe ‘uhi, ka, mo e, pea, he.
The callers greet the host and chat about their viewpoints. For example:
- … kae ‘atā ke tau pōtalanoa ‘i he kaveinga; Ko e hā ho ‘o lau ki he kaveinga ni? Ko koe pē Ben ‘oku pehē pe ‘oku fai pehē mo e tamaiki kehe´.
Interpreting ways in which the target language is organised in different texts and for different purposes
The callers and talkback host, Kalolaine, observe greeting protocols at the beginning of their conversation; for example:
Formulaic expressions are used to greet others and begin the show:
- Mālō e lelei kau fanongo kae ‘atā ke tau pōtalanoa ‘i he kaveinga.
Kalolaine concludes the show with a formulaic expression:
- Malō ‘aupito ho ‘omou me ‘a mai, ka mou me ‘a ā.
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Opportunities for developing intercultural communicative competence
Organise the nearest Tongan radio station to host a talkback show on a specified topic for your students to participate in.
What topic would your students choose?
What language and cultural knowledge would they need to demonstrate to communicate their views effectively?
What level of language would they use?
What resources would they need? For example, they could research the topic prior to the talkback session by interviewing a speaker of the language who has knowledge of the topic, getting information from newspaper articles, television news, statistics, etc.
Students could compare talkback shows in other languages and cultures.
Students could explore whether Polyfest (or other cultural festival) should be an annual or biennial event. They could then present and justify their views in a range of text types (oral, written, visual).
Last updated January 16, 2013
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