Ākina te reo – Give te reo Māori a go!

Whakanuia Te Wiki o te Reo Māori – Celebrate Māori Language Week runs from 4–10 July.

Since Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2014, the Māori Language Commission has helped to develop 50 simple phrases in te reo to encourage everyday use of this special language.

Last year these phrases related to caregiving, children and whānau, and included typical expressions and words on this theme.

This year the theme for the week is Ākina te reo – Give te reo Māori a go!

The key message is about encouraging people to use te reo Māori to show support, particularly for athletes and including those heading to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. However, the phrases can of course be happily applied to many other contexts, such as at home and in workplaces and classrooms.

As education professionals you can play an important role in encouraging respect for te reo Māori and being a role model for ‘giving it a go’.

Supporting Te Reo in early childhood settings

New Zealand Tertiary College (NZTC) is an early childhood teacher education provider that has recently launched a te reo Māori teaching and learning resource for the early childhood sector.

NZTC will gift a copy of this resource to early childhood centres and kindergartens throughout New Zealand in 2016, as well as to their current and graduating students.

The development of Te Reo Māori: He taonga mō ā tātou mokopuna began a number of years ago.

NZTC says it has a strong commitment to weaving te reo Māori through the teaching and learning in early childhood education in more natural and everyday ways.

“Our students were nervous to try teaching and learning te reo so we have established a resource to support them in the beginning steps to using the language in everyday, practical, real ways,” says NZTC Chief Executive Selena Fox.

Spurred by Roimata Rokx, NZTC lecturer (Kaiarahi – Teaching and Learning Support), the initial drafts were a compilation of Rokx’s Māori language learning resources created for the college.

NZTC’s design, communication, teaching and administrative specialists worked together on the 118-page colour resource that features basic learning, such as numbers and colours, as well as additional ideas and practices that can be used to promote and assist te reo Māori learning alongside children.

It was proofread by an external reviewer accredited by the Māori Language Commission and endorsed by Dr Te Tuhi Robust (Associate Professor and Director of Operations (Northland) for Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi) to ensure it aligned with not only the Māori language, but also Māori cultural beliefs and values.

As part of NZTC’s commitment to biculturalism and bilingualism it plans to gift a copy of the resource to early childhood centres and kindergartens throughout New Zealand, with a researched support plan for early childhood teachers on how to best utilise the resource within their centres.

Resources for schools

From the week starting 27 June, resource packs were delivered to all English medium schools, to help them, their Boards of Trustees, and their community to ‘ākina te reo – give te reo Māori a go!’

These packs, designed by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) include a calendar, posters, bilingual flash cards and fun phrases to learn.

The Ministry of Education is committed to providing a range of resources to enhance quality teaching and learning in support of Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te Ako i Te Reo Māori – Kura Auraki Curriculum Guidelines for Teaching and Learning Te Reo Māori in English-medium Schools: Years 1-13.

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori no longer produces hard copy resources for schools but anyone can download everything from their website www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz.

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is an important and fun opportunity to celebrate and learn te reo Māori. In doing so you are helping to secure its future as a living, dynamic and rich language.

Try a new phrase each week – starting in Māori Language Week