In the early 1970s many Māori people reasserted their identity as Māori and an emphasis was put on the language as an integral part of Māori culture. Māori were increasingly recognising the danger that our language would be lost if nothing was done. New groups with a commitment to strengthening Māori culture and language emerged and in 1975, and every year since, Aotearoa has marked Te Wiki o te Reo Māori as a time for all New Zealanders to celebrate te Reo Māori and to use more in everyday life.

In recent years, te Reo has undergone a resurgence in popularity with more people learning to speak the language. The number of people enrolled in Māori language courses at polytechnics, universities and wānanga has grown from just over 16,000 in 2014 to nearly 25,000 in 2018. Beginner level 1 and 2 classes have nearly doubled in that time, from 7,134 to 12,835, with the majority of growth only occurring in the past three years.

But it’s not just at learning institutions where you learn te Reo. Over the years there have been more and more te Reo resources becoming available and making it easier to learn and understand, and most of them are free, so let’s take a look at some of the ways you can keep learning long after Te Wiki o te Reo Māori has finished.

How to get involved

• Stuff have put together a range of short videos to celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori making it easy for anyone to understand.
• New Zealand History have two great resources where if you’re short on time you can learn A Māori word a day or learn 100 Māori words every New Zealander should know. These are easily laid out and have sound files included so you can practice the pronunciation.
• Tipu is an app designed by NRAIT Vice Chair Jeremy Banks’ business Plink Software. Tipu has many resources designed to help you learn te Reo. Download it here for Iphone https://apple.co/2lKVdqL or here for Android http://bit.ly/2lPDQ87
• Download these free interactive actions cards to get the tamariki involved and excited about learning te Reo.
• Prominent Māori broadcasters Scotty and Stacey Morrison have written six books on te Reo between them, all at varying levels so check these out if you’re looking to start learning te Reo: http://bit.ly/2kFVSth

We encourage all NRAIT owners to get involved this Māori Language Week, whether that’s through encouraging others to learn te Reo, sharing posters on social media or heading along to an event.

 'Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori' - 'Let's make the Māori language strong'