Stories of personal journeys and struggles to learn and nurture te reo Māori are now online and in a free downloadable book from Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood NZ.
“Our pouako | lecturers and cultural advisors have shared their own stories to encourage and support others on their own te reo journeys,” says Arapera Card, Pouhere Kaupapa Māori | Senior Advisor Māori for Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood NZ.
“We want to encourage te reo Māori to be spoken in a natural and spontaneous way,” Arapera Card says. “We want people to be unafraid to make mistakes, to try to use te reo Māori whenever they can, and to engage with te reo Māori in all environments.”
The pouako stories are on the Te Rito Maioha website and in the free downloadable book Tōku Anō Reo Māori: My Very Own Language.
“The common thread is a love of te reo Māori and a strong desire to maintain the mana of te reo Māori and ensure its survival as a treasure now and for future generations.”
Te Rito Maioha has a strong bicultural kaupapa as an advocate for early childhood education and a specialist tertiary education provider for early childhood and primary teachers.
To mark Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2022, Te Rito Maioha is also offering its entry level te reo course for kaiako | teachers, He Pataka Reo Stage 1, free of charge to those who sign up online during September.
Tōku reo, Tōku ohooho, Tōku reo, Tōku māpihi maurea
My language is my awakening, my language is the window to my soul