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
Curriculum guidelines 521 PDF (PDF, 4 MB)
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Te whakamahi i te reo Māori i roto i ngā mahi whakaako
Using te reo Māori in teaching
Students make rapid progress in te reo Māori when immersed in a language-rich environment. Teachers are encouraged to use te reo Māori as the language of classroom instruction. This reinforces the communicative purpose of language and provides multiple opportunities for students to learn pronunciation and basic sentence patterns. Students will soon understand the essence of new language even if they don’t understand each of the words or structures within it. There is no need to provide an English translation for each instruction given in te reo Māori.
Teachers will keep to a fairly limited repertoire with beginner learners. Simple expressions such as the following can be used throughout the school day: Āe (Yes); Kāore (No); Kia pēnei (Like this); Kaua e pēnā (Not like that); Kei te pai (Good); Tino pai (Very good); Ka pai tō mahi (Good work); Kia kaha (Try hard); Kua mutu? (Finished?). Teachers are encouraged to use the appropriate expressions in the local dialect. As students’ competence increases, teachers can adjust the complexity of the language they use, seeking as many opportunities as possible to reinforce new language within genuine communicative interactions.
As well as using te reo Māori in classroom interactions, teachers of students in years 1–8 can expose themselves and their students to the language throughout the day. They can do this through the resources they use (for example, books, music, and posters) and through the learning experiences they design (for example, units on Māori visual culture or the world of Tāne Māhuta). Secondary schools can also find ways to reinforce students’ learning by using te reo Māori in school communications and by seeking opportunities to link the reo Māori programme to other learning areas in the school curriculum. Both primary and secondary schools can set up self-access centres where students can access te reo Māori resources independently.
