General
Learning a language takes time and repetition. We want to support everyone to go as far as they want to go with te reo Māori, so we have started to collate some resources.
There are some fabulous lists that others have worked on. We recommend:
Pronunciation – Te Whakahua Kupu kia tika
Te Reo Māori is a phonetic language, so your first focus should be on learning pronunciation. Make sure to notice macrons (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) because they change the pronunciation of a word.
If the YouTube videos play too fast to be helpful, remember you can slow them down by clicking on the cog and changing the playback speed.
Check your pronunciation of consonants and vowels at Pūrārangi Māori.
Nourishing Te Reo Māori in our schools from CORE Education Digital Media on Vimeo.
Janelle Riki-Waaka talks about te reo Māori as a taonga for all kiwis and the obligation of educators to gain proficiency and nourish this official language of Aotearoa.
Dictionaries – Ngā Papakupu
Te Taura Whiri – The Māori Language Commission at tetaurawhiri.govt.nz are responsible for the development of new language and should be a first port of call when looking for information on learning te reo Māori.
They collaborate in the authoring of mahurumaori.com learning resources for Mahuru Māori.
thetereomaoriclassroom.co.nz – a fabulous blog run by a passionate advocate for te reo Māori.
ECE booklet (PDF) – a collection of phrases that are helpful in the early childhood context.
Māori Dictionary – maoridictionary.co.nz, originally authored by John Moorfield.
He Pātaka Kupu – an online dictionary released by Te Taura Whiri.
Pae Kupu – curriculum specific vocabulary for literacy, numeracy, the arts and science.
There are sources of specialist vocabulary online, such as Karaitiana Taiuru’s Dictionary of Māori Computer and Social Media Terms .
Te Reo Hāpai – The Language of Enrichment – a glossary for use in the mental health, addiction and disability sectors: tereohapai.nz.
Trident High School worked with Te Taura Whiri to develop Technology word lists for Food Tech, Textiles and Tools .
Ngā Akoranga – Courses (Online)
Correspondence School's online introductory te reo Māori course
Tauihu interactives – basic sentence structures, parts of the body, days and months. Note: authored in Flash; currently only the executable download for te tinana is functional.
Other courses
There are many high-quality face-to-face and blended courses. Cybersoul recommends:
Apps and stories – Ngā taupānga me ngā paki
Leonie Hayden shares where to find heaps of te reo Māori resources online: thespinoff.co.nz/atea/27-09-2021/where-to-find-heaps-of-online-te-reo-maori-resources .
Te Reo Māori.co.nz collates resources for learners from beginners to experts: reomaori.co.nz/other-resources.
A comprehensive listing and review of te reo Māori apps (free and paid).
A 2019 NZ Herald article covers four clever te reo Māori apps: nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12266048
Kiwa Digital’s Reo Puzzle Games – all free and great for children: reopuzzles.com.
Pāpapa offers very cute (piwari) apps supporting te reo Māori.
Kauwhata Reo contains a wide range of te reo Māori readers with search by atua, curriculum area or age level: kauwhatareo.govt.nz/en/.
Pepeha – Place-based connection
Pepeha is about identity. It is important to understand the framework and how you share your pepeha with different groups, because it is about making connections with the people you are meeting.
Be careful with options that ask you to just fill in the blanks; ask yourself what those blanks mean.
A focus on pepeha to support learning about waka and migration at NZ History.
Listening and apps
Start by listening to Tame Iti speak of identity and the connections between identity and mana in this TED Talk.
Videos and songs – Ngā rīpene me ngā waiata
Māori TV On Demand – over 961 language learning episodes: maoritelevision.com/tv/on-demand?category=13
Watch kapa haka, drama, documentaries and more in te reo Māori. If specific episodes are hard to find, try etv.org.nz (log in with your institution credentials).
Tākaro Tribe – an animated series about five patupaiarehe in the Wao Arapū, with episodes in te reo Māori and bilingually.
NZ Folksong – waiata with music, translation and background: folksong.org.nz/waiata.html .
Te Reo Singalong – songs in Māori and NZSL with English subtitle options, based on Sharon Holt’s picture book series.
Also see the online series introducing a range of te reo singalong books: tereosingalong.my.intuto.com/course/view/75924 .
And TuriTV: turitv.ezystream.com/#/ – sign language material, some also available in te reo Māori.
Some Research – Ētahi Rangahau
How being bilingual rewires your brain – World Economic Forum
ReoBot: the AI-powered chatbot that will help you speak te reo Māori – Idealog
Te Reo Māori ka rere: ‘Talknology’ and Māori language as a language of choice
Karaitiana Taiuru – tikanga Māori considerations with digital apps , and his work on Māori cultural considerations with artificial intelligence and robotics.