1. TE REO MĀORI Te reo ake o Aotearoa - New Zealand’s Language
Ngahiwi Apanui, Tumuaki
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori
19 Whiringa-ā-nuku 2017

2. Ngā Upoko Kōrero
He mōtika nō tātou katoa - Te reo Māori a right of all New Zealanders
Mā te motu katoa e ora anō ai te reo - All New Zealanders are required to revitalise te reo Māori
Te wāhanga ki te rangahau
Te reo Māori as a core/compulsory subject
Te reo Māori hei whakawhenua i a tātou - a unifying force for Aotearoa New Zealand

3. Language Revitalisation
“the action of imbuing something with new life and vitality.”
Language revitalisation
“a fairly recent subfield of linguistics that is concerned with halting and reversing the extinction of languages.” (

4. Te reo Māori as a right
Te Tiriti o Waitangi secures the right of Māori to te reo Māori
Te Ture mō te Reo Māori 1987 & 2016 (the Act) secures the right of all New Zealanders to te reo Māori
The initial right to te reo comes from TOW. The crown actively guarantees te reo in article 1 and in article 2 guarantees undisturbed possession of taonga including te reo

5. Te reo Māori as a right
Section 3(2) of the Act affirms the status of the Māori language as:
the indigenous language of New Zealand
a taonga of iwi and Māori
a language valued by the nation, and
an official language of New Zealand
The Act also provides the means to support and revitalise te reo Māori

6. Te reo Māori as a right The Act:
Establishes Te Mātāwai to represent Māori
Establishes Te Whare o te Reo Mauriora – a partnership framework between Māori and the Crown
Changes the role of Te Taura Whiri to lead the implementation of the Maihi Karauna – the Crown’s Māori Language Strategy

7. Te reo Māori as a right
Te Mātāwai – focuses on revitalisation of te reo Māori in Māori communities
Te Taura Whiri focuses on revitalisation of te reo Māori in wider New Zealand – Government organisations and wider New Zealand society

8. There has been a steady decline in the percentage of speakers of te reo Māori since 2001.

9. NZ Attitudes and Values survey is a nationally representative longitudinal survey

10. NZ Attitudes and Values survey is a nationally representative longitudinal survey

11. Te reo Māori as a right Approximately 400 kōhanga reo
3% of Māori children attend kura/wharekura
5% attend total immersion
22% of the compulsory education student population have access to te reo at school
In the 1990s at one stage there were over 1,000 kohanga with 50% of Māori children enrolled – the number has almost been cut by two thirds. This has a knock-on effect to kura and total immersion i.e. less enrolments 3% and 5% - this is your main production line for Māori speakers of te reo Māori. At this rate the percentage of Māori who can speak te reo Māori will continue to decline maybe even till it more or less matches the percentage in kura and total immersion. You will also note that only 22% of children in schools have access to te reo Māori.

12. Te reo Māori today for tomorrow
Te Taura Whiri was established by the Māori Language Act 1987
Primary focus on Māori communities
Māori speaker numbers have fluctuated over that time
I eke panuku mātou?
Te Taura Whiri was asked to sell te reo to Māori communities – a group of people who had been told incessantly that te reo Māori was a waste of time and who were punished for speaking te reo at school. If a sales rep had a 20% success rate would that be acceptable?

13. Te reo Māori today for tomorrow
We require all New Zealanders to help revitalise te reo Māori – we can’t do it on our own.
Most te reo speaking Māori children regard te reo as the language of the marae or the kura (Poutū 2016).
We need to increase the numbers of Māori language domains (Hond 2017).
How about the whole of Aotearoa as a Māori language domain?
There is a simple truism – we need everyone to get on the waka o te reo Māori and join te whānau o te reo Māori – The Māori language family. Children learn te reo Māori but then return to english speaking homes or watch english speaking media on TV, online etc. The world around them is english speaking and it doesn’t support te reo Māori by omission. Experts speak of Māori language domains – why don’t we make the whole country a Māori speaking domain.

14. Te reo Māori today for tomorrow A national focus
Wider New Zealand: Government agencies, business, wider NZ population
Māori disconnected from their iwi

15. Te reo Māori today for tomorrow
Te wāhanga ki Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori:
Promotions
Communications – media management, press releases, earned media
Events – Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Ngā Tohu Reo Māori
Relationship management
Language planning, monitoring and evaluation
Research $1mil
Māori language services

17. Te reo Māori today for tomorrow
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2017 Key messages
Te reo Māori is for all New Zealanders – everyone has a role in revitalising te reo Māori
Te reo Māori is New Zealand’s language
Te reo Māori is fun
The community can make te reo Māori come alive by pronouncing Māori words properly, using more Māori words in everyday conversation and learning te reo Māori
Learning and speaking te reo Māori is a positive expression of our national identity

19. Te reo Māori today for tomorrow Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2017 Highlights
Te hīkoi whakanui i te reo Māori
Moana in te reo Māori
Wellington City Council announce commitment to be a bilingual city
Te reo is an election issue
Unprecedented national and international media coverage
Ambassadors: Jack Tame, Jennifer Ward-Lealand, Portia Woodman & Stacey Morrison
Spark ad He nui anō te iti
NZ Post’s te reo Māori stamp issue

21. The role of research
Research is vitally hugely important to the revitalisation of te reo Māori.
It provides evidence
It deepens understanding
It proves/disproves theories
It guides revitalisation efforts
Without research there is no foundation..
Children take what you teach them home. What you teach them becomes important to them and becomes a part of their world. If te reo is important to you it will be important to our children.

22. Research tells us
“Great speakers do not necessarily make great teachers.”
Teaching quality is variable
Pākehā reo students feel uncomfortable
Fear of offending/making mistakes
People remember how you make them feel
Children take what you teach them home. What you teach them becomes important to them and becomes a part of their world. If te reo is important to you it will be important to our children.

23. Research tells us “Good teachers create good speakers.”
Te reo Māori classes should be a safe space for learners, where
Manaakitanga, ako and kounga are key kaupapa
The delivery is learner focused
Resources meet the needs of the learners
Speakers of te reo support learners
Children take what you teach them home. What you teach them becomes important to them and becomes a part of their world. If te reo is important to you it will be important to our children.

24. Students learning te reo/Māori medium education 1 July 2016
279 schools with students enrolled in Māori medium
18,444 students in Māori medium education 2.3% of all students
97.8% were Māori
53.0% attended a school where all students were enrolled in Māori medium
161,000 students learning te reo in English medium

25. Primary schools 1 July 2016 1,951 primary schools 504,000 students
Average of approx. 60,000 students from years 1 – 8

26. Te reo Māori as a core/compulsory subject
Key issues:
Teacher numbers
Quality
Professional development
Curriculum
Roll-out
Ongoing support
Monitoring

27. Te reo as a force for unifying Aotearoa New Zealand
Te whānau o Te Reo Māori
Everyone who loves te reo is welcome
Is a place where we can show our love for te reo Māori
Where learners can make mistakes
Where no one is judged
Is located everywhere – at kōhanga, kindergarten, play centre, puna reo, kura, school, at home, in public, online, on TV – everywhere people love te reo Māori!

28. Future Success Indicators
- More non-Māori speak te reo Māori than Māori
Parliamentary debates in te reo Māori
The PM is fluent
Te reo Māori is used routinely in mainstream media
Te reo Māori is taught in all schools
A minority of New Zealanders don’t speak te reo Māori
Te reo Māori is no longer endangered!!!