Te reo Māori class in Te Puke proves to be a winner

Toi Ohomai's Te Puke based Te Pokaitahi Reo Maori (Reo Rua) (Kaupae 2) NZ Certificate in Te Reo Maori (Level 2) class was held over Zoom during lockdown.

This year, for the first time, Toi Ohomai has held te reo Māori classes in Te Puke.

Matua (tutor) Kiharoa Milroy says the class, Te Pōkaitahi Reo Māori (Reo Rua) (Kaupae 2) (NZ Certificate in Te Reo Māori Level 2), is aimed at anyone who wants to learn. He says he is pleased there were enough people to make it worthwhile running the class. He also takes a level 3 class in Maketū.

''It's got to a point that I've stopped thinking why it's important to learn, and I'm just excited that people want to learn,'' he says.

For many reasons te reo Māori is becoming more popular.

''There's a lot of people coming out of school with te reo and so it's becoming a lot more prevalent everywhere, in the workspace, in the community, everywhere and I think what we are going to see very soon is a big spike in people who are comfortable to speak te reo.''

He says there are more than just the benefits of understanding the language.

''I always feel like it's cool when people come and learn te reo because when they get a grasp of it or get a little bit of understanding, what I've noticed in all my students is, when they find themselves in a Māori setting, they get really excited because they're no longer just on the sidelines waiting for it all to be over, they can actually understand what's being said or what's going on.''

Kiharoa also teaches classes in Tauranga and says about 80-90 per cent of his students are non-Māori.

''A lot of people have children in kohanga reo, have children who are part Māori or are attending te reo classes at school, and so they want to be able to communicate with their kids or their mokopuna.

''I've got quite a few students who are in that sort of role and then I get a lot who are in the professional learning and development sector who are doing it for work, or volunteers who do a lot of work with iwi relations and they are looking to upskill themselves.
Whatever the reason, it's a good thing.''

As someone who grew up with te reo Māori, Kiharoa says he would encourage people to learn.

''Then when they come across a reo context or anybody speaking te reo in the community, they can engage with it and it can be really exciting.''

We asked some of Kiharoa's students why they chose to learn te reo Māori:

Jenny Wotten: Having spent my early years in Australia, I didn't even have the basic te reo that most people have who grew up here. My children learnt some basic te reo at school but I had no te reo words. And I constantly mispronounced the Māori language so I needed help. Also, I love words, language and learning how our words derive from languages across the world. I wanted to learn about the Māori language and to work out the word derivations and similarities with other languages. It has been very intriguing and I've loved hearing about the Māori culture, traditions and legends.

Lesley Schwass: My daughter and son-in-law's children speak te reo Māori at home and so to understand what they are saying and to be able to have conversations with them in te reo. My son-in-law is encouraging his children to speak te reo Māori at home and my daughter's getting quiet fluent. I like reading to the grandkids and if I want to read a te reo Māori book, I want to be able to pronounce things correctly. I also wanted to be respectful to all my Māori friends and pronounce things correctly. As a physiotherapist I think it's important for all health professionals to know some basic Māori language and it helps with clients and protocols.

Colleen Pye: There is a whole heap of reasons I decided to do it, but I guess the main one was because I do a lot of things in the community now and I don't want to embarrass myself by doing the wrong thing or use the wrong etiquette greeting people, but not doing it correctly. Now I can great people and tell them a little bit about my whakapapa. I think the part that has been the most rewarding for me is the appreciation of the language and the significance of the language to the Māori people themselves.

Haruka Day: I am Japanese and have been here for 18 years. I'm a tour guide in Rotorua and used to be Queenstown too, and I look after international students at Te Puke High School. I have time to study Māori as there are not as many students or tour guide work. In the future maybe when Japanese travel comes back I would be able to talk more about Māori history and also Māori language.

Hayley Vickers: I lost my mum last year and she's Māori and my auntie (Mary Mason) is doing the course as well. They had always talked about it as sisters, to learn, because growing up they weren't allowed to learn te reo. Mum got sick and ended up not being able to do what she wanted in her retirement, so when she passed I decided, I'm going to try and figure it out and the course came up and I asked my auntie and said 'shall we do it on her behalf'? So it was because of my mum's inspiration. From the beginning it's been probably one of the most important things I have done for myself this year. I stood up at mum's unveiling and actually gave a bit of a kōrero - and that was a really proud moment.

Toi Ohomai is hoping to run courses in Te Puke and Maketū next year. People can now enrol online via the Toi Ohomai website or phone 0800 864646 for more enrolment information and support.