Duolingo app's te teo Māori course release pushed back

Duolingo is a popular app where users can learn many languages. Photo / 123rf

Duolingo's te reo Māori course won't be launched by the end of 2020 as initially planned.

In January, a spokesperson from the language learning app - one of the most popular in the world - said it expected to have a beginner-level course ready for public use by the year's end.

News of the language's planned inclusion on the app was widely welcomed by learners or learners-to-be.

But like many things in 2020, work on the course has not been immune from the pandemic.

A Duolingo spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, the teachers involved in developing the course have had to adjust to remote teaching, and had to put the course work on hold as a result.

"We don't yet have an updated target launch date, but hope to have a clearer idea on this at some point within the next few months."

Duolingo is a free platform which teaches the basics of the language, with specific segments on things like greetings, food, or transport.

It starts with simple phrases - for instance in French, le chat noir, the black cat, or in te reo Māori, te ngeru pango.

By the end of a course, people should have a basic understanding of a language.