Online language learning

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tereo online

I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my te reo Māori learning this year. The importance of learning te reo Māori has been discussed in previous CORE blogs by Wawaro Te Whaiti and Rochelle Savage. Key ideas mentioned in these blogs are the benefits for your first language and future language learning.

This year, I have had the pleasure of co-facilitating CORE Education’s te reo Māori courses: Te Reo Puāwai Māori and Te Manahua Māori. These courses are aimed at beginner level speakers of te reo Māori, with both courses spanning 10 weeks and involving a blended approach to learning te reo Māori. Here are some of my reflections.

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Adding tohutō (macrons) on devices for te reo Māori

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macrons

Tohutō (macrons) are the lines you see above vowels in te reo Māori. Macrons are important for the correct elongated pronunciation of the vowel and if they are not used correctly, or at all, may alter the meaning of the word.

These CORE Education podcasts from Nichole Gully and Te Mihinga Komene discusses the use and importance of tohutō. Some key points from the podcasts include:

  • to make the reading of te reo Māori much easier
  • it is not good practice to mix tohutō and the use of double vowels – it affects the grades given in external examinations of te reo Māori
  • cross referencing dictionaries to get the accurate placement of tohutō

As mentioned in the podcasts, the importance of consistency of tohutō in relation to Ministry of Education guidelines around tohutō and the direct link to te reo Māori assessment, it is important for schools and learners to be prepared for this. As digital technologies are used more often in classrooms and external examinations, are your devices enabled for tohutō?

2020 Digital Technologies in Schools surveys

The 2020 Digital Technologies (ICT) in Schools Report presented findings and information from surveys about the use of digital technologies in schools. Participating principals were asked if the software in their schools supported the use of tohutō in te reo Māori. 47% of principals said that their school’s software supported tohutō use.

When I reflect on the podcasts and this report, a few questions come to mind:

  • What standard are we trying to set?
  • How do we support schools and learners to enable macrons on their devices?

Adding tohutō to devices

Here is how to add a tohutō on a range of devices.

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He whetū mārama i te mata o te whenua!

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A shining star on Earth!

Dawson TamateaHe aha rā tēnei hanga?
E puta nei te taniwhā kokoti ora i tōna rua
E kume nei i te tangata, e kati nei i te hā, e huti nei i te aho ki te ao tūroa, e kai wawe nei i te tangata e!
He aha tāna e mahue nei?
He ohorere, he rangirua, he taumaha kei taku ngākau e!
He hae kino, he ngau kino, he kai kino e kawa nei ki te waha!
Ko te kawa nā Hine-nui-te-pō, nā Māui Pōtiki e,
Hikohiko te uira, papā te whaititiri, he kanapu ki te rangi, ko koe rā tēnei kua riro e…!

He kupu iti ēnei i pupū ake i roto i te whatu manawa i te rironga wawe o tētahi … arā, ko Dawson Tamatea.

E kīia ana, ko Hongongoi te wā o te mātao, o te tahutahu ahi kia rongo te tangata i te mahana! Heoi, i te 20 o Hongongoi ko te anu mātao tērā i pā ki tēnei tangata. Ko ia tēnā i kume i te mano tangata ki runga o Te Kupenga o te Mātauranga hei takotoranga whakamutunga mōna. Ko te whare tēnā i poipoi, i ako, nāna tonu i tautoko ki te hanga i ngā tau kia puta ia hei kaiako, hei kaihāpai, kaiārahi, hei kaituitui i te tangata i ngā tini kaupapa o te hapori o Te Papaioea.  Ka noho ko ia hei tahutahu i te tini mahara, i te tini kōrero kei te ngākau o tēnā o tēnā i tae ā-tinana atu, i hono ā-ipurangi atu ki te tuku i ngā kupu poroporoākī ki a ia!!  Nā reira e te rangatira, moe mai rā koe i te kōpū o Papatūānuku, takahia atu rā te ara whānui ki a Hine-nui-te-pō, whakangaro atu rā!! Rārangi maunga tū tonu, rārangi tangata ngaro noa!!

whareAs I contemplate a suitable and relevant topic for discussion, I am drawn to the passing of a very good friend, who was a well loved and respected figure within the Manawatū community, Dawson Tamatea. At the young age of 55, in the wee hours of Monday morning, 20th of July 2015, he was taken suddenly from his beautiful wife and three lovely tamariki. His passing reverberated across the nation, with multitudes ascending on Te Kupenga o Te Mātauranga Marae to pay their respects, to celebrate a life well lived, and to give Dawson one hell of a send off!

His passing was so surreal and tumultuous for my whānau and me that, three months later, having also lost three grand uncles, my thoughts turn towards Dawson. Dawson, incidentally, was a previous pouako of mine, a job that gave him much joy and pride, and ensured a career that spanned 30 years. He was a special person with talents galore. Although Dawson was an amazing teacher, when he spoke, I often felt he was possibly working in the wrong profession. His ability to entertain and manage a crowd was world class. My heart breaks again at the thought that his infectious smile and great sense of humour will no longer grace this world. These feelings of sorrow vibrated through me in my final speech at Dawson’s poroporoaki, a tribute of words that bubbled and emerged from within, stirring my emotions, and guiding me to deliver a very emotional and uplifting farewell speech. Yet, his influence continues to surround me, especially as I ponder the attributes, skills, and values necessary to be a quality and effective facilitator at CORE-Education, I think of the influence we are expected to have on our kura. We are developing skills, growing understanding, and engaging staff across Aotearoa with the intention to lift the achievement levels of our tamariki. Dawson absolutely lifted the achievement levels of our tamariki, I and many other Māori are an example of his contribution.

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In our past is our destiny

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MoerewaPhotograph by Shirley Williams (from Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand under CC License)

We are defined by our narratives, and our narratives can shape our way forward — to our future, and to our success. Helen Baker, Principal of Te Kura o Takaro, says,

“It’s not someone else’s story that we’ve captured. It’s our own story and that to me is where the strength of any Marau ā‐kura/Localised Curriculum is … that it is yours, it’s your school’s story, your people’s story … So that lives on … past any of us here and live in the hearts and minds of people which is where you really make change”  
(Baker Pakiwaitara-Marau 2013)

Helena Baker highlights our stories and emphasises that our history needs to be reflected in our Marau ā-Kura/Localised Curriculum, so that students can see their history, and their stories in their learning, and in their curriculum.

I would like to share with you, as an example, our story, and how it shapes our Marauā-Kura/Localised Curriculum.

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Uia mai koia whakahuatiake ko wai te tupuna e?

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Making iwi visible

PūkākīYou may ask, who is this ancestral figure standing before me? You may have recognised his face on the twenty-cent coin. Did you ever stop to think of the story behind this carved figure? Did you know he has a living whakapapa that flourishes today and was once revered for his fighting prowess and leadership? That his charisma is still as influential now as when he once walked the land?

Uia mai koia whakahuatiake ko wai te tupuna e?

Ko Pūkākī! His name is PŪKĀKĪ!

I gaze at him and I see my Nan. I look at him and I see my children. I touch him and I feel my mokopuna — those that are here now and those still to come. How can this be? Because he is one in a long line of tupuna I can exalt and lay claim to in my whakapapa. If there should be a hint of self-importance in proclaiming this, I confess it with undenied arrogance, and hope that all children of Māori descent can do the same with their tupuna. Why? Because not so long ago I was asked who was one of my heroes when I was at primary school, and sadly, all I could say was Christopher Columbus? Marco Polo? Auē!

They were some of the greatest explorers of all time when I was at school. We were told stories about their exploits, discoveries, and personal challenges. I did not know then that there were as many explorers and heroes in my Māori world of Te Arawa who could equal their heroism and self sacrifice. Navigators, architects, scientists, horticulturalists, builders, artists, and many charismatic leaders. Not surprisingly, there were just as many women as there were men. We had our own Queen Victorias, Queen Elizabeths, and Henry the Eighths!

As my tupuna were not exalted in the schoolbooks that I read, nor illuminated in the curriculum that served us, I did not realise my line of descent or its magnificence. We might have sung about some of our tupuna, but their stories were largely marginalised and invisible to us in class. A clear example: the Hauhau rebellion. I read, or maybe heard, that they were a band of armed rebels fighting against the government. In my head, Hauhau’s were rebels on the run. Hauhau’s were Māori. I was Māori. Being Māori was bad. I remember a sense of shame, but did not really know why. What I came to learn much later in life was the true reason for their rebellious actions.

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