Te Reo Māori

Te Reo Māori Learning Area

“Ko te reo te taikura o te whakaao mārama”

Language is the key to understanding

-Te Wharehuia Milroy

Te reo Māori is the key to understanding the Māori world. Te Reo Māori lays the foundation of communicative skills and cultural knowledge to enable students to be bilingual and bicultural with an appreciation and consideration of a Māori worldview.

In line with the government’s commitment to ensure that all New Zealanders have an opportunity to learn and speak te reo Māori as expressed in the Maihi Karauna, “Audacious Goal 2: By 2040, one million New Zealanders (or more) will have the ability and confidence to talk about at least basic things in te reo Māori", there is a strong emphasis on the acquisition and improvement of oral language competence in Te Reo Māori as a subject area.

Te Reo Māori is taught to a highly diverse group of students, in many different contexts, including Māori students who are taking the opportunity to reclaim their heritage language and culture and non-Māori beginning their journey into the Māori world that will strengthen the bicultural and bilingual fabric of Aotearoa New Zealand.