Te reo Māori programme in Glenfield Mall brings language right into the community

Mel Davis and Raewyn Harrison teaching as part of the Te Reo Tuatahi Māori language programme, which is expanding to offer free te reo lessons in a North Shore mall. Photo / File

A te reo Māori in the malls programme launches tonight in a bid to further normalise and revitalise the language.

North Shore-based Māori education programme Te Reo Tuatahi has teamed up with Glenfield Mall to offer the programme, launching its first session at the mall tonight from 6-7pm.

"It is all part of the push to revitalise and normalise te reo Māori in all communities by doing what we can to make it accessible and available," co-ordinator Raewyn Harrison said.

The programme would offer free basic te reo lessons in the mall twice a week on a Monday and Friday at 11am for 30 minutes to the general public.

"Anyone shopping in the mall can pull up a chair with their coffee and partake in a quick lesson."

The programme would be on trial through September to gauge interest, but had already gained a lot of support, Harrison said.

Tonight's programme would include Glenfield College kapa haka group and several speakers, including actor Jennifer Ward-Lealand.

Te Reo Tuatahi has been delivering Māori classes to primary schools, mostly on Auckland's North Shore, for the past five years.

About 30 schools have signed up for the programme, which provides a base of one half-hour lesson per week to each classroom.

Teachers were also included in the lessons, and the kaiāwhina reo (language tutors) assisted the schools with tikanga, some even helping with kapa haka.