Language Lessons in te reo Maori

Te Kura Kaupapa Maori principal Hine Stanley. Photo/Stuart Munro

Reporter Anne-Marie Mcdonald talks to three Whanganui school principals, with three very different approaches to teaching te reo Maori

When Katherine Ellery took over as principal of Castlecliff School, about one-quarter of the school had a "decent amount" of te reo Maori.

Five years later, that number has increased to three-quarters.

The school has different levels of te reo, and parents can choose what level of te reo their children learn.

"When I started here we went out into the community and asked the families what they wanted in terms of te reo," Mrs Ellery said. "And it turned out that what they wanted was teachers teaching as Maori, and therefore the children would be learning as Maori.

But they didn't want full immersion in the language even though they wanted them immersed in the culture - so there's a bit of a paradox there."

Mrs Ellery said there was a clear message from the parents and whanau that they didn't want the school to be a te reo Maori immersion school.

"[The parents] said they wanted to be able to open their children's reports at the end of the year and see where they were sitting against National Standards. They still wanted their children reading and writing in English; and they didn't want their children reading and writing in te reo until they were achieving in English.

"Realistically, if you want full immersion te reo Maori education for your children in Castlecliff, we have two kura kaupapa (full immersion schools). So that's where you go."

Every child that starts at Castlecliff School at Year 1 has two years at a high level of te reo Maori. At the end of Year 2, parents choose whether they want their children to continue with that high level or move to a classroom with a lower level of te reo.

Mrs Ellery said each area of the school - classes are taught in teams, rather than individual classrooms - has at least one teacher or teacher aide who is fluent in te reo Maori.

"The difference between us and a kura is that we are developing children's use of te reo - we are not saving the language. We're a mainstream school that is delivering the national curriculum, with a huge emphasis on te reo Maori.

"Our kids walk in both worlds, and that fits in well with this community. We have a high percentage of Maori students but also many Pakeha students," Mrs Ellery said.

"the language is such a gift."

For staff and students at Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Tupoho, speaking, listening and writing in te reo Maori is a no-brainer.

The 150-student school, which takes students from Year 1 to 13, is a Maori immersion school, and all its teaching in every subject is done in te reo Maori.

And although the teachers come from all over New Zealand, teaching is done in the Whanganui mita, or dialect, making the language as local as possible.
Deputy principal Hine Stanley said there is an expectation that students beginning at the kura already have a high level of spoken Maori.

"Most children who enter our kura are ex-kohanga students. So they go to kohanga, then to kura, and at Year 9 the parents get to choose whether the children go into our wharekura (high school) or to a mainstream school."

For that reason, Pakeha students are very rare at the school: "But if a Pakeha student was fluent in te reo Maori, of course they would be welcome here. But that knowledge of te reo is very important," Ms Stanley said.

English is taught as a subject from Year 5 onwards, but every other subject is taught in te reo Maori.

"Our students are immersed in te reo. But not only te reo - also tikanga (customs), which is very important. So they're immersed in a lot of things like the oral history, moteatea (songs) and kapa haka," Ms Stanley said.

All students who go through the school are fluent in te reo Maori by the time they finish their schooling.

Ms Stanley said the students of Tupoho were "lucky" to learn the te reo Maori from such a young age - but many don't realise it.

"The language is such a gift. A lot of parents of our students don't speak Maori, but they want their children to have the opportunity of learning their language. Which is beautiful, really.

"I think many of the students maybe don't really appreciate te reo until they grow up and have children of their own."

Despite that, many of the students - especially the female students - go on to further study and successful careers where they use their fluency in Maori to good advantage.

Ms Stanley said there were a number of ex-pupils who went on to become teachers themselves - including some who had returned to teach at Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Tupoho.

"Maori students live largely in a non-Maori world, but many Pakeha children do not have that different perspective."

Carlton School principal Gaye O'Connor, pictured here on the right.

Carlton School, one of Whanganui's largest primary schools, with more than 300 pupils, is taking a different approach.

The school is designing its own te reo Maori curriculum under the leadership of principal Gaye O'Connor and te reo lead teacher Robin Ohia.

"We are reworking our entire curriculum so that te reo is integrated into all practices, and all children are exposed to the Maori world view and language," Ms O'Connor said.

The school and its board of trustees realised in 2008 that the school needed to do more to integrate te reo into their learning than merely doing small things such as kapa haka and writing school signs in English and Maori. The school population of more than 300 students is around 35 per cent Maori.

In 2016 the school employed Mr Ohia as its lead te reo Maori teacher to guide the school through the process of incorporating te reo into all its learning.

However, the school is not a full immersion school and is unlikely to be in the near future.
"We only have one other teacher who is fluent in te reo, so every fortnight Robin takes all the staff for a lesson in te reo. This is about the teachers learning as much as the children."

Mrs O'Connor said Mr Ohia had identified students in each class who had a higher level of the language than the rest of class. These student leaders also help the teachers with using te reo.

She said there is an emphasis on learning not just te reo, but also adapting traditional Whanganui customs and practices to be appropriate for a primary school.

"Not everything that is done on a marae can be done at a school, but we are developing those that can be."

Students start at Year 1 learning very simple things, such as greetings in te reo Maori. As they progress through the school they learn more Maori language and customs. Senior students leave Carlton School able to hold simple conversations and are well versed in marae protocol.

One of Carlton School's uniquely Whanganui ways of celebrating te reo and tikanga is Puanga, or Matariki, festival. Matariki is the Maori new year celebration that is held in June or July; in Whanganui it's known as Puanga.

Mrs O'Connor said this year the festival would be held on June 27, and would involve a dawn ceremony, a shared breakfast, storytelling and a trip to the beach for the entire school.
Ms O'Connor said it was important for children to realise there is more than one perspective of looking at the world.

"Maori students live largely in a non-Maori world, but many Pakeha children do not have that different perspective. Eventually we would like to broaden that out so we become a multicultural school, with many perspectives - but first we need to be really solid in our own way of doing things."

Ms O'Connor said the school community has embraced the changes, and most parents have reacted positively. And the children are also enthusiastic about learning te reo - and not just the Maori students. "We've found that many children have become interested in learning about their own cultures. It encourages a sense of identity and curiosity about who they are and where they came from."