A recent Kura Reo is being hailed as the foundation of a new language community among Te Wānanga o Aotearoa kaimahi.
 
The three-day full immersion kura reo held at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa ki Manukau in early October brought together 70 wānanga kaimahi from throughout the motu.
 
This included complete reo Māori novices, reo Māori kaiako and tauira awaiting their invitation to attend Te Panekiretanga o te reo Māori all combined in classes for study.
 
They were schooled by some of the organisation’s most advanced reo Māori practitioners in te reo Ōpaki/Okawa (formal and informal language), whakataukī (proverbs and sayings), wetewete reo (grammar), Waihanga Kōrero (creative writing), Te Whakaako i te Reo (teaching Māori language) and Hīnātore (beginners level te reo)
 
The Kura Reo is a part of the Reo Ora strategy within Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, which aims to strengthen reo Māori capability among kaimahi.
 
Partly-modelled on similar kura reo run by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, the kura reo came about after an audit of Māori language resources and teaching quality within the wānanga showed these were areas that could be improved.
 
Pou Reo Matua Paraone Gloyne said kura reo saw the professional development of TWoA kaimahi while giving them an opportunity to meet with others from the different takiwā.
 
“Importantly, it builds the language community of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa – in essence that is what we want to do,” said Paraone.
 
“We want to build on what we have done. This is a foundation and it embodies all three principles of Reo Ora, that is whakamana, whakamahi, whakaako.”
 
Paraone said it is hoped the kura reo will be a twice-yearly event shared among the organisation’s different takiwā.
 
He said changes are likely for the next kura reo.
 
“It could possibly be a day longer. We are also looking at adding some content to the next one and keep the beginners-level class.”
 
“Most kura reo re focussed on mid-level to fluent level speakers but we need to build the capacity in our beginners’ level.”
 
It is hoped that by 2030 that half of all wānanga kaimahi will be proficient in te reo Māori.