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Discuss a significant Māori led initiative that has impacted on Māori language
regeneration. In your discussion, explain the origins of the initiative and how it works
to regenerate the Māori language.

Te reo Māori is the native language to New Zealand and once the most spoken

language within the country (King, 2009). Overtime however, the number of people

who speak and use te reo in everyday life has decreased significantly. Keegan,

(2019) states that only three percent of all those living in New Zealand can speak te

reo Māori. Prior to the 1800s te reo Māori was the only language spoken in New

Zealand and every year from then, the number of speakers has decreased. In 1913,

only 90% of Māori children were fluent in te reo Māori, already showing the decline in

the language (Calman, 2012). Degeneration of the Māori language can be linked to

the settlement of Europeans and the openings of English-speaking schools (De

Bres, 2011). When Māori first attended European schools, they were punished for

speaking te reo and even began questioning the languages relevance in a Pākeha

dominated country (New Zealand History, 2017). The 1920s brought about

significant change to Māori in New Zealand as there were only a handful of schools

that allowed Māori to speak te reo, whereas English was needed in the workplace

and on the school field to be accepted (New Zealand History, 2017). By the 1950s

only 26% of Māori children were fluent in te reo Māori. This rapid decline shows how

European settlement and the introduction of the Pākeha speaking English,

dominated in schools, somehow killed the Māori language. Twenty-five years later in

1975, fewer than five percent of Māori children were fluent speakers. This loss was

significant to Māori as New Zealand was home to the Māori language and they had

nowhere else to turn, to help recover their dying language. Through this loss of

language and te reo being the native language to New Zealand, it became important
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for language regeneration schemes to be put in place and the language be learnt

and used again.

In the last quarter of the twentieth century, language regeneration began to take

place within Aotearoa-New Zealand (Hohepa, 2000). Through educational initiatives

it is believed that the Māori language can be revitalised. New Zealand's Māori

Language Commission and the Ministry of Maori Development are two official

government parties that specifically focuses on the regeneration of the Māori

language (Luxton, 2008). Auckland and Wellington University students worked

together to strategize on ways to further foster te reo Maori (Te Rito, 2008). In 1972

these students presented a petition with 30,000 signatures on it to parliament calling

for the Māori language, te reo Māori, to be offered in all New Zealand Schools (Te

Rito, 2008). It was through this movement that introduced and drove Māori language

initiatives. One significant initiative through this movement that has contributed to te

reo regeneration is Te Kōhanga Reo.

Te Kōhanga Reo are fully immersed Māori language preschools. Te Kōhanga Reo

program was initiated as a way for Māori preschool children to be immersed in the

values, traditions, customs and stories of traditional Māori (Ka’ai-Mahuta, 2011).

Overtime as the number of Māori speakers dropped, native people began to get

worried. As their native language was dying, new systems have to be put in place

which would end the decline of New Zealand’s native language dying. Māori elders

worked together between 1980-81 to get the government to help revitalise the

preschool education system and help increase the number of Māori speakers within

New Zealand (Duff, 2012). Once they realised the New Zealand government was not
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going to do anything, they had to take the matter into their own hands and make a

change. This is when Māori elders introduced and argued the importance of Māori

children being taught te reo Māori from birth. Sir James Henare, a leading member

alongside Dame Te Atairangikaahu encouraged the elders to consider the legacy

they were leaving behind, and whether it needed to be challenged (Higgins & Keane,

2013). Thus, leading on to the rapid movement towards the first “language nest” or

Te Kōhanga Reo. The language nests became an integral part of the Māori

community and were seen to be a fundamental step to stop the language from dying.

Language nests were introduced to allow for Māori children to become fully emerged

in Māori culture from birth to six years old. It was up to the Māori elders to run,

support and develop these language nests. Through Kōhanga Reo early childhood,

Māori children were enabled to understand and speak fluent te reo by the age of five

(Te Rito, 2008). These children would not only learn the language, but they would be

immersed in the culture and day to day routine that Māori participate in and live by.

Kōhanga Reo centres are a community run initiative that involves and relies on all

generations in a family to help make possible. Elders in the Māori community were

given the task to teach the children, while parents were encouraged and expected to

help in the upkeep of the physical centre and its surroundings (Te Rito, 2008).

Involving themselves in Kōhanga Reo, parents were able to extend their language

and cultural learnings while developing further skills, including administration and

management which would help them in a westernised world (Rei & Hamon, 1993).

In 1981 the first Kōhanga Reo was opened in Pukeatua (Forsyth & Leaf, 2010). Te

Kōhanga Reo however, was not supported by the Department of Education from the
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beginning, making it more difficult to fund and develop further. In the beginning

Kōhanga Reo fell under the mantle of the Department of Māori Affairs. Through an

establishment grant of $5000, these language nests were expected to develop their

own centre and resources due to the Pākeha dominated education system in New

Zealand. Rapidly, Kōhanga Reo centres opened all throughout New Zealand and in

one year, by 1982, one hundred centres had been opened up (New Zealand.

Waitangi Tribunal, 2013). By 1988, more than 500 Kōhanga Reo centres were

providing fully emerged te reo early childhood education to over 8,000 Māori children

under the age of five (Forsyth & Leaf, 2010). Within Kōhanga Reo centres, children

will be taught under the guidance of the four principles within the early childhood

curriculum. These four principles are Whakamana (empowerment), Kotahitanga

(holistic development), Whānau Tangata (family and community) and Ngā Hononga

(relationships) (Valentine, 2019). Through these principles it becomes clear that what

the children are learning within Kōhanga Reo is the Māori language and their culture

(Valentine, 2019).

In 1990 Te Kōhanga Reo was handed over to the Ministry of Education (Te Kōhanga

Reo National Trust, 2003). This handover left Kōhanga reo inundated with policy

changes resulting in cultural struggles. However, the Chief Executive Officer, Iritana

Tawhiwhirangi worked hard for Te Kōhanga Reo to maintain its indigeneity by being

true to its kaupapa (Rei & Hamon, 1993). Still relying heavily on the local whānau,

Māori children from birth to six years old are able to be brought up in a fully

immersed early childhood education. In 2010, Te Kōhanga Reo was recognised by

UNESCO for the job they did in empowering Māori whānau to take responsibility for

their native language and its future (Tangaere, 2018). Strong whānau commitments
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to Te Kōhanga Reo, specifically from the women, both elder and young, has resulted

in the 37-year survival of the program. In 2018, there were 450 Kōhanga Reo

centres in Aotearoa (Tangaere, 2018). Te Kōhanga Reo has opened many job

opportunities for Māori women and currently employ approximately 2250 women and

train 750 women each year (Tangaere, 2018). Te Kōhanga Reo can definitely be

seen as a great initiative thought up and implemented by local Māori that helps

regenerate the Māori language. The introduction of fully immersed early childhood

centres has allowed more children both Māori and Pākeha to be introduced to the

Māori language and culture from such a young age.

Te Kōhanga Reo has resulted in te reo Māori not dying out in its native country as it

was once thought to happen. Through the introduction of fully immersed early

childhood education centres, Māori children were able to learn the language from

birth, and not miss out on those vital years of learning a second language and their

native language. While Te Kōhanga Reo had a rough start with limited support, local

whānau worked together to open beautiful Te Kōhanga Reo centres all throughout

New Zealand. Ka’ai-Mahuta (2011) states that Te Kōhanga Reo was a key

contributor in breaking a Pākeha dominated education system and re introducing the

native language of New Zealand to both Māori and Pākeha. By introducing children

to te reo Māori from such a young age, they can fully embrace both the language

and the culture, thus extending the life of the native language within New Zealand.
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Reference List

Calman, R. (2012). “Māori Education – mātauranga”, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of

New Zealand. Retrieved from https://teara.govt.nz/en/maori-education-

matauranga/print

De Bres, J. (2011). Promoting the Māori language to non-Māori: Evaluating the New

Zealand government’s approach. Language Policy, 10(4), 361-376.

Duff, M. (2012). The mother of kōhanga reo. [online] Stuff. Available at:

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Forsyth, H., & Leaf, G. (2010). Te Tiriti o Waitangi and biculturalism in early

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Higgins, R., & Keane, B. (2013). “Te reo Māori – the Māori Language – Language

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of the State education system. Te Kaharoa, 4(1).

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Keegan, P. (2019). Maori Language Information. [online] Maorilanguage.info.

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claim. Retrieved from

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Rei, T., & Hamon, C. (1993). Te Kōhanga Reo 1982. [online] New Zealand History.

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Te Rito, J. S. (2008). Struggles for the Māori language: He whawhai mo te reo Māori.

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Valentine, K. (2019). Preschoolers: Preschool Education: Types of Early Childhood

Care. Retrieved from https://www.kiwifamilies.co.nz/articles/kohanga-reo/