Learning Māori in Lockdown written originally for the anthology 'Multilingual is Normal'. I am writing this reflective piece to celebrate my 100th lesson of learning Māori in lockdown! In truth, I had toyed with the idea of learning Māori as a New Year’s resolution, but in reality, it took a virus to spur me into learning this new language. ‘Why Māori?’ people have asked:whakatoi! (Cheeky! ) Living at the foot of the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire (UK) does not provide any opportunities to converse in Māori and, with no obvious benefits, many might state that learning Māori was a pretty pointless pursuit. So how would I respond to the pragmatist point of view? How can learning the native language of Aotearoa (New Zealand) be of any benefit to a kaumātua (adult/old man) living in rural England? I hasten to add that I am more likely to describe myself as middle-aged, but kaumātua suggests a person of status within the whānau (family). With two teenage girls at home, I’ll take that! Well, to be fair, I have recently completed a masters study at the University of Oxford focusing on vocabulary development for young tamariki (children) with English as an additional language (EAL), so I am certainly interested in the theme of second language learning. Also, as a Kaiako (teacher), I have spent many British summers in New Zealand primary schools, fascinated by the way Māori language is woven into a bi-cultural curriculum. Clearly, my intrinsic motivation was high, but would this be enough to literally stay the course? My first challenge was to find an on-line programme that, to be honest, was free! It’s not that I wasn’t prepared to pay for tuition, but how could I be sure that I was making the right investment? Luckily, my search directed me to a language learning show called Tōku Reo – My Language. The half hour show had previously been broadcast on Māori Television in blocks of five episodes, based on the Te Whanake language course created by Professor John Moorfield. ‘It’s a new, vibrant, and fun way of learning Te Reo Māori in the comfort of your own home. ’ With such an enticing invitation to learn the Māori language, how could I resist? So as lockdown firmly commenced, I warmly invited the Tōku Reo presenters and actors into my bubble – virtually, of course! Despite the fact that in reality we have never met, I have grown very fond of the male and female language hosts: Raimona and Raukura. Their presentation had the perfect blend of good humour and banter, combined with a level of discipline that kept you on task: ka mau te wehi! (Awesome! ) Each show developed vocabulary and grammar knowledge. I felt that learning grammar would be the real challenge, but Raimona’s enthusiasm for syntax was inspiring! He introduced sentence constructions with zeal and his encouraging tone meant that for me he was the perfect teacher who I did not want to let down. Positive reinforcement was quick to flow, with every ka pai (good) keeping my spirits high. It was then the turn of the actors to reinforce the grammar through role-plays and mini-scenes. Throughout the series, language patterns were rehearsed in a range of familiar contexts: the park, shops, café, bus stop etc; again gentle humour was often used to make the constructions memorable. One of my favourite elements focused on dialect. A kaumātua (respected elder) explained the meaning of a colloquial expression peculiar to a certain iwi (tribe) or rohe (region). For me, this truly exemplified the connection between language and culture. I don’t believe that I had really appreciated the concept of dialect prior to these discussions. The meaning of the series title: Tōku Reo – My Language, became crystal clear – the significance of language being personal and owned was apparent. Expressions, idioms and terms of endearment felt grounded in people’s identity. These words and phrases had historical and geographical importance; they were papa pounamu (treasures). As previously cited, ka mau te wehi (awesome), common to Eastern Dialect, struck a chord with me. Learning how to combine ka mau te wehi with another Eastern Dialect expression, e hika (special friend), made me feel that I was beginning to build my repertoire of social language, at least within the Eastern rohe (region). Drawing these reflections to a close, I would say that learning Te Reo Māori on-line – in lockdown – in Malvern, has been both fascinating and fulfilling. Through a love of language, I feel connected to people I have never met, living on the other side of the globe, who frequently described me as whānau (family). Of course, I have only just begun my Te Reo Māori journey, and am mindful of the wise words of Professor John Moorfield: ‘…to become fluent in a language and to communicate effectively requires much more than an understanding of its sounds, grammar and vocabulary. ’
Jasen
