Maori classes in high school can be very fun and a lot of students take them precisely for that. They are a way to learn more about New Zealand's history and tradition, read interesting texts and discuss a variety of topics with your classmates and teacher.
Learning a language is very entertaining because we can simply continue doing what we like in Maori, like reading comics, watching movies or listening to music, while progressing at the same time. However, when students arrive at NCEA level 2, they shouldn't forget about the assessment standards awaiting them.
NCEA level 2 is a very important stage in our education. That's the year when we deepen the knowledge we acquired in year 11 and improve our qualifications for university entrance just two years later. In that context, our end-of-year exam is an opportunity to test our knowledge and single out our weak points to improve.
That means that we should do our best to get ready for the assessment standards created by NZQA for our field. That implies working seriously throughout the school year and using the right revision resources to use your time cleverly.
Luckily, Maori is a school subject in which we can improve our abilities in plenty of ways. In addition to simple language immersion, such as when we listen to podcasts or speak with Maori-speaking friends, we can find plenty of textbooks and online applications to do practical exercises. Moreover, you might consider joining a te reo course to receive structured guidance in your language journey.
Do you want to know more about how to pass NCEA level 2 Maori? Have a look at our article.
A particular good revision option that NCEA level 2 students have is to work on the exam papers from previous years. You can download them from the NZQA website as a pdf file and get to know the kind of assignments you should prepare for.
If you have a clear understanding of what each assessment standard is about, developing the right qualifications will be much easier and you will achieve better education results and gain credits at Merit and Excellence.
How can past NCEA papers be useful?
The main objective of any language course is to help the students start speaking that language. So, what does the ability to speak a language consist in?
In fact, there are four main skills that we need to develop as Maori language students to be able to use te reo in as many different situations and contexts as possible. These skills are writing, reading, listening and speaking.
The first two of them have to do with written language. They will be useful if we continue studying in Maori later on or use Maori in professional communication, for example.
The last two are spoken language skills. We are more likely to use them in our everyday life, such as when talking with our friends and relative or watching TV.
Still, whatever your objectives of learning Maori can be, you should not neglect some skills while giving priority to others. Our written and spoken language qualifications are closely linked and should be developed in a harmonious way.
For example, thanks to reading, we start better understanding grammatical structures and pick up new words that we will use when speaking afterwards.
NCEA level 2 Maori standards were logically created by NZQA to evaluate students' all four language skills using different assignments and tasks.
Even if you have a very good level of Maori skills, knowing what the assessment standards consist in will help you prepare for that particular type of exam and showcase your Maori skills in the best light possible.
That's precisely where you need the exam papers from the previous years. You can use them to evaluate your current qualifications and use them for training.
When you are handed your paper on the day of the exam, you'll already be familiar with the assignments on it and feel much more comfortable with the test.
Where to find past NCEA papers?
Past NCEA papers are a very helpful revision tool used by thousands of students all across New Zealand. They are freely accessible on the NZQA website and can be downloaded on your computer as a pdf-file.
All you need is to go on their website and look for the subject you are interested in, namely Maori. You will be offered information about the subject and a description of the qualifications students need to complete the standards.
Then you will find the download links to the papers from previous years and can familiarise yourself with each standard on your own.
The number of past papers you can find on the NZQA website is relatively limited, so they will probably not be enough to prepare yourself for each standard at one hundred per cent. But they can be a good starting point.
If you want to understand why NCEA level 2 Maori is so important, our article can certainly help you.
Once you are done with the exam samples provided by NZQA, you can look for similar kinds of tasks in books and on learning websites. Many of them can also be downloaded as a pdf file, so you'll be able to use them as it best suits you.
When start working on past papers?
Past papers and exam samples are a great revision resource for a student but you should still use them in the right way if you want to achieve maximum efficiency.
The level of difficulty of those tasks matches the knowledge students are supposed to have by the end of year 12. As we don't start the year with the same skills as we finish it, your level of te reo in, say, March or April may not be sufficient to work on those tasks yet.
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We don't even recommend you to try because it is completely useless to use materials that are too difficult for us and it can even demotivate you from studying.
If a student wants to move smoothly through their education, they can ask for the advice of their school tutor and they will certainly tell them when the right moment comes.
Meanwhile, they can help you prepare for NCEA Maori standards by developing particular skills and improving your vocabulary and grammar.
If you are looking for an additional activity to do at home, you can listen to podcasts or watch TV in Maori. Even if you don't understand everything, listening to the language will still help you advance.
Internal and external NCEA assessment standards
NCEA level 2 can be a stressful period in students' lives. They need to complete challenging assessment standards to gain NCEA credits and think about their University Entrance at the same time.
There are two main types of NCEA standards used in New Zealand: internal and external ones. The first are generally completed by students in their school course and assessed by their teacher. The second are usually handed in in written form and then marked by NZQA.
Both types of standards can bring students valuable credits but external assessment is naturally more stressful. In order to complete an external standard, students need to sit an exam and their results may take several weeks to arrive.
If you want to know more about the NCEA Maori standards, our article on the topic will surely be of use.
The great thing about past papers is that a student can use them to prepare for both internal and external tests. Test samples help students get a better understanding of what is expected from them and organise their revision around those skills.
From the beginning, you can try to identify the standard, either internal or external, that is likely to be more difficult for you and spend more time working on it.
If you feel that your revision is not very effective and you keep having difficulty with a particular kind of task, you can take a course with a private tutor who will make sure that you gain the necessary literacy credits.
Students can find an excellent NCEA tutor on Superprof
If you find that an NCEA standard is too difficult and would like to work on past papers more effectively, a private NCEA tutor can help you with that.
They will provide you with personalised assistance on different kinds of NCEA assignments and help you improve your level of te reo in general.
You can get school support from a tutor in New Zealand at any moment of the year and take the number of classes that you want. All you need is to find the right tutor who can understand your difficulties. One of the most helpful tools for that is Superprof.
On our website, a student can search for teachers from all across New Zealand, get information about their courses and contact them directly to organise a first meeting in no time.
You can find additional information about the NCEA level 2 Maori syllabus in our article on the topic.
With a Superprof tutor, you will work on past papers and exam samples in the right way and use your time cleverly. You will feel more confident with both external and internal NCEA assignments and improve your level for University Entrance after school.
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