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Learn te reo Maori with a tutor in Wellington

A bit of the history of Maori in Wellington

Far before the Europeans settled in Wellington, the city was inhabited by Maori people that migrate from eastern Polynesia. The waterfront was a very important point for the Maori life, who named the city at the very beginning of their arrival as "Te Upoko o te Ika a Maui", meaning the head of Maui’s fish. This name later changed to the one that is known today, "Te Whanganui-a-Tara", which literally means the great harbor of Tara. This name is supposed to come from the son of the Maori navigator Whatonga, Tara, who was sent by his father to explore southern lands for their people to settle where he found Wellington.

The influence of the Maori people is mainly seeing today in the names of different areas of Wellington, which often refer to old Maori explorers and navigators. Kupe, known for being the first Polynesian to discover New Zealand, after finding difficulties to fish in his original Hawaiki, left his presence in many places such as Matiu and Makaro, or Somes and Wars Islands who were the name of his nieces.

When European settlers arrived in Wellington, the life of Maori was already organized in a thriving system which gid cultivated areas and a water-based communication and trad system. The different Maori settlements had a good relationship and good and rich food and supply sources.

Te reo Maori in Wellington

The number of te reo Maori speakers in New Zealand has been dropping year after year. In 2001, 25,2% of the Maori population of New Zealand declared that they could maintain a basic conversation in te reo Maori, in 2006 this number went down to 23,7%, and in 2013 it was only 21,3%. If we extend the information of the census of 2013 to Wellington's total population, the percentage able to speak basic te reo Maori is only 3%.  Even with the daily coexistence with the language in television, radio, street, names, and many public and private offices signs translated to Maori, there has not been enough interest from the population to learn the second official language in New Zealand.

Even when te reo Maori has been an official language in New Zealand since the '80s until today there's no obligation to use the language in public road signs or any institution. The same happens with the school programs, as schools and kindergartens are not forces to offer courses of te reo Maori in their programs. A big advance has been the program for early childhood education, Te Whariki, which promotes educating children in an integrated and holistic environment. Many of the kindergartens that follow the program include te reo Maori learning based in a full immersion system, but this is offered a plus in the child education, not because in mandatory in the program.

The Victoria University Wellington offers one os the most prestigious program to learn Maori at a university level. With their classes, you will learn to speak, write and understand te reo Maori, whilst you also get involved in the Maori culture and history. The university promotes that after finishing this program you can get a good job very easily, as they explain: "Many government departments to have units dedicated to Maori issues and working with Māori communities, and some te reo is useful in most public sector jobs. You might also work as a private consultant."

The benefits of learning te reo Maori

New Zealand is officially a bilingual and bicultural country, however, this is not reflected in the number of people that are able to fully live this biculturality. It is important to have in mind how being bilingual has many benefits for maintaining good mental health, keeping your ability to learn faster, and gaining skills that can help you with your professional development. For example, being able to speak two languages and understand two cultures you can solve difficult problems with novel useful solutions. You can explore points of view that other people don't see as easily as you. Also, mastering two languages will help you to learn other new languages and will improve your capacities as a student.

Besides the general benefits of being bilingual, learning te reo Maori makes you part of something bigger: helping to preserve the culture of New Zealand and spread it to the world. You will be able to teach new words to your international friends or other English speakers that don't know more than "kia ora" and maybe later become a te reo Maori tutor and be an active part of helping to promote the language. Learning te reo Maori can open more job opportunities than only being a tutor, there are many job offers in media, marketing, government, education, tourism, social work, and healthcare. Your te reo Maori lessons of today can be a better job tomorrow.

Find a te reo Maori tutor in Wellington

The best way to learn a language actively and being able to stay committed to the learning of a new language is by looking for a private tutor. A private Maori language tutor can help you to start learning even if you don't have any level in the language and take you to a conversational level faster than any other course or class. If you already have a decent level of te reo Maori, mastering the language will be extremely easy with a private tutor.

The best way to search for a te reo Maori tutor and start your classes is by going to the website of Superprof and write "Maori lessons in Wellington". As easy as that you will find the available tutors in your area and will be able to read their verified profiles and choose your best fit. In Wellington, you have the option to have in-person or online classes and our available te reo Maori tutor offers her first class for free. Superprof doesn't charge any fee or commission for the use of its website to find the best Maori tutors in Wellington.