The Joy of Learning Te Reo

That little smile of acknowledgement from a native speaker is often all that it takes to reinforce the joy of learning a language. And, this can happen at the most unexpected of occasions. Having never visited Kohimarama in Auckland, I only knew how to pronounce the place name from my study of Te Reo. I […] read more

Russian Word of the Day

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On October 25th, 2013, posted in: Russian Language by

The Maori Language. How Names Should be Pronounced

"Before the Maori words were reduced to written forms, they were only spoken sounds, and the letters used by English-speaking people were selected to give them the truest representation possible..." wrote William Roberts in 1903. This post reproduces his article on Maori pronunciation written during his life in the South Island from 1855. read more

Ideas & Resources for Māori Language Week

Māori Language Week 2013 Games and Resources He Papa-Whakataetae mō Ngā Wāhi Māori: Aotearoa Road Trip Take your students, co-workers or family on a road trip around Aotearoa. On the journey they will learn to recognise and name twenty well known Aotearoa / New Zealand towns and cities in Te Reo Māori. Aotearoa Road Trip Board […] read more

The Secret to Pronouncing Māori Place Names

"…it is my endeavour to add a little more light in order that this vexed question of (Maori) pronunciation may be overcome." wrote Henry Apatari in 1912. "Needless to say the secret of it all depends entirely on... read more

Pronunciation of Maori Names – a lesson from 1898

Pronunciation of Maori Names – a lesson from 1898

In 1898 a paper was read to the Hawera branch of the Teachers' Institute urging that Maori pronunciation should be systematically taught in public schools. Over 100 years later, can we take up the lessons from the past? read more

How to Reinforce Number Usage and Comprehension

How to Reinforce Number Usage and Comprehension

Occasionally we hear some teachers say that they have ‘done numbers’ with their students. Whether a student is learning Maori, learning to speak English, Spanish, French – or any language  – if they are not constantly using a language, then they will soon forget key principles. Even the basics can be easily forgotten if not […] read more

How to Pronounce Maori Place Names

How to Pronounce Maori Place Names

Māori Language Week 2013 may not be until the first week of July, but for the team at Buratino Productions it started about two months ago with the plan to develop a new game inspired by this year’s Māori Language Week theme: Ngā Ingoa Māori – Māori names. We officially launched our newest product: He […] read more

On May 20th, 2013, posted in: Maori Language Week by

NZ Sign Language Week

There a three official languages in New Zealand: English, Maori and NZ Sign Language. The later two are unique to New Zealand. This week is New Zealand Sign Language Week (13-19 May). And if, like me, you have left it too late to sign up for their popular taster classes, the Deaf Aotearoa has an […] read more

On May 13th, 2013, posted in: Language Learning by

Russian Language Classes in Christchurch 2014

Russian Language Beginners | Intermediate | Advanced | Native Speakers University of Canterbury Full Academic Year, start 24 February 2014 Course Co-ordinator: Evgeny Pavlov Location: University of Canterbury, Department of Global, Cultural and Language studies. >> Find out more   Russian Language Level 2: Continuing Beginners Risingholme Community Centre Programmes Term 3 Tuesday 31 July […] read more