Kōrerotia, whakarongo, whakaatu: five oral-first lessons that move from accurate sounds to a real everyday conversation.
How can we use te reo Māori so another person feels heard, welcomed and connected?
Ākonga begin speaking in the first five minutes. Across the unit they hear, rehearse, adapt and use reo for real purposes: greeting, locating identity, showing tikanga, talking about whānau and sustaining a short paired conversation.
Vowel length, rhythm and careful listening matter. Accuracy grows through short, frequent, low-stakes speaking.
A mihi or pātai is not vocabulary in isolation. Tone, response, manaakitanga and whanaungatanga shape the exchange.
Pepeha and whānau language connect people and place. Iwi, hapū, whānau and local speakers guide local forms and boundaries.
Ākonga alternate speaker, listener and coach roles. Knowledge moves both ways, and specific feedback improves the next utterance.
Hear and say the phrase before analysing or writing it. Rhythm, echoing and repeated retrieval build usable language.
Reo is practised with a real partner and purpose. Nobody is required to disclose whakapapa, perform alone or claim connections that are not theirs.
Train the five vowels and their long forms, then put greetings and classroom phrases into action.
Lesson 2Study the purpose and structure of pepeha, draft a locally appropriate version and share it with care.
Lesson 3Practise manaakitanga and whanaungatanga through host, guest and classroom role-play.
Lesson 4Use whānau kupu to talk about people and terms of address to speak to them respectfully.
Lesson 5 · SummativeHold, record, receive feedback on and improve a complete everyday conversation from mihi to poroporoaki.
Communicating likes and dislikes within a Māori context includes understanding and respecting the perspectives of others, acknowledging collective values, and upholding tikanga. This is essential for nurturing whanaungatanga.
This proficiency-based unit draws on audited Learning Languages statements from Emergent 1, Novice 1 and Novice 2. The curriculum companion keeps each exact statement beside the lesson where ākonga produce evidence.
Teach this tomorrow: Check the local pronunciation and pepeha guidance your kura uses; open the linked handouts; prepare a visible phrase wall; and print the kōrerorero evidence record.
Entry: Offer echo reading, picture prompts, written sentence frames and the option to record privately with a trusted partner.
On-level: Expect a short pepeha or identity introduction plus a paired conversation with opening, pātai, response and close.
Extension: Remove prompts, extend the pātai chain, host a conversation station or adapt language for a second audience.
Confirm local kawa, dialect and pepeha practice with mana whenua and your kura community. A generic template is a scaffold, not an authority. Ākonga may name places and people they genuinely connect to without claiming iwi, hapū, waka or whakapapa that are not theirs. Offer a private pathway for sensitive identity information and never require public disclosure.
Rehearse in pairs before wider sharing; keep phrase cards visible; accept live or recorded evidence; let a learner speak, point, sequence cards or co-present while confidence grows. Pair multilingual learners strategically and treat their language knowledge as an asset. Give feedback on one sound or phrase at a time.
Formative evidence comes from vowel practice, greeting exchanges, pepeha drafts, tikanga role-plays and whānau pātai. The summative is the Kōrerorero Evidence Record: plan, perform, receive feedback, revise and reflect on a real paired exchange.