Te Reo Resources
Websites
Toro Mai
Those tireless champions Stacey and Scotty Morrison present this easy-to-use platform for Massey University. You can complete lessons on te reo Māori or tikanga Māori, which use video and interactive games and answer forms. Enroll for Toro Mai here. It’s free!
(Make sure your browser settings allow pop-ups.)
Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori
Also known as the Māori Language Commission, there are so many free te reo Māori resources and tools available on this website. Check them out. Te Taura Whiri is also spearheading the movement towards the goal of 1 million speakers of te reo Māori by 2040.
Click here for more. You can also follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
E-Tangata
E-Tangata is an online Sunday magazine specialising in stories that reflect the experiences of Māori and Pasifika in Aotearoa. website.
Apps
Māori-English Offline Dictionary
You can search words and listen to the pronunciation. The app can build lessons around words you save in your Favourites. It can be used offline, too! (Contains ads) Android
Kōrerorero
Developed by AUT, Kōrerorero is a fun, easy programme that relies on listening, repetition and learning vocabulary and phrases that you can use immediately. It is structured around daily activities for language you can use in real life situations. iOS Android
Whare Kōrero
Watch and listen to a range of Māori content from around the motu (on your phone, laptop, anywhere, for free!). Also, Whare Kōrero gives you access to all iwi radio content.
(All content remains under the guardianship of the original distributor.)
Download for iOS and Android here.
Kupu
A Spark-sponsored app that uses the camera in your phone to instantly translate objects into te reo Māori. Just take a photo of an everyday object (or upload your own) and see it translated in real time. iOS Android.
Tipu Te Reo Māori
Tipu Te Reo Māori gamifies language learning – your teacher Koi takes you through challenges using vocabulary as well as sentence structure, balancing repetitiveness and variety to keep you engaged. iOS Android
He aha tēnei?
Aimed at children, this colourful game helps kids spell and sound out words. The voiceovers by actual kids are super cute! iOS Android
Aki
Paddle your waka and escape the taniwha by learning and identifying words and phrases. Once you’ve completed all four levels, play them again and challenge yourself to complete the levels in the quickest time possible with the fewest mistakes. iOS Android
Social media
Everyday Māori
Kaiako reo Hēmi Kelly offers short, regular beginner and intermediate lessons, as well as sharing whakataukī and other interesting tidbits. He has also recorded an Everyday Māori podcast which is no longer being updated but a great listen nevertheless. Find him on Instagram, or follow his A Māori Phrase a Day page on Facebook.
Reo Māori Mai
Re Māori Mai share clear and concise graphics-driven explanations of different words, phrases, root meanings, whakataukī and concepts in te ao Māori. They have also recently established an online reo speaking community that people can join to learn and practise with one another. Find them on Instagram.
Mahuru Māori
The Mahuru Māori challenge is to speak more Māori (or only te reo Māori if you’re down for the challenge) for the month of September. An hour a day, half a day, all day, a week, the whole month. Find them on their website.
Podcasts
Up to Speed
Up To Speed with Te Reo is a great snackable new podcast series from te reo Māori champion Stacey Morrison. Over 10 short episodes (think five minutes each), she helps you understand basic but easy to overlook Māori language phrases and words, in categories like food, dates and days, Māori names and dialects.
Taringa
Taringa is a weekly podcast made at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. It’s not a “learn te reo” podcast, rather the hosts Paraone Gloyne, Erica Sinclair and Te Puaheiri Snowden explore te reo Māori at a more linguistic level, looking at regional dialects, whakataukī and tikanga, and how the language has evolved over time. Always fascinating and often funny. Listen on their website, or on podcast apps
Back to Kura
Journalist and writer Shilo Kino and broadcaster Astley Nathan began their full-time te reo study this year at Auckland’s Te Wānanga Takiura and launched a podcast at the same time to record that journey. The pair are honest and vulnerable, and don’t gloss over the hard parts, which ultimately makes their progress and positivity all the more inspiring. Look for it with your podcast app
TV and video
is a great place to start – unless it’s one of their excellent international films, whatever you watch will either be all or partially in te reo Māori. But there are a number of shows that are for the sole purpose of learning te reo:
Tōku Reo
Tōku Reo is a language learning show. It’s a vibrant, and fun way of learning te reo Māori in the comfort of your own home. Watch it now here.
Ōpaki
This Māori language series hosted by Pānia Papa, uses a range of language learning techniques, games, music and activities in te reo Māori. Watch it on Māori Television or listen to it in podcast form.
Ako
A Māori language class for intermediate-level learners, presented by Pānia Papa.
Watch on Māori Television.
Pūkana
This kids show is fun, funny and will teach you lots before you’ve even realised it.
Watch it on Māori Television.
Te Karere
Daily news and current affairs show Te Kārere is a great way of connecting te reo to what’s happening in the world around us. Watch on Youtube and TVNZ.
Waka Huia
Waka Huia is not only a beautiful way to hear our kaumātua speak, it’s also a really important historical document. The TV series started in 1988 as a way to record unique iwi histories and continues today. Watch on NZ On Screen, Māori Television
Tiki Towns
Made for Sky TV, Tiki Towns is a series of one-minute short videos explaining the correct pronunciation of some of our Māori place names and the history of those names. Find it on Youtube.
Ki Tua
Ki Tua covers current events and important issues all in te reo Māori featuring a who’s who of experts and leaders. Find it on Māori Television.