{"id":600167,"date":"2026-09-14T15:04:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T15:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/600167\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T15:04:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T15:04:15","slug":"the-emotional-toll-of-learning-te-reo-maori-its-ok-to-be-a-learner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/600167\/","title":{"rendered":"The emotional toll of learning te reo M\u0101ori: ‘It’s OK to be a learner’"},"content":{"rendered":"

While this year\u2019s theme for Te Wiki o Te Reo M\u0101ori (M\u0101ori Language Week) is about celebrating communities that have kept te reo M\u0101ori alive, for individuals, the language learning and reclamation journey can take an emotional toll that holds many people back.<\/p>\n

Te Reo M\u0101ori academic and researcher Dr Awanui Te Huia told Breakfast that when someone is at a point where they can take the time and invest resources into learning the language, oftentimes there are emotional responses that take place for that that person they might not anticipate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are emotional responses to understanding history, understanding the breakdown of language, how that happens over generations, and what was some of the causes of those breakdowns,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\"Te<\/p>\n

Te reo M\u0101ori academic, researcher and educationalist Dr Awanui Te Huia. (Source: Breakfast)<\/p>\n

There were generational differences to consider too, such as older generations having had different schooling, education and proximity to \u201cviolent harms\u201d against them and\/or their parents in classrooms and society.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we shift through some of those challenges in a collective way where we can hear each other’s experiences and understand that there is a pathway? That we can shift through some of these mamae (hurt, harm) into a place where we feel empowered to use te reo M\u0101ori in our daily lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Te Huia runs a course to help people understand the context of colonisation and the subsequent impact of that trauma on their language learning process. She said it\u2019s about depersonalising shame. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re trying to depersonalise the fact that people feel like they’re not ‘good’ language learners when actually, if you provide the conditions for people to flourish, such as communities where te reo M\u0101ori is readily available and accessible to people, as well as these psychological sort of resources, then that combination can help people through some of the challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

The walk began at Parliament with waiata from local iwi and kura. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

Challenges they might not realise are shared, she said. A key piece of feedback she received from participants is how they wished they knew these insights earlier in their journey to help alleviate self-criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich is often what people were doing when they’re in the situation where they’re reclaiming their language is trying to understand \u2013 \u2018Why is it me? Is it just me?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She said when people already feel like they are on the \u201cback foot\u201d starting out into a journey that is important and \u201cso emotionally laden\u201d, there are high expectations involved. <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s about putting it into perspective. <\/p>\n

\"Learning<\/p>\n

Learning te reo M\u0101ori comes with an emotional toll for some. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

Te Huia said when people stop to think about the hard things in life they have already overcome when learning a new skill, particularly unrelated to language, they can apply that experience of learning and be \u201ca bit more gentle\u201d to themselves. <\/p>\n

We are always \u201cfar more\u201d compassionate towards others, too, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can see their struggles with fresh eyes and we’re able to sort of, not be nearly as critical as other people as we are of ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said people and communities can do their bit to help support language learners.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it’s encouraging somebody to use te reo M\u0101ori, or when they perhaps do make a mistake, just not making a big deal out of it and you know, sort of encouraging people in ways that allow them to see themselves as it’s been, it’s OK to be a learner.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘Give te reo a go’ – Potaka<\/p>\n

M\u0101ori Development Minister Tama Potaka encouraged more Kiwis to “give te reo a go” this Te Wiki o te Reo M\u0101ori.<\/p>\n

Potaka called it “an important opportunity to celebrate te reo M\u0101ori as a taonga and a defining part of who we are as a country”. <\/p>\n

“It recognises the generations who fought for the survival of the language and encourages more New Zealanders to give te reo a go.”<\/p>\n

He added that the Government had refreshed the Maihi Karauna, the Crown\u2019s strategy for revitalising te reo M\u0101ori, with a “clear focus on results, more people speaking te reo, more often and in more places”.<\/p>\n

He continued: “The Government has an important leadership role, but lasting revitalisation will come through wh\u0101nau, Iwi, communities and everyday New Zealanders learning and using the language.<\/p>\n

“Kia m\u0101horahora te reo \u2013 let the language flow freely.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While this year\u2019s theme for Te Wiki o Te Reo M\u0101ori (M\u0101ori Language Week) is about celebrating communities…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":600168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4432,111,43,139,69,22319],"class_list":["post-600167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-maori-issues","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-te-reo-maori"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}