Free and 'chilled' - te reo classes are back for 2022

AUT students and staff can now develop their te reo skills at informal Tupu Kupu sessions, which are starting again after a two-year pause.

The free sessions are tauira Māori (Māori student) led, focussing on teaching informal te reo vocabulary that participants can incorporate into their everyday lives.

“We wanted to provide a really chill atmosphere that’s not so intimidating for people,” said Jana Nee, Te Tari Takawaenga Māori (Māori liaison) advisor.

“Tupu Kupu is about growing your vocabulary in te reo Maori.”

In the first session, participants wrote a pepeha, learned some te reo greetings and received their copy of a book to help them practise their skills.

“The initiative is a way of making te reo and kaupapa Māori more accessible at AUT,” said Nee.

“We have an obligation to abide by the Treaty and this is one of the ways we can do so.”

In particular it will enable Māori students to use te reo conversationally.

“This is especially positive for students from a Kura Kaupapa or Kōhanga Reo background,” she said.

Student participant Jennifer Susanto said she was keen to use her new knowledge in her day-to-day life.

“Why I’m sometimes reluctant [to use te reo] is because I’m worried I’ll get it wrong but that’s why I’m here.”

She said while she remembered te reo being very accessible in kindergarten and primary school, it became less prevalent the older she got.

Nee said while the support for Te Ao Māori has come a long way in NZ schools, there is still progress to be made.

She said the next steps would be providing more informal and accessible options like Tupu Kupu for students to learn some te reo, as well as options for tauira Māori to design their own papers and initiatives.

Another is incorporating more mātauranga Māori woven into all aspects of university teaching.

AUT’s website says that they are committed to protecting and providing access to mātauranga Māori under their commitments to Te Tiriti O Waitangi.d