Te tautoko i tō tamaiti ki te ako i te reo - Supporting your child's language development

Research shows that children learning in kura Māori who speak even only a little Māori language at home achieve better than those who speak none. Whānau who speak Māori at home, even if only a little, help increase their children’s chances of making good progress in pānui (reading), tuhituhi (writing) and pāngarau (maths). So even if you don’t speak Māori yourself, you still have an important role to play in supporting your child’s learning.

Here are some tips to help you build on what you’re already doing at home to support your child’s language development:

• speak Māori as much and as often as you can at home and when you’re out and about in your community so that your child learns te reo Māori is for everyone, everywhere and anywhere – not just at kura
• encourage your friends and family to communicate in Māori with your child as much as they can
• if you don’t speak Māori or are just learning at a basic level, try to use as many Māori words and phrases as you can that you know are correct
• use words and phrases with your child that are used everyday, e.g. at mealtimes, while getting dressed, for showing love or praising your child, or for bath time or bedtime routines
• take your child to places or hui where you know other Māori speakers will be present so that they can hear Māori language being spoken naturally
• remember to praise your child for speaking Māori – tell them how clever they are that they can speak more than one language
• keep in regular contact with your child’s teacher about your child’s learning rather than waiting for the formal occasions like parent-teacher interviews.
• a useful resource is “Kei Roto i te Whare”. You can get a copy from Te Puni Kōkiri by emailing comms@tpk.govt.nz or downloading a copy from www.tpk.govt.nz.