Hei tautoko i te reo : Maori language regeneration and whānau bookreading practices

Abstract

I nga rua tekau ma rima tau nei ka puta ake ētahi kaupapa mātauranga hei whakaora i te reo tūturu o Aotearoa, i te reo Māori me ōna tikanga. Ka tirohia e tēnei tuhinga roa te kaupapa, arā, ma te kōrero Māori o te hunga tata ki ngā tamariki e ako ana i roto i te reo e puawai ai te kaupapa ako i te reo Māori. Ka tirohia te kaupapa nei, te ārohi i nga kōrero pukapuka-a-whānau hei tautoko i te reo. He huarahi te 'ao tuhi' i roto i nga mahi o ia rā hei whakawhānui i te whakaora i te reo, ki te pupuri hoki i nga tikanga Māori. Ka rangahautia e rua nga mahi e pā ana ki nga ritenga kōrero pukapuka-a-whānau o ngā tamariki nohinohi kātahi anō ka uru ki te kura kaupapa Māori. Ko te māramatanga i puta mai i ēnei rangahau, ma te hāngai tonu ki te kōrero tahi i nga pukapuka ki nga tamariki kua rima nga tau, e tupu ai te kōrero i te reo Māori i nga kāinga, e hāpai ai hoki nga kōkiritanga ki te whakaora, ki te whakawhānui i te reo i roto i nga kura me nga whānau. In the last quarter of the twentieth century a number of educational initiatives have emerged aimed at regenerating Māori, the indigenous language of Aotearoa-New Zealand. This thesis explores the premise that in order for such educational initiatives to be effective, those who have intimate contact with students in their personal domains of life also need to be interacting with them in the target language. It examines interactions in family literacy practices as a constitutive context for adult Māori language elaboration and acquisition processes. 'Literacy' is conceived as providing tools within sociocultural practices to amplify Māori language regeneration and cultural persistence. Across two separate studies the home literacy practices of ten families with new entrant children in a Māori medium sclooling initiative, kura kaupapa Māori, are examined. The results of the studies indicate that specific literacy-related strategies sited in bookreading with 5 year olds can increase the use of Māori language within homes, thereby increasing the effectiveness of Māori language regeneration programmes and initiatives across school and family settings.