Te Reo ki Tua | Level 1
Foundational Te Reo Māori for Local Government, Environment and Community-Facing Work
Whakamāhuki | Overview
Grow confident, culturally grounded reo Māori capability—at work, during work hours.
Te Reo ki Tua Level 1 is a practical, culturally grounded programme for kaimahi whose work connects people, place, water, land and community. Learners build accurate pronunciation and foundational language while exploring identity, local names, tikanga, Māori values, mātauranga Māori and reciprocal relationships with iwi, hapū and mana whenua. Workplace challenges help participants transfer learning into meetings, communications, stakeholder engagement and environmental or community contexts.
Designed for
Council, environmental, regulatory, policy, operational and community-facing kaimahi who are new to te reo Māori or rebuilding foundations.
Delivery Mode:
Live online: one 90-minute class each week
Course Dates:
Week commencing Monday 24 August 2026
Course Fee:
$500 per person
Duration:
10 weeks
Hāngaitanga
Why This Course Matters in 2026
Local and regional organisations work within places carrying deep whakapapa, histories and tribal relationships. Staff are often expected to pronounce names, engage with iwi partners, attend cultural processes and use M?ori concepts in policy or public communication. This course supports informed participation and helps prevent te reo M?ori and tikanga responsibilities from being left to a small number of M?ori staff.
Kupu Ārahi | Guiding Expression
"Ka whāngaia, ka tipu, ka puāwai"
"That which is nurtured will grow, then blossom"
Local and regional organisations work within places carrying deep whakapapa, histories and tribal relationships. Staff are often expected to pronounce names, engage with iwi partners, attend cultural processes and use M?ori concepts in policy or public communication. This course supports informed participation and helps prevent te reo M?ori and tikanga responsibilities from being left to a small number of M?ori staff.
Ngā Hua Nui
What this course covers
Whāinga Paetae | Course Objectives
Across the programme, participants will:
Develop accurate pronunciation of M?ori names, environmental terms, local place names and commonly used workplace kupu.
Use foundational greetings, karakia, acknowledgements, introductions and closing expressions within Toi Moana contexts.
Build an authentic mihi or pepeha that communicates identity, role and connection to place with cultural integrity.
Understand the relationships between whakapapa, whenua, wai, t?rangawaewae and environmental responsibility.
Explore M?ori values including kaitiakitanga, whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, rangatiratanga, tika and pono.
Participate more confidently in p?whiri, whakatau, hui and engagement with iwi, hap? and M?ori communities.
Engage with p?r?kau, maramataka and m?tauranga M?ori as knowledge systems relevant to environmental work.
Identify practical opportunities to use te reo M?ori in meetings, correspondence, presentations and everyday team interactions.
Recognise when local tikanga, iwi knowledge, attribution, permission or specialist cultural guidance is required.
Develop an achievable personal and workplace plan for strengthening culturally grounded practice within Toi Moana.
Putanga Ako | Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, participants should be able to:
Pronounce familiar M?ori and local place names with greater accuracy.
Introduce themselves and their role using appropriate reo M?ori.
Use foundational language in meetings, fieldwork and community interactions.
Explain important concepts connected to whenua, whakapapa and mana whenua.
Participate more confidently in p?whiri, whakatau and hui.
Apply M?ori values to environmental and organisational scenarios.
Identify when attribution, permission or local cultural guidance is needed.
Develop practical actions for normalising te reo M?ori within their workplace.
He Aha Kei Roto
What Is Included
Live facilitated learning with experienced Poutawa kaiako.
Access to course slides, recordings and structured revision resources.
A practical learner workbook with explanations, examples and reflection activities.
Pronunciation audio, vocabulary support and language-modelling resources where relevant.
Templates, sentence frames and practical tools that can be used immediately.
Short between-session activities designed to move learning into everyday practice.
A supportive learning r?p? where questions, practice and mistakes are welcomed.
A certificate of participation following completion of the programme requirements.
Item Title One
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Te Wā Tuku
Course Dates
Courses commence during the week of Monday 24 August 2026.
The indicative final teaching week is the week of 26 October 2026.
Class Option 1:
Tuesday: 3.30pm - 5.00pm
CLass Option 2
Wednesday: 5.30pm - 7.00pm
Participants enrol in one stream. Where space permits, learners may attend the alternative stream when they cannot attend their usual class.