Māori language revival
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
By the 1980s, Māori leaders began to recognize the dangers of the loss of their language, and initiated Māori language recovery-programs such as the Kōhanga Reo movement, which immersed infants in Māori from infancy to school age. There followed the founding of the Kura Kaupapa Māori, a primary school program in Māori.
Kohanga reo (Māori: kōhanga reo, meaning language nests) are kindergartens where all instruction is given in the Māori language.
Kohanga reo were initially established in New Zealand in 1982, when there were fears that the Māori language was dying out. The success of the kohanga reo programme is such that they have been followed by primary schools and secondary schools (Kura Kaupapa Māori) where Māori is the primary language of instruction.
The success of the concept has led to kohanga reo in New Zealand that instruct in other Pacific languages, eg. Fijian, Rarotongan, Samoan, and Tongan and other countries adopting a similar concept. A notable example being Pūnana Leo established in Hawaii to revitalize the indigenous Hawaiian language.
Kura Kaupapa Māori schools are New Zealand schools for children aged 3-14 who learn fully in the Māori language.
