Creating language domains and spaces where te reo Māori can be heard and practised can be tough for learners.
So joining a kapa haka group could be the way to go. Research shows it can be a vital learning tool for Māori language revitalisation.
Kapa haka - it's the vehicle for Māori culture, tribal narratives, intergenerational knowledge and identity.
And it's through movement, singing and reciting that it helps learners grasp Māori language.
"Rehearsals and practices are where you'll hear the language in action. Kapa haka is a foundation for you to strengthen your language," Professional Teaching Fellow at Auckland University Paora Sharples said.
A veteran performer and academic, Sharples has been immersed in kapa haka since childhood.
He said over 2500 kapa haka groups are now in mainstream schools but more support is needed, more than ever.
"The government already knows this pathway can increase the language and understanding of the Māori worldviews which have better outcomes for our Māori kids but it's also better outcomes for our non-Māori, Asian, for everyone."
The largest group of conversational speakers in New Zealand for both Māori and non-Māori is aged between 10 and 19.
A new report by the Māori Language Commission has found non-Māori young adults are 2.6 times more likely to become conversational speakers if they are exposed to three hours of te reo Māori per week.
And newbies got a taste of that, stepping on stage at the National Secondary Schools Kapa Haka competitions this week following a four-year hiatus due to COVID-19.
"Being in an environment that has so much reo in every waiata I learn and more about the history of Aotearoa. My te reo Māori has just gone up a standard since I started doing kapa haka at Waiōrea," Ngā Puna O Waiōrea year nine student Taaniko Elzen Lyon said.
A language expressed through the art of traditional Māori dance.
Ko te Kapa Haka he matapihi ki te Ao Māori, ngā hītori-a-iwi, ngā kōrero tuku iho, te tuakiritanga anō hoki.
Mā ngā nekehanga, te waiata me te taki e taea ai e ngā ākonga te mau i Te Reo Māori
Hei tā Paora Sharples, "I tērā wā whakaharatau, parakatihi, kei reira te wā ka rongohia te reo ka kōrero te reo. nā reira he tūāpapa me ki te Kapa Haka hei whakapakari ai i tō reo."
He kaihaka ika-a-whiro, he Pouako anō hoki a Paora Sharples. Kua roa ia e mahi kapa haka ana mai anō i tōna tamarikitanga.
Hei tāna, e rua mano rima rau ngā rōpū haka i ngā kura auraki, engari me kaha ake te tautoko.
"Marama pū te kāwana he tino huarahi tēnei hei piki te reo me te ao maori i waenganui i tatou maori engari i waenganui i te hunga kirima, hainamana anō hoki, tātou katoa e noho pū nei," e kiia nei a Shaples.
Ko te reanga tekau ki te tekau mā iwa tau te pakeke te hunga kaha katoa ki te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero i te reo Māori i Aotearoa.
Me te aha, hei tā te rīpoata a Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori
E 2 ira 6 te tinga o te taiohi tauiwi ka taea te kōrero i te reo mēnā ka rongo rātou i te reo māori mō ngā haora e toru i ia wiki.
Ae rā, i rongo ngā ihu hūpē i tēnā, tū ai rātou ki te atamira o te whakataetae Kapa Haka Kura Tuarua a motu i tēnei wiki...nō muri i te tamōnga o te whakataetae mō ngā tau e whā nā te mate karauna.
Hei tā tēnei tauira nō Ngā Puna o Waiorea, a Taaniko Elzen Lyon, "being in an environment that has so much reo in every waiata I learn and more about the history of Aotearoa my te reo māori has just gone up a standard since I started doing kapa haka at Waiorea."
Ko te reo Kapa Haka he reo i ahu mai i a Tane rore me Hine Rēhia.
