This year Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week, is being held from September 16 to 23. It’s an important week that aims to encourage all of Aotearoa to use some te reo Māori in everyday life. Similarly, Mahuru Māori promotes speaking and celebrating te reo throughout the month of September.

Over the last couple of years, Gerda Pritchard, a resident at Diana Isaac Village in Christchurch, has grown her Māori vocabulary by attending the virtual monthly te reo Māori classes offered to Ryman residents. This group learning environment is run by Anita Gill from Te Puna Reo Māori, a Māori online learning provider.

“Anita’s really good. She has such good ideas of what to teach you and makes it interesting,” Gerda shares.

Before moving to New Zealand with her Kiwi husband Brian in 1968, Gerda grew up in Switzerland where she grew up speaking Swiss-German, German, and French. She believes this understanding and early exposure to multiple languages has made it easier for her to learn new ones over time.

“I have an advantage because the pronunciation of the vowels in Māori are the same as we use in Switzerland. So, I don't have to learn that and find it slightly easier.”

Gerda and Brian have lived in a townhouse for five years in the Mairehau village. As independent residents they have access to the myRyman resident app. The easy and accessible app can be used to sign up for special outings and participate in monthly virtual event classes.

“I was thrilled to see the Māori classes and so I started straight away. I have my iPad, and I just go into the calendar in the app and tap to join the class.

“I like learning, and I really like the language. People say it's difficult and of course it will be for beginners, but so far, I have not found it too hard because we had to learn French at school, and I found French really difficult. In comparison Māori has no terrible grammar rules. So, I'm enjoying it.”

Gerda says her favourite phrase that she has learnt so far was one that was taught in her very first lesson. It’s “Kei te pēhea koe” which translates to 'How are you?' in English. It’s a great introductory phrase that she will hopefully be able to utilise during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.

“We learned that in the first lesson. And I thought, oh, that's cool. You can use it as soon as you meet somebody.”

While the attendance fluctuates for the virtual class, Gerda looks forward to attending every month and hopes that this year’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori will encourage some more residents to give it a go. She says her advice for anyone who is interested would be to just give it a try.

“I would encourage them to go on the app and log in, because even though classes started a long time ago there's something new to learn every time, so it doesn't matter if you didn't attend previously.”

Gerda reiterates that Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is all about speaking and celebrating te reo. Whether it’s learning a few words or a new phrase, the best way to participate is simply to get involved.