Free te reo Māori lessons for absolute beginners are being held at the Raglan Library on Wednesday nights.
Organiser Michael Edmonds says he will be helping teacher Lucy Haru to deliver short and fun lessons that are designed to give students the absolute basics of te reo.
The half-hour lessons at the library, between 6pm and 8pm, will give people a taste of te reo to see if they want to take their learning further, he says.
“This is basic, basic.”
Students will learn numbers, colours and basic sentence structure.
Michael says there is nowhere in Raglan where you can go to learn basic Māori words.
He says the Te Ataarangi lessons held at the marae don’t allow students to speak English and can be challenging for many people starting out.
Michael says he learned Māori that way and struggled not being able to speak English.
There will be a maximum of eight students per lesson to “ensure everyone has a voice”.
Anyone who is interested in learning the absolute basics of te reo Māori can contact Lucy Haru on 022 694 1594 or Michael Edmonds, ph 027 673 7827 or email Michael.edmonds@waidc.govt.nz.
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