E tūmeke katoa ana te tauira reo Māori nō Airihi a Aoife Finn kua whai hōnore ki te haere mai ki Aotearoa

He rite tonu tā Aoife, tauira Airihi, tohu i te wiki o te reo Māori ki tana maramataka ki te kāinga ki Tātara, pātata ana ki Tāperena.

Ākuanei, tae mai ai ki Aotearoa nei, me te kōrero Māori, kua ako noa ki ngā pukapuka me te mātaki i a Whakaata Māori. Kua kī a Aoife o Tātara, he kotahi hāora te tawhiti i Tāperena, i tūmeke katoa ia, i whai hōnore ia i karangahia ia e Te Wānanga o Aotearoa kia haere mai ki Aotearoa ki te ako i te reo ki ngā mātanga reo Māori .

E whakaarohia tonutia ana tēnei, hei tāna. He mīharo katoa. Ko te manako nui nā ēnei mahi whakanui i aku akoranga, ka tino whakatairangahia te reo, ka mutu, ka whakatenatena hoki i te tangata ki te ako.

I tere kitea ngā mahi reo Māori a Aoife ki runga o Tīhau e te ao pāpāho ki Airani me Aotearoa hoki i te marama kua taha ake, i te whākīnga kei te tau tuarua ia o tana tohu kairangi ki Trinity College, Tāperena, e ako ana i te wetereo Māori.

Kua ono tau ia e ako ana i te reo Māori – heoi kāore anō ia kia tae mai ki Aotearoa, kāore anō hoki ia kia tūtaki atu ki tētahi Māori.

Kātahi anō a Te Taiurungi o Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, a Tākuta Jim Mather, ka pōwhiri i a Aoife, koia ka tae mai ki Aotearoa a te Rāhoroi (25 o Pipiri) mō ngā wiki e rua, hei haere hoki ki ngā whare e rima ki Te Ika a Māui, o te wānanga.

Kei te hiamo mātou kua whakaae mai a Aoife (ka whakahuatia iwha) ki te tono. He mea mīharo kua noho pūmau ia ki te reo Māori me te whakaoti i tētahi tohu paerua mō te wetereo Māori, me te kore, iti rānei te pātanga atu ki te Māori, ka mutu, he mea mahi ki tētahi whenua matara rawa atu, he tā Tākuta Mather.

E tino kite ana he tangata whakaawe a Aoife, ka mutu, kāore e kore ka whiwhi hiringa nui ā mātou kaimahi me ā mātou tauira i tana haere mai, ka mutu, ka whai arahitanga hoki ia ki tana huarahi ako reo Māori.”

Kāore i tua atu i Te Wānanga o Aotearoa mō te tuku akoranga reo Māori.

Kua mano tini ngā tauira kua whakaakoria ki ngā akoranga reo o Te Ara Reo Māori, Te Pūtaketanga, Te Aupikitanga, Te Pīnakitanga me te Panekiretanga – arā mā te hunga o taumata kē atu.

E tautokongia ana te haerenga mai o Aoife e Te Wānanga o Aotearoa i raro i te maru o Reo Ora, ka mutu, ka noho Māori atu ia ki te kāinga o ngā kaimahi kōrero Māori hei te 25 o Pipiri.

Ko Reo Ora te rautaki reo a Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, ka mutu, ko te whāinga kia 50% ngā kaimahi kōrero Māori hei te tau 2030.

Ko te kawe mai i a Aoife ki te wānanga tētahi kōkiritanga hei whakatairanga i a Reo Ora ki ngā kaimahi o Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, me te whakahihiri i ngā kaimahi ki te ako i te reo Māori.

Ka haere a Aoife ki ngā akoranga reo Māori o te Wānanga, ā, ka piri tahi hoki ki te takahitanga a Te Iwa o Matariki puta noa i te Ika-a-Māui i te mutunga o tēnei marama ki te tīmatanga o te marama o Hongongoi me Te Wiki o te reo Māori.

E whakapono ana mātou he iti tonu te whakapaunga rawa me te whakapaunga kaha a ngā kaimahi, ka mutu, he mea tino whai hua mā te katoa, hei tā Tākuta Mather.

Irish tauira Aoife Finn would always mark Māori language week on her calendar at her home in Dundalk, near Dublin.

Soon, she will be in Aotearoa conversing with Māori in a language she had only ever studied

in books or from watching Māori Television. Aoife, who hails from Dundalk, about an hour from Dublin,

said she was overwhelmed and

honoured to receive an invitation from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa to come to New Zealand to learn the language from top reo Māori practitioners.

I’m still trying to take it all in and process it, she said.

It’s all amazing. I really massively hope that the spotlight on my work will help with the promotion of Te Reo and encourage people to learn.

Aoife‘s te reo Māori exploits on Twitter brought her to the attention of media both in Aotearoa and Ireland last month when it was revealed she was in the second year of her PhD at Trinity College, Dublin - studying Māori syntax.

She has been studying te reo Māori for six years – but she has never visited Aotearoa nor has she ever met a Māori in person.

Te Taiurungi of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Dr Jim Mather recently extended an invitation to

Aoife, who will arrive in New Zealand on Saturday (June 25)

for a two-week visit that includes visiting five of the national tertiary provider’s campuses in the North Island.

We are thrilled that Aoife (pronounced Iwha according to Māori pronunciation) has accepted our in

vitation. It is incredible that she has maintained a passion for te reo Māori including completing a master’s degree in Māori linguistics with little interaction with Māori and in a land so far from our own, said Dr Mather.

We believe Aoife is an inspirational figure and I have no doub

t that her visit to TWoA will

inspire our staff and students as well as guide her in her

endeavours to learn te reo Māori.

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is the recognised leader in Māori language provision and tuition.

Its language programmes, which include Te Ara Reo Māori, Te Pūtaketanga, Te Aupikitanga,

Te Pīnakitanga and Te Panekiretanga o te Reo – for highly advanced speakers - have catered to thousands of students.

TWoA is supporting Aoife’s

visit as part of its Reo Ora strategy and she will be billeted in the homes of Māori speaking staff when she arrives on June 25.

Reo Ora is the organisation’s Māori language strategy and has a goal of half of all TWoA kaimahi (staff) becoming proficient in te reo Māori by 2030.

Bringing Aofie to the wānanga is one of several initiatives to promote the Reo Ora strategy among staff at TWoA.

Aofie will attend te reo Māori classes within TWoA and

will also be travelling around the

North Island as part of a TWoA Matariki roadshow through

the end of this month

and early July during Te Wiki o te reo Māori.

We believe this is a modest investment in terms of resources and support from our staff

that can only have positive outcomes for all concerned,

said Dr Mather.