Ministry of Education and Hika bring te reo Maori to early education

New Zealand early education services (ECE) are eligible to receive free access to the Hika Lite Maori Language Application, according to an announcement from the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry has partnered with Hika Group in order to better support te reo Māori in early learning and provide this free service. As of now, early learning services are eligible for free access to the e-learning Māori language app, until the end of May 2017.

The app has been designed to encourage children, their families and staff to use te reo Māori in early learning settings.

According to the company's website, "The Hika technology platform has been designed to support a wide range languages that span the globe. The Hika Lite (English /Māori) and Hika Explorer (English /Māori) are the first of these offerings.

We look forward to expanding our te reo offerings, alongside other languages, for education, government and the public. Hika has also been designed to support the revitalisation of many indigenous languages around the world."

According to Hika, to enhance the learning and teaching of te reo Māori, Hika app's offer:

• High quality sound files that assist with correct pronunciation and highlight the subtleties of tone in purposeful communication
• Authentic male and female teacher voices to highlight the tonal differences of gender in language usage
• High frequency language patterns for daily use in learning and teaching contexts
• Language patterns that highlight the subtle differences in whānau relationships
• Formulaic patterns that reinforce understanding of personal and plural pronouns
• Cyclical opportunities to learn and practise using A-Class and O-Class Singular and Plural Possessives
• Reoccurring opportunities to learn and practise using 'i' and 'ki' in sentence forms
• Differentiated opportunities to learn and practise Active language patterns
• Differentiated opportunities to learn and practise Passive language patterns
• Numerous opportunities to plan, grow, develop and improve personal reo Māori

Hika Lite has officially reached more than 125,000 subscribers.

The MInistry of Education says, "If your service has not yet been contacted by Hika Group, you can request more information and/or register by emailing ECE.Info@education.govt.nz. Registrations are available for early learning services only and must be received by 31 March 2016."