Mark Stewart

Mark Stewart decided to enrol in a te reo programme at EIT | Te Pūkenga because his family had shown an interest in learning the language and because it would help communication at the predominantly Māori school he teaches at.

Mark, 66, has been a teacher for more than 40 years and currently teaches at Te Karaka Area School near Gisborne. He says that his motivation for signing up for the free Te Pōkaitahi Reo Māori (Reo Rua) [Kaupae 2] | NZ Certificate in Te Reo Māori [Level 2] at the Tairāwhiti Campus of EIT | Te Pūkenga last year was both family and his job.

“At Te Karaka I think there’s only two Pākehā in the whole school, myself and one other student. So te reo is spoken quite a lot there and I wanted to get more of a gist of what was being said and how do I relate to the students I’m teaching.”

“My wife, Vicky, who is Māori Samoan, is semi-fluent, but one of my daughters went to Raukawa for a full year, two years ago  and that sort of stimulated some of my other daughters to take te reo. I also went along to the classes at EIT with one of my other daughters, Alyse, who’s a vet in Gisborne.”

“It’s more of a coming of age of our whole whānau because, of my four daughters, three of them are now learning te reo, and my wife is still taking it and I think she’s going to enrol at EIT Level 5 this year.”

Mark says he was pleased with his  NZ Certificate in Te Reo Māori [Level 2] results last year and is now looking forward to the free Te Pōkaitahi Reo Māori (Reo Rua) [Kaupae 3] | NZ Certificate in Te Reo Māori [Level 3] this year.

“Our tutor Rhonda Tibble was just amazingly good, and I did surprisingly well – all A pluses. I beat my daughter in a couple of areas, which she was really annoyed about as she’s quite competitive.”

Mark says the part-time programme is about more than just learning the language.

“What I liked was that Rhonda included Tikanga, the stories behind why things are where they are in Gisborne and some of the local history, which was fantastic. I really liked that, as well as te reo. And I was surprised how much we learned in a short space of time.”

As for the future, Mark’s goal is to finish the free Te Tohu Tauihu [Kaupae 4] | NZ Certificate in Te Reo me Ngā Tikanga [Level 4] by the end of next year.

“I’ve seen the level of fluency that it reaches. It’s sort of basic conversational te reo, unscripted. And that’s where I want to get to. We go to my wife’s marae quite often, so to be able to kōrero and to understand other people’s kōrero is what I’m really after.”

“We’ve carried on our te reo at home and now have conversations, even though I am pretty basic.”

Mark says he recommends anyone, Pākehā or Māori, enrol in the te reo programmes at EIT | Te Pūkenga.

 “ I just think it’s fabulous. The quality of the tutors is great, and I think the support offered, is really cool. It was just the way things were done, from pōwhiri to the marae visits to the kai. It was really good.”

Angela Tibble, the Programme Coordinator and Lecturer at Te Whatukura at EIT | Te Pūkenga, Tairāwhiti, says: “Night classes are a great opportunity for those who are busy during the day!  The classes are open to all who want to grow their knowledge and understanding of Te Reo Māori and our cultural practices.”

“We have a great team of teaching staff who can help guide you with learning strategies galore!  Like Mark and his daughter, bring a friend or family member with you to keep each other motivated and grow your inner circle compatibility.”