Maori - Level 3 毛利语言学习-第三级

I hate to admit it but I must say that I find the Zoom class (studying at home in front of the computer with the App Zoom) more productive than the actual physical class at Unitec. Firstly, there is no need to travel - time saved. Secondly, I can have my own favorite tea in between class time - lovely. Thirdly, I can hear clearly every word spoken as opposed to the class where somehow, my hearing ears appear to be blurred.

There are three drivers for me to learn the Maori Language.

Driver # 1: I have settled in New Zealand for the last forty-one years, coming from Singapore. Before I came, it was my belief then that Maori was the national language of Kiwiland. I took pains to learn both the Haka and the waiata “E papa waiari, Taku nei mahi. … ” before I arrived in Auckland in 1979. Imagine my disappointment when I arrived and found that Maori culture and language were not the priority of the main European population but disappointingly, not a priority in schools. I made up my mind to study Te Reo way back then in the early 1980s. But somehow events overtook me and none of my immediate family members who came with me (and there are six of them) saw the need to master the Maori Language and that was that.

E Papa Waiari https://youtu.be/3U6UhcOR30o

Driver # 2: Then I found from the books in the public library that there were times when the reading and writing of Te Reo were discouraged. When I noticed that there were Maori people who were unable to converse eloquently in their own language, I gave up and dropped the idea completely. That was in the 1990s and 2000s.

Driver # 3: Then came the influx of Chinese migrants coming to New Zealand, initially from Hong Kong and Taiwan (the 1980s and 1990s) and then from Mainland China (2000s and 2010s). When they too had no interest in learning Te Reo, a plan came to my mind. “When I retire,” I said to myself, “I need to study enough of the Maori Language to get the Chinese involved in Maoridom, to bridge this gap of everyday knowledge. After all, I have noticed a lot of similarities between the two cultures, especially in the bonding of family members.”

So here I am trying to be as knowledgeable as possible in the Maori language and culture. I must say that I know I’m at the right bottom of the class and I will be returning to level 3 next term.

In our class, we have the shy ones. 在我们班上，我们有一些害羞的人。

We have the studious ones, too. 我们也有好学的学生。

And, we have the talkative ones, too. 而且，我们也有健谈的学生。

我刚刚和其他十三位学生一起完成了在Unitec的Kura Po Whanau进行的十周课程。我最喜欢这门课程，这主要是因为我们勤奋的讲师Kaiako Teina不断为团队成员提供大量练习和许多毛利人的宝石-Whakatauki（谚语）和Kiwaha（成语）。

我不愿承认，但我必须说，我发现Zoom类（使用App Zoom在电脑前在家学习）比Unitec的实际物理类更有效率。首先，无需往返学校 - 节省时间。其次，我可以在上课时间之间喝自己喜欢的茶 -好可乐。第三，我可以听清楚每个单词的发音，而不是在上课时，我的听觉耳朵似乎模糊了。

我有三种驱动程序来学习毛利语。
驱动因素1：我过去四十一年来都是从新加坡来新西兰定居的。在我来之前，当时我相信毛利人是新西兰的国语。在我于1979年到达奥克兰之前，我曾竭尽全力地学习 Haka 和waiata 的“ E papa waiari，Taku nei mahi。...”。想象一下当我到达奥克兰时的失望，发现毛利人的文化和语言不是主要的，但令人失望的是，这并不是学校的优先事项。我下定决心要在1980年代初期研究 Te Reo。但是不知何故，事件使我震惊，与我一起来的亲属（有六个人）没有一个知道掌握毛利语的必要。
驱动因素2：然后我从公共图书馆的书中发现，有时不鼓励阅读和写作毛利语 Te Reo。当我发现有些毛利人无法用自己的语言雄辩地交谈时，我完全放弃了这个学毛利语的想法。那是在1990年代和2000年代。
驱动因素3：然后是中国移民涌入新西兰，最初是从香港和台湾（1980年代和1990年代），然后是中国大陆（2000年代和2010年代）。当他们也对学习Te Reo毫无兴趣时，我想到了一个计划。我对自己说：“退休时，我需要学习足够的毛利语，才能使中国人融入毛利人，弥合日常知识的鸿沟。毕竟，我注意到两者之间有很多相似之处文化，尤其是在家庭成员之间的纽带。”
因此，我在这里努力使自己尽可能了解毛利语和文化。我必须说，我知道我在该课程的右下角，下学期我将回到第三级。

There are those who are always making notes. 有些同学总是在做笔记。

We have those who try their best to keep their mouths shut, and that includes me. 我们有那些尽力使自己闭嘴的人，其中包括我。

And then there are those who are so stressed that they dream of the exercises in their sleeps. 然后，有些人压力太大，以致于梦中也想冒利文以得睡眠。