Finding the most effective methods for families to increase and normalise the use of Māori language in their homes is the focus of new research from Victoria University of Wellington.

Maureen Muller, who graduated at the Marae ceremony on 16 December with a PhD in Māori Studies, wanted to find out how families who are succeeding in raising their children as first-language speakers of Māori have managed to sustain an immersion environment.

Maureen, who lives in Ngāruawāhia in Waikato, learnt Māori as a second language when she was an adult, but she and her husband wanted to raise their youngest daughter as a first-language speaker of te reo.

“We tried really hard to make it happen, because there’s nothing more amazing than hearing your child speaking confidently in their heritage language,” explains Maureen. “However, even though all the other members of our family spoke Māori, we never spoke it together in the home. I wanted to know why we hadn’t succeeded, and how I might be able to help other families achieve immersion in their day-to-day lives.”

She conducted extensive interviews with eight whānau from around New Zealand who were exclusively speaking Māori in the home, and came up with six key factors that are crucial to success.

“One was that the parents had critical awareness of the importance of creating and sustaining an immersion environment, and another was a clear family language policy, where their goals and plans were being constantly reviewed and updated. Another was having a poureo—someone in the family who was a key driver of the language, who would consistently put in the effort and make it their main focus for all the family.

“Having the right support available outside the immediate whānau was also something I found to be vital in dictating whether families succeeded in achieving their goals, and access to appropriate resources—such as Māori language books or DVDs—was fundamentally important too. My research also showed it was important that parents continually developed their language skills to keep abreast of their children’s developing needs.”

Maureen says she’d like to summarise her PhD findings into a booklet, to be part of a kit given to parents who were hoping to raise their children as first-language speakers of Māori.

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