We've recently found ourselves with a lot of spare time on our hands, leaving many with an opportunity to get to things on their to-do list like finishing off that book or finding a new hobby.
For some Kiwis, the latest lockdown has been an opportunity to do the latter in the form of learning Te Reo Māori.
The exploration of one of New Zealand’s official languages has been made easier for many, thanks to the efforts of those like Hēmi Kelly, who has started a community group on Facebook last year during the first big lockdown.
'A Māori phrase a Day' now has 92,000 people in its waka.
"We’re starting to see a rise in Te Reo Māori being shared and being taught through different ways," Kelly told Seven Sharp.
"People are keen to learn as long as it’s easy to access."
Kelly said he originally created the group for his students to give them more access to the language but with its growing popularity, he’s expanded to a podcast and Instagram account.
"We're just trying to navigate this new space and create new platforms for people to continue learning Te Reo Māori."
Scotty and Stacy Morrison are educators and champions of Te Reo Māori too, and said now is the perfect time for Kiwis to embrace the language.
"You think, 'oh, I've got time to do something, what should I do?' What better thing to do than start to learn te reo and utilise all of the benefits that the reo has for you on offer at this time during lockdown," Scotty said.
"What I do find is that Te Reo Māori is soothing," Stacey added.
"We put out karakia to help people feel calmer at the end of the night — those kind of things. I guess that’s where we see that the reo can be really enriching and helpful."
But it's not just lockdown that's attracting people to the language — the trio of educators all said they have seen an increased uptake in Te Reo Māori overall.
"At AUT, we’ve seen a huge increase in people enrolling in te reo to the point where we can’t actually cater to the demand the amount of people wanting to learn and that’s across the motu," Kelly said.
As everyday use of te reo increases so does everyday learning.
"We’re seeing this increase in Te Reo Māori being used in the mainstream sector," Kelly added.
"It’s no longer confined to a certain area or a certain group of people."
The Morrisons said a prime example is Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield using te reo during the 1pm Covid-19 daily briefings.
"Its little things like understanding when Dr Bloomfield says, 'tēnā koutou katoa', and you go, 'oh, he's saying hello to a lot of people, not just himself'," Stacey said.
"And he says, 'right across the mot'," Scotty added.
"He loves to say that. And you go, 'what does that mean? Right across the country'," Stacey said.
"So it’s about being in on all of these, I guess, perspectives and beautiful ways of looking at things."
It’s a small step towards the Government’s goal to have a million New Zealanders able to speak basic Te Reo Māori by 2040.
"I just encourage anyone who is learning using technology or social media to put in to practice what their learning and next time they say hello, say kia ora," Kelly said.
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