The best way to learn Maori speaking

1. 1

   You say sentences out loud

   Speaking is a skill you only build by speaking. An app that only taps and swipes trains recognition.

2. 2

   It uses whole sentences

   Sentences teach word order, endings and rhythm that single words cannot.

3. 3

   You hear native-style audio

   Listening and speaking feed each other. You need to hear how it should sound.

4. 4

   Feedback is specific

   Knowing which word you missed is more useful than a red cross on the whole sentence.

5. 5

   It is short and daily

   A ten-minute habit you keep beats a long course you drop.

Every sentence goes through the same four steps, and the last one is the point.

• Order

  Rebuild the Maori sentence in English from a bank of words.

• Translate

  See the English and build the Maori sentence word by word.

• Listen

  Hear the sentence in Maori and type what you understood.

• Speak

  Say it out loud and see which words landed.

• Hello

  Kia ora

  Hello

• Thank you

  Ngā mihi

  Thank you

Play buttons use your device’s own voice and appear only when it has one for Maori.

An app builds habit, vocabulary and the muscle memory of speaking. It does not replace talking with people. Once you can say a handful of sentences, find a conversation partner or tutor and use what you practised. See how long Maori takes to plan your time.