Māori and Sāmoan language teaching resources aired

Kohanga reo, Sāmoan kindergartens and schools around the country have access to a rich online audio teaching resource, thanks to restoration work by staff of the Victoria University of Wellington’s Language Learning Centre (LLC).

Balint Koller and Edith Paillat

The LLC has released on its website digital recordings of about 20 Māori and Sāmoan language learning readers. These stories and songs had originally been published non-commercially on tape in the 1980s and ‘90s by the Ministry of Education.

One of the works is a collection of Sāmoan music composed over a period of 100 years.

LLC Senior Administrator Balint Koller, says the Rays of Sound project was born out of a determination to save recordings of culturally valuable stories and songs, and to make them more accessible for everyone to enjoy.

“The result is a digital audio bookshelf which breathes new life into precious and long-underused resources.

“They will be useful not only for children but also for adults learning Māori or Sāmoan.”

It is free to listen to the digital recordings over the internet but they cannot be copied.

The booklets corresponding to the audio are also available at the LLC, which supports students who are learning languages at Victoria and is also open to the public. The LLC has resources for people to learn 54 different languages.