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EnglishWhat Is the Tōku Reo Website?
Updated
Tōku Reo (tokureo.maori.nz) is the official companion website for the Māori language television show Tōku Reo. It exists to reinforce what viewers learn on the programme, offering interactive exercises, podcasts and a forum alongside episode content. If you are following the show on Māori Television or studying Te Reo Māori through the Te Whanake course, this site is built for you. If you are looking for a standalone course with no television component, it is a support resource rather than a self-contained curriculum.
What the site is for
The show and the site work as a pair. Tōku Reo is a half-hour language learning programme broadcast on Māori Television at 7pm, Monday to Friday. The website carries the same material online so learners can practise between episodes.
The stated purpose is to reinforce the television lessons through:
- Interactive exercises
- Podcasts
- A forum for discussion
The site describes the show as "a new, vibrant, and fun way of learning Te Reo Māori in the comfort of your own home."
Where the content comes from
The teaching material is not invented for television. Tōku Reo is based on the Te Whanake language course created by Professor John Moorfield, a comprehensive Te Reo Māori programme. That gives the show and site a structured foundation rather than a loose collection of phrases.
Each block of five episodes covers:
- Vocabulary built around a role-play
- A small number of sentence structures
- Segments on newly coined words from the Māori Language Commission
- Different tribal dialects
- Homework set by Professor John Moorfield
The programme deliberately mixes kaumātua, rangatahi, learners and native speakers within a beginners' format, so viewers see the language across generations and levels of fluency.
How the site is organised
The site is divided into five series, each with its own section:
| Section | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Series 1–5 | Episode content for each series |
| Profiles | People connected with the programme |
| Kura Productions | Production information |
| Forum | Discussion space for learners |
A featured episode example is Episode One, which covers greeting people — one person, two people, and three or more people — plus a "top 10 words" segment that includes toku and reo. By the end of that episode, the show's own description notes, you will know what "Tōku Reo" means.
What you need before you start
The site points learners toward the wider Te Whanake ecosystem, which is useful if you want to go beyond the episodes:
- Textbooks: Te Kākano, Te Pihinga, Te Māhuri, Te Kōhure
- Study guides: Te Kākano, Te Pihinga, Te Māhuri
- Audio CDs: Te Kākano, Te Pihinga, Te Māhuri
- Teachers' manuals: Te Kākano, Te Pihinga, Te Māhuri
- A Māori dictionary
- Te Whanake Animations and Te Whanake TV
Resources are also grouped by Māori language ability, so you can pick a starting point that matches your level rather than beginning at random.
Who it suits
The site fits you if you are:
- Watching Tōku Reo on Māori Television and want to practise between broadcasts
- A beginner working through Te Whanake and looking for extra audio and exercises
- A teacher or independent learner who wants the show's vocabulary and sentence patterns collected in one place
It is less suited to someone seeking a fully self-paced course with no broadcast schedule, since the site is designed around the episodes.
Practical notes
The site is published by Kura Productions, with a copyright notice covering 2008–2019. The material is presented in English with Te Reo Māori content throughout. No pricing or login requirements appear in the site's own description, so treat access terms as something to confirm on the site itself rather than assume.