He whakamārama mā te Kaiako
Tēnā koe.
Te Whanake Animations has been designed to stand alone as a resource for learning Māori. Nevertheless, learners will make the best progress in acquiring the language when Te Whanake Animations is used in conjunction with classes taught by a skilled teacher who is a fluent speaker of Māori. Te Whanake Animations has been designed specifically to complement the Te Whanake series of textbooks, study guides, recorded exercises on CD and videotapes, podcasts, and the dictionary, Te Aka Māori-English, English-Māori Dictionary and Index. As a teacher you will also find the teachers' manuals useful. Included in these are resources for duplication and ideas for class speaking activities for the learners. Further information on the Te Whanake series can be found on the website http://www.tewhanake.maori.nz/
In order to gain the maximum benefit from Te Whanake Animations it is suggested that you integrate the animated movies and activities of each module into your course programme. Assigning particular activities and exercises from Te Whanake Animations, the study guide and the CDs for independent study can give the learners practice in the language you are teaching in class.
The animated movies and activities of each of the 15 modules of Te Whanake Animations for Te Whanake 1 Te Kākano correspond to the chapters of the textbook as follows:
Kōwae 1 Te Wāhanga 1
Kōwae 2 & 3 Te Wāhanga 2
Kōwae 4 & 5 Te Wāhanga 3
Kōwae 6 & 7 Te Wāhanga 4
Kōwae 8 & 9 Te Wāhanga 5
Kōwae 10 & 11 Te Wāhanga 6
Kōwae 12 Te Wāhanga 7
Kōwae 13 Te Wāhanga 8
Kōwae 14 Te Wāhanga 9
Kōwae 15 Te Wāhanga 10
Each of the activities in the modules of Te Whanake Animations refers the learners on to further related exercises or information in the textbook, study guide, podcasts and/or CDs. These references should help you in planning your course programme. Many of the activities begin with explanations of particular language items introduced in the animated movie and/or in the particular chapter of the textbook. To gain the maximum benefit from each module, it is suggested that you advise your students to watch and listen carefully to the animated movie first. This will provide the context for the new language that is included in the module. The student should watch the movie several times, making use of the button to select the English captions in order to make sure they understand what they are hearing. Then they should work through the exercises in the order that they are listed, returning to any they find difficult at a later session.
For each animated movie there is an activity where the student takes on the role of one of the characters. This is a relatively difficult task, although the hint button will make it easier. For this reason it is advisable to complete most, or all of the activities before the role-play is attempted as these will prepare the student for this activity. The activities of each module of this online resource and the other resources of Te Whanake are designed to incorporate an appropriate mix of language skills to help develop linguistic and communicative competence. These language skills involve knowledge of spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, word formation, grammatical structure, sentence structure, linguistic semantics, idioms, language use and of language as discourse. Both productive and receptive skills are included in activities on the online resource. More specifically these skills include: developing the ability to take part in oral interaction using the appropriate vocabulary, grammatical structures, idioms, formulaic expressions, non-verbal communication and communication conventions; developing listening and reading comprehension skills; deducing the meaning of words from the context; distinguishing the main ideas from supporting details; extracting the important points in summarising; developing skills to attack more difficult oral and written dialogues and texts; speeding up reading comprehension; and the incorporation of cultural knowledge.
The Help page provides detailed instructions about how to use macrons on the web site and elsewhere. Where responses are expected from the learners in the activities of Te Whanake Animations, there are often a number of optional answers, all of which could be correct. We have endeavoured to include all the possibilities, but it is possible that some may be missing. Your feedback is welcome and should be sent to Professor John Moorfield at john.moorfield@aut.ac.nz.
