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Source: ONE News -
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As Maori Language Week gets underway, education providers around the country are reporting Te Reo classes have become more diverse than ever.
Those born outside of New Zealand, like Englishwoman Louisa Miller, appeared to be embracing the Maori language.
"I'm English, so it's really important for me to know as much about the country as I live in as possible," she said.
The last census found that 4%, or just over 157,000 New Zealanders, speak Te Reo, but experts said that number was growing.
"There's all kind of ethnic groups learning Te Reo. It's not just Maori and Pakeha, you get Asian people coming in too," said Director of Te Reo at Unitec, Scotty Morrison.
"We're actually having to turn people away because we're so full. We haven't got the human resources to cater for the amount of people enrolling in our night classes."
Rapata Wiri of Maori Multimedia has also noticed the increase.
"We've had people from all over the world - the US, Asia, and Europe," said Wiri, who has taught Te Reo at universities around the world. Wiri also started a website five years ago to teach the language online, and said that international students were crucial.
"We need to encourage non-Maori, as well as Maori, to speak the language and to learn the language in order for it to survive over the next hundred years," Wiri said.
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