Aotearoa's linguistic landscape: exploring the use of te reo Māori in English-medium early childhood education.

This research provides insight into current te reo Māori (the Indigenous language of Aotearoa, New Zealand) use in English-medium ECE settings. We videoed naturalistic conversations between (educators) and (aged 15-28 months) at 24 English-medium BestStart ECE centres. Te reo Māori was quantitatively assessed across five routines: (food) time, book time, group time, free play, and nappy change. The highest rates of te reo Māori use per minute were observed during the time, book time, and group time routines, respectively, and lowest during free play and nappy change. Although scripted/prepared te reo Māori use (e.g. and ; prayer and song) were well used, opportunities for more complex and elaborate te reo Māori use remain. This research provides insight into the current use of te reo Māori in English-medium ECE settings, an enhanced understanding of contributions to te reo Māori revitalisation goals, and applications for practice.