Kainoa Wong is an excellent Hawaiian language teacher. If you want an easy, down to earth, very helpful teacher then this is the person to take Hawaiian from. He assigns homework about every other day and the homework is fairly easy.

The best hawaiian teacher I have had so far. He is really nice and very easy to talk to. Your questions will be answered and I learned alot from him.

Wongs an awesome hawaiian teacher; very knowledgable, you learn a lot and its still really fun. He makes the class really fun and interesting. Hes 'olu'olu loa and pretty good looking too haha

SUPER CRUISE TEACHER THAT KNOWS HOW TO TEACH. ALL YOUY HAVE TO DO IS GO AND HE'LL MAKE YOU INTERESTED.

Good teacher, nice guy, and not bad to look at either.

nohea loa keia kumu!!

Great class, always talking and having fun and definitely worth it. Very intelligent.

Brah, Maika'i loa loa loa i ke kumu o Hawai'i. He's a big brother to everyone and cares about you. No joke. Take him and you'll see.

super cruise. hardly any homework. just have to try and you'll do fine.

my favorite professor!

One of my favorite kumus (teachers). Super nice and you will learn if you pay attention. Attendance is mandatory of course for a language class. Easy A. Totally recommend him.

articulated his points very clearly using powerpoints, and very stylish with his clothing also :) easy to understand and attractive.

Best Hawaiian teacher ever! Easy to talk to and if you have any questions he explains everything until you understand it. Ha'i 'olelo every week, but it's not hard! Take Hawaiian from him if you can!!!

Excellent teacher. He likes to talk story and get to know the students. He incorporates culture into the language. Super Fun class especially in the summer. Working at the lo'i was a lot of fun too! Take Hawaiian from him, you'll love it!

Extremely good kumu

EXTREMELY nice, friendly, helpful, handsome. TAKE HIM. You'll make a lifelong friend! I'd take all my classes from him if I could.

BEST kumu on campus. Try to get his class no matter what. He likes to just cruise, talk story, and party, but you somehow get the same information in his class as other more serious kumus without getting that overloaded feeling.

GREAT TEACHER!!! If you are shy and a little embarrassed about your hawaiian speech, you don't need to be! Kumu kainoa will help you & he makes it where half way through the semester you feel like he & your classmates are a part of your OHANA!!!

LOVE HIM!!!! He is an awesome teacher! Easy going, nice personality, very knowledgeable, easy to talk to, good looking and just an all around good guy! He is definitely one of the best teachers on campus. I wish I had him for all my classes. He assigns work and expects it to be done and does not mind going over something again and again. LOVE HIM!

He is awesome! Easy fun teacher that actually makes you learn! Super down to earth and loves to talk about drinking pia!! Take his class!

Great teacher, very understanding of students needs and explains things clearly.

Kumu Kainoa is by far, one of THE BEST teachers I have ever had. You make friends with everyone in your class and you really all do become one big 'ohana. Class was very local style, laid back and chill yet you still learned the same information as all the other classes. I constantly find myself complaining about how much I miss his class :)

Great Class, everyone should take this class for Hawaiian. You learn a lot and have a great time doing it. Kumu Kainoa is very helpful and class feels like a big 'ohana.

Kumu Kainoa was such a good guy! laid back, helpful, and down right chill! You will need the book for vocab, and some exercises. He has a vocab quiz every week. If you miss a quiz he will let you make them up. He made the class into one big ohana.

Awesome Kumu!

Kumu Kainoa is super chill and funny. He?s very family oriented. Weekly voca quizs are easy if you just study. He goes over whats gonna be on the midterm and final. I highly recommend him!

Kumu Kainoa is the best Kumu I've had here at Manoa for Hawaiian Language. He's very willing to help you when you ask and he made class fun His assignments work well with the material you learn and they're really helpful, especially when you study for ho'ike. I highly recommend taking Hawaiian with him

Kumu Kainoa is the best Hawaiian Language teacher at UH Manoa. He is the kind of professor that you can be totally fun with and he will talk to you like you're his friend. Really helpful, DO THE HOMEWORK, it may look like the pop quizzes. Reviews tests and quizzes before to answer any questions. Always making jokes about pia!

Great professor. If you're taking HAW, you should take this class. Midterm and final were partner/group projects creating a video. Homework worksheets, never checked them but do them. Two weekly cards to turn in and two community events. Four manaleo visits. He cares for all of his students.

One of my favorite teacher's of all time. Talks to you like you're his friend/family. Very helpful, good amount of work, easy to comprehend, teaches clearly, uses examples that we can directly relate to making it fun to learn. Best Kumu ever!! highly recommend.

He is the best teacher at UH Manoa. No other teacher can compare to him. He really knows how to make you engaged in every class, and he isn't one of those teachers who tries to drill you. This is the one class I never skip unless I am sick. If he was offered a 300 level class I would definitely keep going on in Hawaiian Language.

Organized, passionate, akamai and pupule loa!

I took Hawaiian Language for several years before taking this class, and my grammar, and pronunciation was horrible. Kumu Kainoa really helped me to correct my bad speaking and understanding, and was one of the only Hwn lang. teachers I've had who explained the reasoning. If you want to understand what you are saying, this is the class for you.

Favorite teacher on campus! He really knows what hes teaching and has a passion for it. He cares about his students and understands that everyone learns differently and and a different pace. Hes the optimal teacher.

He was an awesome teacher. In my previous Hawaiian Language class at Manoa the teacher moved way too fast for me and I had a hard time keeping up. Kainoa was very patient and understanding with all the students. I learned so much better with his teaching style.

Kumu Kainoa is a teacher I'll always remember. He brought my understanding and awareness of hawaiian language and culture to an entirely new level. His assignments keep me engaged and he teaches in a way that helps people who are struggling while allowing those ahead to thrive. He likes what he does and it shows through the way he teaches.

A very good kumu, he is also hilarious! Exams are both oral and written so it is not too bad! He does give homework and we use flipgrid to record us speaking in Hawaiian for credit every week. He is very understanding and flexible as well!

Kumu Kainoa is the best professor I've had at the university. Super organized and always prepared. He corrects and returns assignments quickly! He is very passionate about olelo and lahui and cares about his haumana tremendously. Hands down, he's best kumu and you'll make a life long hoa as well.

Definitely one of the funniest professors I've had. Kumu Kainoa is fluid in his teaching and is always willing to meet outside of class if you need help. The assignments aren't super hard, but you do have to apply yourself to pass.

Kumu Kainoa is one of the best Kumus I've ever had. He is clearly passionate about teaching and perpetuating olelo Hawaii. He made me feel safe to ask questions and speak our language. He was also incredibly organized, literally the most organized Kumu I've ever had! He has high expectations and gives us the necessary tools to reach that success.

Had a lot of fun in this class and improved my conversation skills by leaps and bounds.

Kumu Kainoa has by far been the most supportive Hawaiian language instructor I have taken. He's great at pushing the students to think, speak, and translate Hawaiian. Awesome Kumu olelo Hawaii.

Kumu Kainoa is the best teacher to learn Hawaiian language from at UH. He has a vast knowledge of Hawaiian, besides the language, that he utilizes in his teachings. He makes sure that each student is well prepared before moving onto another subject. I have learned so much about Hawaiian Language from Kumu Kainoa.

I say this about all my kumus, but Kumu Kainoa was one of the best kumus I have ever had. He really cares about his students and truly wants them to succeed. He always comes to class ready to go and always makes it fun for us. I had a super fun time in HAW 202 and I will miss kumu and my class a lot.

I wish i registered for Kumu Kainoa from the start! out of all of my kumus ive had Kumu Kainoa is probably the best one for olelo Hawaii. Wish he taught 300 level!!!!

This was my favorite class this semester. While I was learning the course material, I had a lot of fun. Kumu Kainoa is a fantastic teacher!

He did a great job ensuring that we understood the basics and built on them well. I liked how he would refer back to things we learned previously. It helped me contextualize what we were learning. I enjoyed the moolelo that we read and the way he explained context and the deeper meaning behind phrases and olelo noeau.

Kumu Kainoa is the best. He is such a natural teacher and is so attentive to his students. You can't help but respect and love him. He has helped me build a good foundation in olelo. He brings in many aspects of learning the Hawaiian language and uses different tools to meet the learning needs of his students. Mahalo e Kumu!!

Kumu Kainoa has by far been the most supportive and organized Hawaiian language instructor I have taken. He's great at pushing the students to think, speak, and translate Hawaiian. Awesome Kumu olelo Hawai'i.

Kumu Kainoa is an incredible kumu. He has helped me understand things with our olelo makua that I have struggled with before. The way he engages with his haumana, makes us feel welcomed. Truly feel like my olelo has sky rocketed because of this Kumu. So grateful for him and the impact hes making on our lahui. Mahalo nui loa e kuu kumu!

Kumu Kainoa is one of the best professors I have had and this class has become my favorite this semester. I look forward to continuing my learning with him next semester.

Always provided extra credit opportunities and his notes were easy to understand. Being a visual learner, he taught with visual points to help us remember sentence structures. He was a great kumu; super caring and helpful to every student he had. He had hilarious stories every class that I always got a laugh out of.

Kumu Kainoa takes the language to another level and makes you learn about the culture too!!!

Teacher is very enthusiastic about his teaching and is very knowledgeable as well. He is very respectful and does not make you feel dumb asking questions. This kumu was probably one of my favorite Hawaiian Language kumu's.

He keeps class fun, yet we always are ahead. Kumu Kainoa is the best kumu olelo hawaii at manoa, his students love him. His peers loove him for a reason.

Kumu Kainoa is by far my favorite instructor at UH Manoa. I wish I could take a course from him every semester. Not only is he a fantastic teacher and incredibly knowledgeable in his field, but he is also approachable for personal problems and has become an asset to my life. I will forever remember and cherish what he has taught me.

Wonderful course! Kumu Kainoa is an extraordinary teacher who cares a lot for his students and their success in the course. I learned so much in this class about Hawaiian language and Hawaiian culture. Kumu treated all of us with respect. I would rate his class and teaching style 11/10.

Kumu always keeps the class fun. He is very understanding when it comes to students who are struggling and keeps the instructions for assignments very clear. He always grades and answers emails in a timely manner and is very easy to contact with questions. I highly recommend him to all my friends and family taking Hawaiian language courses!

Matthew Kainoa Wong displays a complete understanding of the Hawaiian language and is passionate about teaching students. The progression of the course is straightforward and Kainoa provides every possible resource to succeed in the class.

He is a great professor that genuinely cares about the students well-being. He always encourages us to speak Hawaiian even if we are afraid to mess up. When he corrected us, he did so in a very kind way. I definitely appreciated his patience and the genuineness he showed in every class. I was truly blessed to have learned under such a professor.

Kumu Kainoa is funny and intelligent. He makes the class fun and entertaining. He doesn't only teach sentence structures and translations, he also uses moolelo and nane. Kumu Kainoa is intelligent because of how much he knows about the Hawaiian language and he rewords his explanations if we are still struggling to understand.

I really appreciate Kumu Kainoa's approach to teaching, he is consistently patient with every student. I especially like reviewing all past content before learning anything new.

Kumu Kainoa first covers all the basics before teaching more advanced material. He scaffolds the curriculum so that we have a strong foundation to build on. Everything he teaches and talks about makes the language more applicable to our daily lives so that we can practice outside of class.

I thought this class would be very challenging but due to the kumu's teaching style that incorporated the different types of learning methods and his good communication skills it was very easy to grasp. Kumu was friendly and very open to questions so no one in the class felt nervous about speaking up if they did not understand anything.

I really enjoyed Kumu Kainoa's class. He makes sure we understand everything and makes it very easy to ask questions, you don't feel ashamed to ask if you are somehow behind or didn't understand some concepts. I really liked that he shared his general knowledge with us as well. Overall he's very friendly and creates a good atmosphere in class.

Kumu Kainoa is a great professor! One of my favorites I've had so far.

Kumu Kainoa is a great professor! I really liked that he shared his general knowledge with us. Overall he's very friendly and creates a good atmosphere in class, which was really helpful to practice olelo with the rest of the students.

I have had four different kumu in my studies of olelo Hawaii at UH Manoa, and Kumu Kainoa Wong is "save the best for last!"

I have learned so much in a matter of weeks due to Kumu Kainoa. I thought my 101 and 102 Kumus were good but they do not compare anywhere near to Kumu Kainoa. I have learned more from Kumu Kainoa in the review sessions he did on 101 and 102 than I actually learned in my previous full semester classes of 101 and 102. Best.Kumu.EVER!

Kumu Kainoa is a great teacher. He knows all about Hawaiian culture and lives and breathes it. He was a student at UH also so I think that helps with him relating to students on a more personal level. I appreciate him always cracking jokes in class because it keeps things fun and the class wouldnt be the same if he wasnt so lighthearted.

He has method to instruction, transparent expectations for students and wants students to succeed.

Kumu Kainoa is awesome. He has an incredible grasp on teaching language in an effective way and genuinely cares so much about his students. I loved his class and will take class from him again next semester

Kumu Kainoa is a very good teacher. I liked how inclusive he made the classroom environment feel. I felt that I learned a lot while still having fun in the class. Although this class was challenging, I always looked forward to going. Will be taking his 202 class next semester.

Kumu Wong always had great energy and always brought his best efforts to class. He made everyone laugh while teaching the content for that specific class time. He always took that extra step to review when his students needed it and always made himself available for students to ask questions. He always encouraged his students to do their best.

Kumu Kainoa was absolutely amazing, one of the best kumus I have ever had during my time at UH. He is absolutely hilarious, he is very inclusive with everyone and he never looks down at anyone and he reviews topics that you learned in Hawaiian language classes before teaching anything new so everyone is on the same page

Kumu Kainoa is an absolute treasure, an exceptional teacher, and a wonderful role model to his students!

Kumu Kainoa really takes the time to make sure everyone understand the content we are learning in class and makes the classroom a very comfortable environment to make mistakes and ask questions. I couldn't recommend Kumu Kainoa for Hawaiian enough.

Kumu Kainoa not only has a super strong and deep knowledge of the Hawaiian language, culture, and history, but an incredible ability to teach and to be an amazing role model. He made the classroom engaging, exciting, and encouraging. Kumu Kainoa has a passion to teach unlike any other professor I've had and I truly enjoyed his class.

Kumu Kainoa was the only Kumu that lead me to fully understand the language of my culture and was the only Kumu that cared if I understood it. If i didn't understand it he'd help me go over it and put it in ways that made it easier for me. Kumu Kainoa is the best.

I always had a fun and productive time in Kumu Kainoas class. I dont look forward to going to many classes, but his class was one of the few exceptions. Everybody got along and he has a genuine care for every one of his haumana. One of the best examples for a solid Kumu.

Fun and Knowledgeable. Kumu Kainoa is very wise on the Hawaiian language and presents it in a fun and easily digestible way. The concepts do not ever feel too foreign or far out from what was being taught before and feels very formulaic. Overall, he is a great kumu and I had a great time in this course.

I love this Kumu, and I always recommend him to my peers. He is consistent with his work, he is organized which helps me as a student to feel motivated and he is very encouraging. He set a comfortable learning environment that made me come out of my comfort zone in a non-judgmental way. He is one of the best Kumu olelo Hawaii I know!

best kumu i ever took!

Kumu positions himself humbly and teached practical olelo. Some students in other olelo classes say that they learn too much University Dialect. Kumu Kainoa frequently states that there is always more than one way to say something. Kumu encourages a joyful class environment in which students feel secure to practice amongst ourselves.

Kumu Kainoa cares about our personal life while also sharing his personal experiences to make class content more connected and engaging. He is very welcoming and you can talk to him without being scared. He is also very VERY organized and returns assignments quickly.

Kumu Kainoa teaches in an understandable way and creates a safe environment in his classroom where students can ask questions. The lessons were well constructed, and he encouraged us to speak in olelo Hawaii. The course taught me so much olelo Hawaii and Hawaii history.

Awesome teacher. Wish this wasn't my last year in his class.

Kumu Kainoa is probably one of the best kumu ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi iʻve had. He creates a safe space for students to learn. We have weekly kāleka and haʻi ʻōlelo and of course attendance matters. Kumu Kainoa only cares that his haumāna are learning, therefore donʻt be afraid to make mistakes in his class. He is also always willing to give extra credit.

Kumu Kainoa lead a very organized and fun class that gave students of varying comfort and skill levels the opportunities to succeed. Considering my classmates came from previous classes with somewhat wildly varying curriculum, kumu took the time to help us all get to the same foundational level so we could move forward together as a cohesive unit.

Amazing teacher. Amazing teaching. Honestly the best language teacher I have ever had.

Kumu Kainoa is an amazing kumu olelo Hawaii. I have taken him for 2 semesters, and every semester has been very enjoyable. He sets high standards for all of his haumana but is available for help. He is very funny and understands that we have lives outside of class. He genuinely cares about his students and checks in to make sure we are doing ok.

Kumu Kainoa is a good kumu. I feel that I learned a lot from this class. I liked how all of our class material was organized in one place and our classwork was graded quickly. Kumu Kainoa always assured us that we can reach out to him when we have questions

One of the best language instructors. The workload was manageable and relevant. He is super on it with grading and very organized. Always made sure to greet us and ask how we are doing, making a strong sense of connection and belonging. I would recommend all my friends to take his class if they're learning olelo Hawaii.

Kumu Kainoa is such an amazing kumu. I learned so much from him and appreciated all the time he put into his classes through class prep and grading. The kaleka and haiolelo were very useful and I always appreciated his feedback. UH is lucky to have him as a kumu. I can't wait to take his HAW 202!