Language school shouting out for help
The English Language Partners school in Nelson is hoping eager volunteers will take up the call to help teach English to former refugees.
The school has moved to larger premises on Hardy St to meet the demand for its services.
Manager Tony Fitzwater said they were now able to run more than one class at a time.
‘‘We run classes five days a week, mornings and afternoons, and we’ve got evening classes in Richmond.’’
He said its previous home on Bridge St was no longer suitable, but having two rooms and a bigger resource room had made all the difference.
Nelson accepts 130 refugees each year and the language school works alongside the Red Cross, which oversees their resettlement.
Red Cross Community Services Manager Chris Stuart said the school played a vital role in helping former refugees find their place in Nelson.
‘‘Learning the language of a new home country is a key aspect of refugee resettlement and English Language Partners have played an important role in empowering former refugees in Nelson through their services.’’
‘‘After graduating from English language programmes, we’ve seen former refugees pursue employment and educational opportunities that have allowed them to get involved and contribute back to the community.’’
Fitzwater said English Language Partners had trained teachers at the school itself, but former refugees often needed additional support outside of the classroom.
‘‘Volunteers go into refugee and migrant homes and do one-to-one tutoring. That’s the foundation of where we started as an organisation,’’ he said.
Co-ordinator Trish Standring said home tutoring was very rewarding and was open to anyone.
‘‘They don’t have to have a teaching background, and they don’t have to have university qualifications ... they just need to be interested and willing to help.’’
She said former refugees came to the school with varying levels of ability, which determined the sort of teaching a home tutor would do.
‘‘If [a refugee] is at a very low level [of English] they might just be doing numbers and colours, and then they’ll go out to the supermarket and look at the different vegetables, talk about the names, what colour they are and how much they cost ... each tutor will have their own way of doing it.’’
‘‘Often [volunteers] will work with a mother who is at home with a child, and can’t easily get to classes, but any learner can come to me and ask to be given a home tutor, we just have to have enough home tutors.’’
She said she working with former refugees had its challenges, as many weren’t even literate in their own language, but they had a good atmosphere at the school.
‘‘They are very interested and positive, they don’t mind making mistakes and they’re prepared to try, so we have a lot of fun.’’
‘‘We don’t see them often enough though, as they only come for between 10 and 14 hours a week, which isn’t a lot, but it’s all we’re funded for so we do what we can with the time we’ve got.’’
She said having support from a home tutor helped them apply what they learned at school and better equipped them to thrive in the community.
The first volunteer training course begins on March 7 and runs for three weeks, with classes held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and Saturday mornings.
For more information email trish.standring@englishlanguage.org.nz