Migrant English Program

The Migrant English Program is an outreach community service run by U3A Manningham to assist people from a non-English speaking background, improve their English language skills to help them integrate into the Australian community. As we have a limited number of tutors, our service is only offered to those who live in Doncaster East and the surrounding suburbs (within the state of Victoria in Australia).

Coordinator: Zeny Healy

Assistant Coordinators: Ken Coleman, Gabrielle Jang

Email: manunipines@gmail.com

For those seeking assistance with English as Learners

Our tutors help people who wish to improve their speaking, listening and understanding in English. Your tutor will usually meet you once a week for about an hour. This service is FREE. Our tutors are volunteers and do not get paid.

The meetings are either face-to-face or online:

  • Face-to-face meetings may be held at a home or at a public place (such as the library, coffee place or a food court).
  • Online meetings may be held using Zoom, WhatsApp, WeChat, Face Time or something similar.

If you wish to have a tutor to help you, send an email to manunipines@gmail.com or contact the U3A Manningham Office during term time and give your contact details.  The coordinator of the Migrant English program will then be in contact.

Contacting the U3A Manningham Office

When contacting the office, say that you wish to request for a ‘one-on-one’ Migrant English tutor. Then give the following information:

  • First name
  • Family name
  • Gender
  • Phone
  • Email

If you know very little English, please also name an English-speaking contact (that is, someone who knows English and can be contacted on your behalf), giving their:

  • Name
  • Phone
  • Email

For those seeking to become Migrant English Tutors

If you would like to join the Migrant English Program as a tutor, you will need to enrol in the training course, Workshop for Migrant English Tutor Training, listed under Special Project. At the completion of the training course, you are expected to make yourself available to take on a learner.

The course commences on the third Thursday of Term 1 and is conducted over 6 Thursday afternoons (1:30-4:20PM) from around mid-February to March. It provides training to those wishing to join the Manningham U3A Migrant English Program as Tutors to assist, on an individual basis, migrants who wish to improve their English language skills, in particular conversational English. There are no pre-requisites for this course, and a comprehensive resource manual funded by Manningham U3A, is provided to all participants.

Enquiries can be emailed to the Migrant English Program  mailbox at manunipines@gmail.com.

The Vision

The ground work for the Migrant English Program was laid in 1998 by Bridget Halge. As a school teacher, Bridget had noticed that many migrant women had little understanding of English, making it difficult for them to communicate with their children’s teachers. Then, a few years after she had joined U3A Manningham, she observed that people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds were under-represented among its members.
 
Upon realising this situation, U3A Manningham wanted to encourage more diversity but realised that language could well be a difficulty for many older people. Out of this came the Migrant English Program.

Coordinators of the Migrant English Program

Program Founder: Bridget Halge

PeriodCoordinatorAssistant Coordinator(s)
2000 – 2001Bridget Halge–
2002 – 2003Pat Smith–
2004 – 2016Joan Creber–
2016 – 2020Jeanette BadgeKen Coleman (from 2017)
2021 – 2024Foong Sim ChinKen Coleman
2025Felicity CronanKen Coleman, Gabrielle Jang
2026Zeny HealyGabrielle Jang, Ken Coleman
L to R: Ken Coleman, Foong Sim Chin, Bridget Halge, Joan Creber, Jeanette Badge

Migrant English Tutor’s Meetings

There are two meetings a year for Tutors to catch up and exchange ideas:

  • The 1st meeting is normally held in the 1st week of February, just before the start of Term 1.
  • The 2nd meeting is normally held on the 6th Thursday in Term 3.

Acknowledging our services

The following benefits are provided in recognition of our service to the community:

Certificate of Appreciation: This was awarded for the 1st time in 2022, to Migrant English Tutors who have served more than 5 years.

Annual Lunch: Since 2022, a lunch has been provided by U3AM for all Migrant English Tutors, to thank them for their service to the community.

Priority Levels: Since 2008, Migrant English Tutors have been assigned priority levels, based on their number of tutoring hours, which gives them some priority when enrolling for courses for the following year.

Annual Reports

Documents

The following pdf documents and forms are available to Migrant English Tutors. Click on the document name to open the document in a new tab:

This Word document can be downloaded by clicking the document name or the [Download] button.