New Tutors 2023
Standing (L to R): Foong Sim Chin (Coordinator), Chris Andrews, Liliana Erle, Michael Sloan, Guy Ward, Ken Coleman (Assistant Coordinator)
Seated (L to R): Catherine Bullard, Norma Alexander, Pamela Bores, Wendy Donovan
Not in photo: Carolyn Francis, Mai Roff, Shuzhen Xu
The second meeting of Migrant English Tutors was held on 17 August 2023, which coincided with the final session of the training program for new tutors.
The meeting was well attended and provided an excellent opportunity for existing and newly trained tutors to join in the discussion of general matters relevant to Migrant English Tutors. In particular, consideration was given to a proposal to allow Migrant English Tutors to share some of the administrative workload that is needed to make the Program run smoothly. Details of the proposal are outlined in the Sharing the Load section below.
Presentation of Certificates of Participation to New Tutors by David McNamara, President U3A Manningham
David presented Certificates of Participation to the eleven new tutors who had undertaken the training during Term 3. He congratulated all those involved in the Migrant English Program for the important and excellent work they do in providing a valuable outreach service to those members of the community who wish to improve their English language skills. David and the Committee of Management are very supportive of the Migrant English Program, especially in funding the cost of the resource manual used in the training program, and providing an annual ‘Thank You Lunch’ for the tutors.
Sharing the Load
The coordination and administration of the Migrant English Program has become a big responsibility in recent years and requires the investment of a lot of time and effort for the program to operate efficiently. In considering how this responsibility could be shared amongst interested tutors, a proposal was put to those present at the meeting.
Prior to presenting the proposal, Dorothy Di Battista, one of our tutors who had assisted in putting this proposal together, presented an outline of how the overall administration of the Migrant English Program can be divided up into 6 main areas of responsibility:
- Tutor Training
- Linking Tutors to Learners
- Maintaining Teaching/Learning Resources
- Compliance to U3A Requirements
- Awarding of Priority Levels and Certificates of Appreciation
- Publicity for the Program
Dorothy then introduced a small group activity where the tutors were asked to consider a list of 34 separate tasks undertaken in the Program throughout the year and to allocate each task to the appropriate area of responsibility. This was to make the tutors aware of some of the work that went on to keep the Program running.
The proposal for ‘sharing the load’ was then presented, where the tutors were invited to volunteer to take on some predefined tasks. The tasks, that could be undertaken by a Migrant English Tutor other than the Coordinator, had been bundled into work packages, along with an estimate of the number of hours needed to complete each work package, as well as the timeframe when that work package was to be completed.
To reward the volunteers, the Program will credit them with extra hours that can be added to their tutoring hours to give a total number of Work Hours.
Work Hours = Tutoring Hours + Extra Hours
The total number of Work Hours will be used for two purposes:
- To determine the priority level to be assigned for enrolment purposes
- To determine whether a year will count as a year of service towards the Certificate of Appreciation
We are very pleased to report that the U3A Manningham Committee of Management has fully supported and approved this proposal, and to date, the response from tutors volunteering to take on a work package, or assist with particular tasks, has been very positive. Thanks to all those who have volunteered to help ‘share the load.’
Migrant English Program – August 2023 Statistics
Ken Coleman
Assistant Coordinator, Migrant English Program