WAVERLEY ADULT LITERACY PROGRAM INC.A0003216A
|
|
|
It is difficult to isolate the most successful stories as all of our students are encouraged to set and achieve short and long term goals. To aim high and succeed, even to the smallest degree must be considered as an achievement. John B has been a student with WALP for 2 years now. He has a young, growing family and had a major spelling problem when he arrived. At his initial assessment and interview he attempted to write a paragraph but was unable to read it back due to the numerous spelling errors. John worked hard at improving his spelling and writing and 15 months after he joined us he won 4th prize in the Monash Writing Competition. Steve W was also inspired to reassess his own spelling and writing skills when he realised that his young family were growing rapidly and he was failing to keep pace with their education. Steve unknowingly had a great imagination but his poor spelling had inhibited him from developing his writing skills. After joining WALP 3 years ago with a 1 to 1 tutor, Steve is now putting together a collection of his own 'Who Dun It' stories for his children and future generations. Lee Z commenced a Fine Arts course at Swinburne in February 2000. Her painting was superb but her reading and writing of English left a bit to be desired, understandably so, as English was not her first language. Lee was becoming frustrated by the written assignments that were a course requirement and was on the verge of throwing it all in when she arrived on our door step. Fortunately her 1 to 1 tutor shared Lee's interest in art and together they visited galleries and exhibitions, discussed old masters and set out to improve Lee's writing. Recognising Lee's exceptional painting skills, her tutor encouraged Lee to enter art competitions to raise Lee's confidence in herself. Success struck when Lee was awarded $2000 first prize in the Dandenong Art Competition. By the end of 2000 Lee presented to me a copy of her exam and year's final results - all Credits and Distinctions. Mallery, a Sri Lankan lady, came to WALP because she was in danger of loosing her job. Her job required her to answer the telephone and write letters and reports. Her boss had complained that customers could not understand her on the phone and if she didn't improve her pronunciation, letter and report writing she could look for another job. Her 1 to 1 tutor worked hard on Mal's pronunciation by having her student phone her regularly. They both worked on her writing. Today, Mallery works as Office Manager for the company in a modern office which offers her financial security. Many of our student's successes are measured simply by a rise in confidence. Confidence to cope better with the requirements of day to day reading, writing, listening and speaking. All students are encouraged to write an article for our magazine every year and this is also a mark of success for many who have never seen their personal work published. Some of their efforts are below. Student Writing Examples
MY FIRST DAY IN AUSTRALIA by Maria
My first day was hot. I had a long trip with my children by aeroplane. The journey was tiring and too long but when I was thinking about my husband the time passed quickly. At the end of the trip I hoped my husband would be waiting for us. I told my children that their father was waiting for us. When the door of the gateway opened I saw my husband and I told my children that their father was there. My children saw their father and screamed with happiness and excitement. 1 cried with happiness and kissed him because I had not seen him for three months. He gave to me a bunch of flowers. HOW TO BECOME AN AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN by Lai-Lun Chung If you are a permanent resident of Australia, you can make an application for Australian citizenship after you have lived in Australia for two years.
You become an Australian Citizen on the date you attend your citizenship ceremony and make the pledge to Australia.
In the school holidays my son and I went back to Hong Kong. This time my son was so happy because he wanted to do many things. In Hong Kong it is summer so we can go to swimming in the morning and visiting his aunt to eat breakfast on the boat. He liked to learn Chinese Chess and asked his uncle how to do it. After, he visited his grandmother and she gave him a little money. He was very happy to buy many toys that he wanted.
Lai-Wan Tsang On my holiday I went to Featherdale Wildlife Park. I travelled to Sydney with my daughter. There are two thousand animals in the park. The Koalas. Kangaroos and wallabies are very famous in Australia. I like these animals very much. The koalas are very cute but they are always sleeping. They usually sleep fourteen to sixteen hours every day because they eat eucalyptus leaves. These leaves make them fall asleep. We were lucky because I was able to take a photo of my daughter with a Koala when he was awake and eating leaves. Yan Lan Zhen During the school holiday I had a busy and happy holiday because my relatives visited my home. They joined a tour travelling to Australia- Sydney, Queensland, the Gold Coast and the last stop was Melbourne. They separated from the tour. They stayed at my home for one week. During that week we caught the train to the city to a Chinese restaurant for yum cha and dinner. We visited the Rialto Tower, the Aquarium, The Melbourne Zoo, Caribbean Gardens, Gardenworld and Chadstone Shopping Centre. They took a lot of photos. They and my family enjoyed this holiday very much. Maggie Lam
My Poor HorseI'm
at the race meeting. The grand stand is full of spectators. The ladies have
beautiful coloured hats and the gentlemen are wearing fashionable ties. The
spectators also have sunglasses. They’re looking like flowery meadows. From
the watchtower I can hear the last words of the race commentator announcing the
great winner after the race has finished. In front of me is the group of
winners. They're laughing, smiling and gesticulating. The
satisfied jockey sits on the horse's saddle, his right hand is holding his hat
but his left hand is holding the reigns. The
owner of the winning race horse is very happy and takes the winners sash with
the inscription "Cox Plate 2001". The horse is very tired after the race. He
stays quiet and only dreams about the feed box full of oats, followed by a long
rest.
Jolanta Mondra
This Page Last Updated Saturday, 20 January 2007 |
