Parents often find their children learn English faster than they do. This can make it difficult to be a parent as the normal child-parent relationship changes from one where the children are the dependents to one where the parent becomes the dependent. It can be helpful for the parent to be linked with others who can provide support. It is important however that outside help does not further isolate the parent but supports them in their role as parent.
It is helpful to advocate on behalf of the parent for the school to use interpreters wherever possible. Government schools are provided with funding for use of interpreters for parent-teacher communications.
When parents have been unable to obtain employment, financing even a state school education can be difficult. Assistance in accessing financial help to meet the costs of education will be helpful see links below.
Case study:
Our congregation has a member who visits a Sudanese family weekly to read school newsletters and other school notes. He assists the children and parents to understand the content particularly as it relates to their three children. He also assists the mother to fill in permission forms. Prior to parent-teacher interviews he makes calls to the school to ensure an interpreting service will be used and then attends the interviews with the parent.
A primary school has a program called the class ambassador. Each class in the school has a parent ambassador, whose role it is to phone or speak in the playground to the parents in their class whose first language is not English. The ambassador checks to make sure that important communication from the school has been received and understood. Perhaps you could encourage a school to set up a similar scheme to help the non-english speaking parents you know.
Assisting ESL students
Two major hurdles for ESL students are learning to read and getting help with homework. Parents are often unable to help with these tasks owing to their own language difficulties.
Sometimes schools can source volunteer help for the classroom. Some schools offer an after school hours home work club. A person from your congregation may be willing to read with a student one night a week or tutor them in a subject. Volunteering in this way can be particularly rewarding as the volunteer has an opportunity to learn about another culture. If the tutor is another young person then a friendship is established and sometimes a mentor is found.
Jane began meeting a year ago with a family one night a week to help with reading. The children were interested in learning more about Jesus so Jane took her Children’s bible story books along with her and they would read them together. Jane looked forward to her Monday night sessions because the children were always so enthusiastic. She would often try and read with her students the next Sunday’s bible readings or a song for the following Sunday to help them be able to participate in worship. On Sundays her students often sit in her pew and she helps them follow the words in the service.
On Wed nights Elizabeth meets with a Sudanese refugee at the local library to help with homework. At the library Elizabeth is able to help her student use the Internet and there is a plentiful supply of books. Once a term Elizabeth has a brief conversation with her student’s teacher to get advice. The teacher who is overwhelmed by having several high-needs students in her class appreciates the work that Elizabeth does and is more than happy to provide Elizabeth with support in her role.
The government does provide help for newly arrived people to learn English. Refugee and humanitarian entrants under the age of 25 with low levels of schooling are eligible for up to 910 hours of English language tuition while those over 25 are eligible for up to 610 hours of tuition, and other migrants are eligible for up to 510 hours of tuition.
Living in Australia (Australian Government - Department of Imigration and Citizenship)
Sometimes it is difficult for someone to attend formal language classes. Adult Multi-cultural Education Services (AMES) has a volunteer tutor scheme where trained volunteers are able to come to a student’s house and assist with learning English. Hours spent with the volunteer tutor do not reduce the 510 hour quota for formal English lessons. However the volunteer tutor scheme can not be accessed once the 510 hours of language classes has been used. It is therefore a good idea to tell people to save 10 hours or classes for later if they think they might need further help, then they can access the Volunteer tutor scheme until they are ready to finish the remaining 10 hours. To access the volunteer tutor scheme contact your nearest AMES office.
For information on becoming a volunteer tutor see: Volunteering @ AMES.
Case Study:
Char is 28 years old and enrolled in a course at TAFE. He enjoys the opportunity to study, but struggles with English expression in his assignments. So for each assignment he now prepares his essay, and then goes to visit his Australian friend. They then work through it together on the computer, checking that he has expressed his ideas in a way that his intended meaning will be understood.
If possible shop around the local schools as the more English as a second language (ESL) students a school has, the more likely they are to run a special program for those students. In some areas special language schools exist which offer government funded intensive language programs. To find such a school in Melbourne go to Schools Online Advanced Search.
Under the heading ‘School type’ select ‘Language’ this search will list language schools.
Ask to speak with the school's Student Welfare Coordinator or principal:
The government provides various ways of financially supporting students.
See: Financial Assistance for Students (Victorian Department of Education (DoE) )
Links for information about the following can be found on the above site:
Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) – For students under 16 y.o. whose parents receive Centrelink benefits or are on low incomes. This allowance is designed to provide some financial support for the cost of education.
School Start Bonus – For students commencing Prep or Year 7
Youth Allowance – For students 16 years or older.
Conveyance Allowance - Assistance with travel cost where the nearest school is more than 4.8km from home and is located in a rural area or outside the metropolitan area.
Scholarships are another way for disadvantaged students to receive financial support. Check the Internet for scholarships – some exist specifically for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Try Student Scholarships in November each year.
For tertiary level students: Commonwealth Learning Scholarships Programme.
For students in Melbourne’s western suburbs: Western Chances.
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