Studying English at TAFE

Young migrants and refugees studying English at TAFE got a dose of dinkum Australian culture at a typical Aussie sports day at Kangaroo Point on 2 June.

Sports Day A Winner For New Arrivals
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BNIT students December Paw, Newstar Paw and Lucy Tang.

Brisbane teachers of TAFE English, Language and Literacy Services (TELLS) organised the Youth Classes Get Together sports day, complete with cricket, volleyball and a sausage sizzle, for students taking part in TAFE's Youth Program.

TELLS Teacher Willians Alcala Pabon said many of the Youth Program students had lived in villages or refugee camps before coming to Australia and had never been exposed to a city lifestyle.

"The TELLS Youth Program teaches migrants under 25 years of age relevant English skills suited to accessing career opportunities and Australian youth culture," said Ms Pabon said.

The event involved students from Brisbane North Institute of TAFE (Bracken Ridge), Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE (Loganlea and Mt Gravatt), and Southbank Institute of Technology.

The Youth Program includes both Adult Migrant Education Program (AMEP) and Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program (LLNP) students.

AMEP is a free education program, funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, offered to migrants who meet visa requirements. It consists of 510 hours of free English classes and has been running for more than 10 years.

LLNP is funded by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and the Federal Government and consists of 800 hours of English classes for eligible people who are registered as job seekers with Centrelink.