In this Issue

1. VALBEC Conference

'Teaching and Learning: Reflecting on Practice'

Call for papers for Presentations and Workshops

2. Fine Print

3. Inspiration

4. Professional Development

2017 ACAL Conference call for papers - Darwin, September 2017 'Traders, Neighbours and Intruders'

5. Vacancies

EAL – CSWE III Teacher Required

Various positions - Glenroy

6. Resources

Resource Gems - 'Sounds: the pronunciation app'

ACAL resource 'Resilience: Stories of Applied Learning'

Free numeracy resources

A Fuller Sense of Self - book and video

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1. VALBEC Conference

'Teaching and Learning: Reflecting on Practice'

Save the date - Friday 19th May, 2017

"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn. John Cotton Dana

As teachers, we are continually learning from our students and working to improve our practice and learner outcomes. At the same time, we seek to expand our knowledge about teaching and learning in adult language, literacy and numeracy.

The conference will explore the following questions:

1. What informs our decision-making and practice in learning about teaching?

2. What does evidence-based research tell us about teaching adults?

3. How do we know we have made a positive impact on adult LLN learning?

4. How do we continue to learn about different approaches to learning and teaching?

Call for papers for Presentations and Workshops

• A presentation involves a mainly lecture style session with the speaker imparting knowledge to the audience.

• A workshop involves the audience in active participation for the majority of the session.

• A visual presentation of ‘Teaching & Learning’ of literacy in context at your organisation.

Why not submit a proposal?

2. Fine Print

Next edition

Welcome back to 2017. We hope that you included catching up on Fine Print in your Summer reading time.

Did feature articles inspire you to read more widely about theories of LLN / adult learning and teaching methodologies?

Were there teaching tips in Practical Matters that you will be trying out with your students? Was there a research project that resonated with your own work? We would love to hear your feedback and encourage you to consider contributing your own writing in 2017. The Fine Print editorial committee will be meeting on Tuesday 7 February if you would like to join us. Contact us at fineprint@valbec.org.au

3. Inspiration

Australian of the Year and literacy

Rosalie Martin is CEO and Founder of a developing not-for-profit called Chatter Matters Tasmania which has a focus upon building awareness and skill in human communication. Through Rosalie's nomination as the 2017 Tasmanian Australian of the Year award, Chatter Matters gained attention for its work with people in prison who have complex communication and literacy challenges. In celebration of a two-year partnership with top literature magazine, Island, a new collection of essays has been produced. Since the beginning of 2015, Island has published a story of adults and young people who are newly-literate and newly-skilled in communication. These essays, all in the learners' own words, have been gathered into a special collection which is available free in PDF format for easy sharing.

4. Professional Development

2017 ACAL Conference call for papers - Darwin, September 2017

'Traders, Neighbours and Intruders'

In 2017 the Australian Council for Adult Literacy celebrates 40 years actively promoting language, literacy, numeracy, and communication advocacy and research and the Conference offers delegates a unique opportunity to explore the conditions required for more critically engaged debates about local, regional and global provision.

The conference – Traders, Neighbours and Intruders: Points of Contact – provides the framework for collective change where policy makers, practitioners and researchers can learn from and engage with a long history of language and policy provision in northern Australia and our neighbours in Asia.

5. Vacancies

EAL – CSWE III Teacher Required

Olympic Adult Education is a provider of foundation level adult Language Literacy and Numeracy courses. We require an experienced EAL teacher to teach CSWE III in Epping. Must be able to work autonomously and have extensive experience working in VET.

Qualifications required include:

• TAE 40110

• A recognised bachelor degree – and a recognised postgraduate TESOL qualification that includes a practicum of at least 60 hours OR

• A Bachelor of Education with a TESOL major that includes a practicum of at least 60 hours

The role is:

• 2 days per week Thur – Fri

• Hours   9.00 – 12.00, 12.30 – 3.00 (5.5 hours x 2 days)

If you are interested, send through your current CV and a brief cover letter to linno.rhodes@oae.vic.edu.au and / or Sally.hutchison@oae.vic.edu.au

Various positions - Glenroy

Passionate and Community minded about providing quality education? Various teaching positions exist for experienced teachers in our AMEP and EAL programs at Glenroy Neighbourhood Learning Centre.
Glenroy Neighbourhood Learning Centre requires English Language teachers in both the AMEP and EAL programs.
Teachers must be fully qualified in TESOL with a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and experienced in the relevant framework.
The position will commence as a casual and is paid according to the Neighbourhood Community Education Centres Collective Agreement.

More information manager@glenlink.vic.edu.au

6. Resources

Resource Gems

This month's contribution is from Committee member Elspeth Collie

Resource Gems - 'Sounds: the pronunciation app' by Macmillan

This app is an excellent resource for teachers to teach themselves to read, write and say the phonemic symbols. Why? During a text-based lesson, it's a fantastic short-cut to refer to particular sounds students are having difficulty with. Many English language students have already gained familiarity with phonemic symbols whilst learning rudimentary English in their countries before coming to Australia.

The app has an interactive chart; a wordlist (with both General British and American English pronunciations); practice reading, writing, and listening activities; timed quizzes; learning and teaching resources and more. I have found the practice activities most useful as phonemes in the chart are practised in the context of frequently-used words.

ACAL resource 'Resilience: Stories of Applied Learning'

Resilience: Stories of Adult Learning is an anthology of adult learner stories, a testament to the resilience of human lives, the critical role of lifelong learning, and how adult literacies weave through our journeys, visibly and invisibly.

The editors gathered the authentic voices of learners across many different adult learning environments in Australia and the UK, collecting over a hundred stories and publishing them in a collection in multiple formats, including paperback, e-book and PDF.

Available as a free digital download.

Free numeracy resources

'Building Strength with Numeracy' - practical, tested resources for teachers to use in a range of settings and made accessible online. Each section of each topic is a PDF allowing immediate downloading, printing and use by teachers and students.

The first six topics are provided as a free download for all numeracy practitioners.

** The topics 'Decimals and 'Measurement' are free to VALBEC members and available for a small charge for non-members.

A Fuller Sense of Self - book and video

Six people described why they returned to education and how that decision shaped and changed their lives for the better. The stories illuminated their lives and learning experiences, describing the challenges they faced, the events that provoked their return to 'school', and ultimately how their lives had changed and shifted following that decision.

Five years on we revisit these students and their stories, to find out where they are now and to discover if and how learning continues to influence their life journey. We tracked down three of our original storytellers - Linda, David and Sue.