1. ProLiteracy Conference Scholarship winner

Congratulations to Tina Vlahos from PRACE for her successful application to attend the ProLiteracy Conference in San Diego in late September, proudly sponsored by VALBEC with assistance from ProLiteracy. Tina's application conveyed a passion for teaching literacy and a commitment to lifelong learning that aligns with VALBEC's vision and values.

Read about Tina here:

I have always been enamoured by words and language. I started reading Greek at age four, with the encouragement of my Greek father who has always valued education above all else. When I first went to school, like many children of migrants, I could not speak a word of English. Happily, I quickly fell in love with English and it has now become the language of my thoughts.

I went on to complete a Diploma in Education in my early twenties, with the intention of travelling the world teaching English. Life didn't quite work out that way, but I did end up teaching EAL, which in many ways bought the world to me.

2. Conferences

ACAL 2019 Australian Council for Adult Literacy Conference

Critical re-imagining: adult literacy and numeracy practices for sustainable development

3 October Preconference, 4-5 October

Community Colleges Australia

The Community Colleges Australia (CCA) Annual Conference travels to Brisbane this November, promising an informative, inventive and invigorating two days of international speakers, expert presenters and community education provider specialists.

3. Union

Are you a member of your union? Would you like to explore your options?

4. Learn Local Awards

Congratulations to all the finalists and winners at the 2019.

5. Professional Development

Teaching EAL to adults through drama - September 17

This session is presented by Jodie Whitehurst – recipient of the 2018 ISS Institute VET International Practitioner Fellowship. Jodie has recently returned from a trip to Europe and Canada, through which she gained a wealth of knowledge and skills in this field. She is passionate about sharing this knowledge with other practitioners who are interested in using drama techniques in their EAL classrooms.

In this workshop, teachers will learn a variety of useful strategies through active participation in enjoyable, non-threatening drama exercises. These activities will be immediately applicable to adult EAL classes across a range of ability levels. It is not necessary to have previous experience teaching with drama as the aim of this workshop is to make drama techniques accessible to all interested teachers.

Trauma informed practice

Berry Street will tailor and deliver their Berry Street Education Model which will be customised for pre-accredited training practitioners including teachers/tutors and trainers. This training program will provide participants with the required skills and knowledge to support all students, particularly those who have experienced personal hardship or trauma.

VET Development Centre

The latest VET development centre professional development opportunities for Learn Local providers has been released.

6. Fine Print: Food for Thought

By now, the winter edition of Fine Print for 2019 should have reached the letterboxes of VALBEC members and Fine Print subscribers. It is packed with food for thought (high in energy, low in saturated fat) including a succinct and practically focused explanation of action research by David Nunan (University of Hong Kong / Anaheim University, California), Hayley Black (Carringbush Adult Education) and Julie Choi (Melbourne Graduate School of Education).

As they note, what distinguishes action research from reflective teaching is sharing your experiences with others: “Publishing, i.e., ‘going public', opens up your research to scrutiny and comment by others, and fulfils one of the defining criteria for research.” We look forward to you all getting inspired by this article and flooding the Fine Print inbox with your research stories.

Look for Fine Print in the tearoom or library of your organisation – and if you can't find it, ask why not.

7. Adult Learners Week 1-8 Sept 2019

8. The end of an era, the beginning of a new one ...

The end of an era – we say farewell to Don MacDowall over the next few months while he transitions out of the role of VALBEC Administration and welcome Anna Musgrove from Back Office Secret Weapon into the role.

The VALBEC committee, on behalf of all members past and present, (and non-members who have been assisted by Don), would like to acknowledge Don's skill and expertise in leading the administration of our organisation. Don has been in the role for many, many years and is highly regarded by generations of literacy practitioners in Victoria – and across Australia. He has often gone above and beyond the call of duty and is generous with his time, expertise and humour! We will miss him.

Thank you, Don – for all you have done for Adult Literacy and Numeracy on behalf of VALBEC.

We welcome Anna to the role and very much look forward to working with her to continue to bring the best of Adult literacy conferences and Professional Development to our members and non-members. Anna is experienced in administration - and in our sector.

Save the date • VALBEC 2020 Conference • May 15, 2020