English Language Partners Palmerston North
March 2015
Newsletter
About us
We work with people from many
different countries, including China,
Bhutan, Nepal, Cambodia and
Myanmar. Last year 315 people
studied English with us. Do you
want to learn English? Do you want
to volunteer to teach English?
Please contact us to find out how
we can work together.
Contact us
Our office:
162 The Square
Palmerston North
Kia Ora, Hello, Ni hao,
English Language Partners Palmerston North kicked off the Year of the Sheep/Ram/
Goat with two great events. We celebrated Waitangi Day by joining the Waitangi
Day celebration at Te Manawa. We celebrated our cultures on International Mother
Language Day and Chinese New Year on the 21st February with style.
We are gearing up for another successful year! We started our first tutor training in
January and a tutor workshop in February.
We need your help with filling our ESOL Literacy classes and also an English for
Employees class which is 45 hours in total. Please help by spreading the word to
your learners, or families of learners, and let them know that these free classes are
an amazing opportunity for them.
We welcome a new staff member Shelley to the team as a coordinator . Shelley
brings in a wealth of teaching knowledge to the organisation.
May we wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
Jess, Shelley and Xing
Hours:
Monday to Friday
9 am to 5.00pm
Phone:
06 359 2332
Postal Address:
PO Box 12073
Palmerston North 4444
Website:
www.englishlanguage.org.nz
Pencil in your diary…..
MANATESOL Lantern Festival Pot Luck
Date: Friday, 20 March
Time: 6pm onwards
Venue : ELP Centre 162 The Square
Festival of Culture
Date: Saturday, 21 March
Time : from 10 pm to 4 pm
Venue: The Square
We need help on the day of the Festival of Culture. If
you have an hour or two spare time and would like to
help out please contact Shelley Zhang at
[email protected]
English Language Partners
Page 2
Kitchen Tea Tutor Workshop 14 Feb 2015
On Saturday 14 February, Valentine’s Day
we had our first tutor workshop of the year
with the theme Kitchen Tea. We celebrated
our new coordinator Shelley’s up coming pre
nuptial wedding.
A huge thanks go to Gwenna and Rachel
Finikin who facilitated the workshop brilliantly. Thank you for the great sense of
humour and the introduction of the real Kiwi
traditional afternoon tea.
Tutors and learners were invited to bring
their wedding photos . Participants were
asked to guess the year the photos were
taken and to place the photos according to
the oldest to the most recent wedding. We
had fun dressing up the participants according to the wedding gowns in the pictures with
rolls of toilet paper.
In another activity, we were asked to search
in our handbags on the number of items we
could find. Linda won as the highest points
scorer in this game. Among the things in her
handbag were an ipad, pens, USB sticks,
note books, tissue papers, cell phone and
keys.
Messages were read and sound advice was
given to Shelley on “What makes a great
marriage”!
Joan a tutor who had 50 years of marriage
shared a BIG piece of advice :
COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY TO A
HAPPY MARRIAGE!
Wishing you and Darren a lifetime
of everlasting love and happiness.
Congratulations on your Wedding!
English Language Partners
Page 3
Kitchen Tea Tutor Workshop 14 Feb 2015
Wilda’s Story
Valentine’s Day Kitchen Tea
Who says Valentine’s Day is only to be celebrated with your partners? On Saturday, Feb 14 I had the
chance to partake in a kitchen tea party, which is basically a pre-wedding party for a soon-to-be-bride, at the
English Language Partners (ELP). In our case, the soon-to-be-bride was Shelley. What was involved in the
kitchen tea party? Tea of course was a crucial element as the name suggests. Let’s not forget all the sweets
and savouries which were really important! Of course there were also games. About eight or nine ladies brought
their wedding photos, which we had to put in time order based on their dress styles and when this was finished,
the most fun game started! We went into groups and were given a lot of toilet paper, some tape and scissors.
Our task was simple, dressing up our bride to look like one of the photos that we had to previously put in time
order. The result? The photo below. We did not really succeed in making the bride look like the photo, but we
did get the prize for the dress that Shelley liked the most!
During the tea party and the games that followed, I had the opportunity to chat with a few people, and
learned a thing or two about the work that ELP does in general. I also found out about the volunteering opportunity to work with refugees and migrants and help them settle in. While I missed out on the volunteer training session that was run in January this year, ELP is running another session in June, which I plan to join. If you find
yourself interested, come along and talk to someone from ELP. It was definitely a worthwhile way to celebrate
Valentine’s Day, meet new people and get involved with the work that ELP does.
Wilda Ribka
Thanks Wilda for the wonderful reflection on the
day. We look forward to you joining the Tutor
Training Course in June.
Picture from left to right
Wilda, Yuxi,Shelley and Huabing
English Language Partners
Page 4
International Mother Language Day
We kicked off 2015 in style with a
public event Celebrating our cultures on International Mother Language day. We co-hosted the
event with Palmerston North Central Library with the support of
various community language
groups. An estimated 150 people
joined us on the day. Participants
were asked to dress in their national costumes for the event.
There was an opportunity for people to write in their mother language on a language tree “I love
My language “ . There was a competition to pick up nuts with chopsticks and
some learners in the Bhutanese community sang a Nepalese song.
We also celebrated Chinese New Year
on the day. Participants were asked to
write Happy New Year in different languages.
It was an occasion that fostered cultural, linguistic, artistic and friendly exchanges among learners, tutors and the
wilder local community.
Thanks to all for making it a Fun day!
Beautiful smile from Krishna in her Sari
I love my language—Language Tree
Traditional Chinese costumes
Indonesian Kebaya
English Language Partners
Page 5
International Mother Language Day
cont...
Costumes from Afghanistan, Nepal,
Thailand, Japan, China and Indonesia.
We celebrated the event with wonderful food from different countries.
English Language Partners
International Mother Language Day
Page 6
cont...
Beda Ghimire, a learner from the ESOL Literacy class wrote an account on the celebration:
ELP Chinese New Year and Mother Language Day Celebration
Last Saturday 21st February English Language Partners celebrated International Mother Language Day and Chinese New Year. The children got given a red packet with some money in it. Children got Chinese money, New
Zealand money and US money. The children were very happy. There was Chinese dumplings, watermelon, apples, oranges, pineapple, different types of bread and juice, biscuits and tea and coffee. Yani Maya and Nar
Maya Subba from Feilding ESOL Literacy class sung a traditional Nepalese song. Rohit Chhetri danced to the
song. Olak Bista sung a song he had written about leaving Bhutan.
It was a very nice day.
Thank you very much for writing on the event , Beda!
Page 7
English Language Partners
Tutor Training Course
Tutor Training Course 1—21, 22 and 23 January 2015
Harry Wong, Kate Millar, Remuuna Tar May, Sarah Dejando, Lize Haarhoff, Ansie
Jansen Van Vuuren, Jacinta Rademaker, Paola Villegas Flores, Yuxi Luo, Robyn Walker,
Thoria Qamar, Huabing Lu and Rebecca Wildbore.
We hope you will enjoy a long and happy association with us.
Tutor Training Course 2
Dates: 13, 20 and 27 June, 3 Saturdays from 9 am to 4 pm
Tutor Training Course 3
Dates: 10, 11 and 18 September Thursday, Friday, Friday from 9 am to 4 pm
Classes 2015
Do you have friends, neighbours, or workmates who need help in improving their
English?
We can arrange free one-to-one home tutoring for
them if they are NZ citizens or permanent residents.
Alternatively, they can join one of the following
English Language Groups.
Classes are held during term time at English Language Partners Palmerston North Centre, 162 The
Square, unless otherwise specified. Nominal fees may apply.
Level 1 (Beginner)
Mondays 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Level 2 (Elementary)
Tuesdays 9:30 am – 11:30 am
Level 3 (Lower Intermediate)
Mondays 9:30 am – 11:30 am
Level 4 (Upper Intermediate)
Thursdays 9:30 am – 11:30 am
Speaking Class
Tuesdays 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Mothers Group at Hokowhitu
Library
Fridays 10:30 am – 11:30 am
Mothers Literacy Group at Roslyn Bhutanese/Burmese Senior Group Feilding Group at Community
at Anglican Community Centre
House, Manchester Street
School
Tuesdays 9:30 am – 11:30 am
Tuesdays 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Thursdays 10:00 am – 12 noon
Literacy Course (10 hours/week) free for Migrants and Refugees with 0-6 Years of Education
We have 4 classes in Palmerston North on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. All 4 classes are
held in CLC Building 118 Kings Street Palmerston North. The other class is on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays afternoons at The Salvation Army 124 Manchester St Feilding.
English for Employees (E4E)
Free lessons for adults with PR working either part-time, full-time, casually/seasonally or are self‑employed.
English for Migrants
We also offer EFM (English for Migrants) to those who have pre-paid tuition.
2015 Term Dates
Term 1: 2 Feb– 2 Apr
Term 2: 20 Apr - 3 Jul
Term 3: 22 Jul - 25 Sep
Term 4: 12 Oct– 11 Dec
English Language Partners
Page 8
Letter to Shelley
Shelley wrote a letter to the learners in the ESOL Literacy classes introducing herself as the new coordinator.
The learners wrote a letter replying to her and posted it in an envelope to the Centre.
Page 9
English Language Partners
What is in the Community?
NZ Red Cross Annual Appeal is having a fundraising event between 915 March 2015. There will be a Community BBQ at Bunnings on Saturday 14 March. Some of our learners are shaking buckets for gold coins
donation at the New World Supermarkets collection points during the
week.
Settlement Support for Migrants
CAB provides support to new migrants on behalf of Immigration NZ.
The support includes general support on any issue of concern and support CAB provides to all clients and specific challenges for new migrants. Contact details 77 Kings Street, Palmerston North 4410 Phone
06 3570647 Free Phone 0800 367 222 www.cab.org.nz
Women’s Group every first Wednesday of the month 1 to 3 pm
Newcomers Pot Luck dinner last Friday of the month from 6 pm.
contact MMC at 77 Kings Street Palmerston North Phone 06 358 1572
www.mmcnz.org.nz
Internet Resources
1. Sequence Stories and supporting resources: ELP website. Supermarket Shopping, Taking a Child to
the Doctor and How to get your NZ Driver Licence can all be located in Teach English/Tutor Resources/
Topic Worksheets. As we get nearer to April don’t forget about the ANZAC Day sequence story that is also on
the website.
2. ELP Facebook is a great source of information and also
light hearted language-based thoughts https://www.facebook.com/EnglishLanguagePartnersNewZealand
There are some great articles featuring ELP learners, tutors and centres.
3. Don’t forget about the wonderful Give it a Go DIY worksheets. Some of your newer tutors may not yet
have discovered these treasures. The Give it a Go books are available in the resource library and the individual worksheets are also available on the website. http://englishlanguagepartners.org.nz/topic-worksheets
Page 10
English Language Partners
Library Resources
Over the summer holidays, Samantha a
library volunteer had been helping the Centre cataloguing books.
Sincere thanks to
- International Pacific College (IPC) for the
generous donations of Interactions books on Writing, Listening and
Speaking Skills , Focus on Grammar ( Intermediate) and different level s of
New Headways workbooks.
- Te Wananga for the generous donations of Te Reo books, CDs and dictionaries.
- Mr and Mrs McGee for the English teaching books and dictionaries.
A Big Smile from Samantha when finishing cataloguing all the books.
Many Thanks Samantha!
- ELP NZ National Office for the Song Talk teacher’s book s and CDs
Please return all the books and tapes
to us as soon as possible. Thank you
for your cooperation.
Useful information for your learner
As you will know, Settlement Support has been replaced by Immigration NZ’s new service
delivery model to help migrants settle and work in New Zealand.
The main points which could affect your learners and their families are:

The New Zealand Immigration Contact Centre has been set up to help with information
through the free phone number 0800 776 948

Then press 2 for information about living and working in New Zealand

Emails can be sent to [email protected]

The updated website www.newzealandnow.govt.nz has information about living and
working in New Zealand

Citizens Advice Bureau is the face-to-face information provider. They will be able to
refer migrants to the appropriate organisation, and they will run seminars and workshops. The contact phone number in Palmerston North is 357 0647. The office is located at 77 Kings Street. The website www.cab.org.nz has comprehensive information
on the services that they provide.
Page 11
English Language Partners
Learner Progress Summary - LPS
LPS assessment
We will be sending out a LPS form shortly to
those of you who is currently home tutoring a
learner or learners. This will be the first exercise of the two assessments required annually.
The second assessment will be in September.
Watch out for the mail in your mail box. Please
contact the office if you have not received one
by end of March 2015.
New LPS Form
Many thanks to all of you for helping us to achieve a
wonderful result with our LPS targets for 2014. For
our 1 to 1 learners in the home tutoring programme,
there was a 96% completion on the first LPS and 63%
for the second. Our targets were 90% and 60%, so we
are thrilled that so many learners got the opportunity
to be assessed and have their progress measured.
Adults need to know they are succeeding! Well done ,
all.
There is a new “Snapshot LPS” form to use this
year. This form has been trialed with pleasing
feedback so it is now on our website under Resources/Programmes/ESOL Home Tutoring/
Assessment for you to use with your learners.
The older, lengthy LPS form is still available for
your use if this is preferred. If you cannot
download the form, please contact the office
and we can email a pdf copy or send out a copy
to you by post.
Have you completed Assignment 4?
How is your home tutoring going? If you have completed your
initial 12 teaching sessions after being matched please contact
Jess on 359 2332 for your certification interview. You will need
to bring your 12 teaching records, the learning goals and the
Learner Progress Summary with you.
___________________________________________________________________________
Change of Address….. Phone Number….. Email….. Immigration Status?
To help us keep our data up to date, please tell us if you or your Learners have moved house, changed phone number,
got a new email address, or gained NZ residency. Thank you.
___________________________________________________________________________
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English Language Partners
On the horizon
Find out more

Tutor Workshop
ELP Centre, Tuesday 26 May, 12.00 to 2 pm

Matariki
ELP Centre, Thursday 18 June, 6 pm

World Refugee Day/ Volunteer Awareness Week Venue (tba), Tuesday 23 June, 12 pm to 2 pm

Home Tutor ESOL Training
ELP Centre 13, 20, 27 June 9.00am-4.00pm
More volunteer home tutors needed
Tutors—if you are thinking of taking on another learner but haven’t yet taken that step…….please take it in the
direction of my office! I have a number of learners waiting to be matched. We are running a new home tutor training programme in June, however we do have learners out there who need help now. Give me a call or come and
see me if you feel you are in a position to help.
Word finder
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Print off copies and have
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M R
You can create your own
worksheets online @
www.atozteacherstuff.com
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Cogs
Eastern and Central Community Trust
Lottery Grants Board
McCarthy Trust
New Zealand Post
Page Trust
Tertiary Education Commission
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English Language Partners Palmerston North would like to acknowledge the
support of our funders:
United Way
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SPEAKING
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EDUCATE
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