Connections
The Newsletter of English Language Partners Auckland West
PO Box 52 253 Kingsland 1352.,
2 Kingsland Tce. Kingsland., Email: [email protected] Ph. 846 0398
.April 2013 vol. 5 Issue 2
Kia Ora Home Tutors,
Greetings to All,
We hope you, your family and your learners are avoiding winter
ills and chills.
Tracey Barnett was the speaker at this year’s AGM. Her first hand
experience of visiting a Burmese Refugee camp was humbling to
listen to and certainly puts our work into context.
Congratulations to those who received your 12 Week Certificate.
Our new chairman is Sarah Redmond, some of you will remember
her as a former coordinator. Sarah introduces herself on p2.
Lynne will be away from the resource room from the 8th July to
2nd August, so it would be a good idea to phone before you come
in during this time to make sure someone is in the office.
We look forward to seeing you soon,
Zoe, Rozalia & Lynne
Diary Dates
World Refugee Day 20th June
Volunteer Support Meeting - See p2.
Please encourage your friends to come along to our
next Home Tutor Training Course starting August 14th.
20th June
16th—22nd June
Volunteer Support Meeting
English Language Partners
2 Kingsland Tce.
Thurs. 20th June.
6.00 - 7.30pm.
You are invited to a
This is a great opportunity to catch up with other tutors and
compare notes.
We have some great videos from UNHCR to give you an insight
into their work and the lives of Refugees.
We’ll end the evening with a light supper.
Thank you
for
Volunteering
at
Committee News
Hi, my name is Sarah Redmond and I have been voted new chair of
the governance committee for ELP Auckland West. I'm delighted at
this opportunity to become further involved with English Language
Partners, an organisation that provides such a unique and meaningful service in the community.
I trained as a tutor nearly 20 years ago in Hamilton. After doing my
OE I returned to Auckland and worked in Auckland West office as a
coordinator. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience, however, a new baby with some
health issues meant it was not practical for me to continue in the role. Around three
years ago I joined the governance committee. It has been a real learning curve for
me, as the organisation continues to grow and change. I am really appreciative to
the committee for their support and wisdom and particularly to Muriel who has
been a fantastic chair and leaves some very big shoes to try and fill. I look forward
to year ahead and working with Zoe, Tam and the team.
English
Language
Group enjoyed a visit
Dolly’s
from
Kim Faifua,
Manager of Glen
Eden C.A.B.
We welcome new tutors who trained this year and are now
matched with their learners.
Term 1
Helen Adams
Shannon Addison
Mayara Bohm
Diana Strom
Stephanie Boyle
Gwyn Carter
Alison Comrie
Hope Sutherland
Jane Elliott
Behnaz Fard
Freshly Muljadi
Hany Qoulad
Sanjaya Shrestha
Gemma Song
Shardool Akolkar
Catherine Anthony
Neeta Bedekar
Shibani Bhave
Emma Binks
Hinerangi Erstich
Linda Freiend
Rahki Gundawar
Bronwyn Guptill
Derek Jones
Vanessa Kong
Mike Maran
Luz Marin
Scott Mears
Trevor Miranda
Deehan Morgado
Xuan Nguyaen
Felicity Perold
John Reyna
Lisa Stanley
Term 2
Thank you for volunteering
Resources -
Welcome to the resource room.
Now that winter is here you might like to settle down with a good book.
e have some new biographies which I hope will give you an insight into life in the countries
of our learners.
Purple Dandelion Farida Sultan with Shila Nair
A Muslim woman’s struggle against violence and oppression
Struggle for Freedom - Jesper Bengtsson
A portrait of Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi.
Dear Zari - Zarghuna Kargar
Hidden stories from women of Afghanistan
Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
One Man’s mission to Promote peace…. One School at a Time.
The Good Daughter - Jasmin Darznik
“My mother’s hidden life”
Tamil Tigress - Niromi de Soyza
“My story as a child soldier” in Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war.”
Class trip to
M.O.T.A.T.
Just before Easter our Literacy Group coordinator, Nahed, organized a trip to
the Museum of Transport and Technology.
Ingrid prepared the following lesson for her students.
On Thursday March 28th our class visited M.O.T.A.T. near Western Springs.
This museum has buildings, machines, engines, tools and furniture from early times in New Zealand.
Some things are more than 100 years old.
It is a big place and there are many things to see outside and inside.
We caught the bus from school and arrived there at 10am.
We walked around and looked at all the different exhibitions.
We saw a man shoveling coal into the steam engine for pumping water.
This was an early way to make power.
The houses had jugs to get water from outside.
They had candles instead of electricity.
There was a model of a horse pulling a cart to deliver bread and milk.
We saw the early telephones which were much bigger than
phones we have now.
Inside the exhibition hall we saw an old living room with carpet,
sofa and chairs, and a kitchen with an old electric stove.
An old shop window had tins of food and old kitchen equipment.
Some people rode on the tram which goes to the zoo.
Our 4 classes met together at 12.00 and we had our lunch.
The weather was fine so we sat outside.
At 1pm we caught the bus back to school.
It was an interesting day.
1. When did we go to M.O.T.A.T.?
2. How did we get there and who did we go with?
3. What are some things we saw?
4. What did we do after looking around?
A Learner’s Story
On Thursday our class and I went to MOTAT. There
were a lot of old equipment from olden days. There
were old cars, old house, old telephones and old bus.
At 12 We had lunch together in the picnic area then
we continued our trip. We saw old dresses that people
used to put on many years ago, and old dining room,
old ways of washing and old ways of cooking. My
teacher talked to us and showed us pictures in
the class. We understand technology is very important. A t 2 o’clock we returned back home by bus.
It was a very enjoyable trip, I liked very much. I am
very happy because I was with my teacher and
friends.
The English Plural
according to....
We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!
Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
Neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England.
We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes,
We find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,
And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write, but fingers don't fing,
Grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them,
What do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speakingEnglish
Should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.
In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship...
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
While a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language
In which your house can burn up as it burns down,
In which you fill in a form by filling it out,
And in which an alarm goes off by going on.
And in closing..........
If Father is Pop, how come Mother's not Mop.????