“Listening to AMEP Teachers”
A Forum with Alison Larkins – Commonwealth Coordinator-General for Migrant Services
7:00-9:00 pm AEDT Wednesday 10th March 2021
AGENDA
7 – 7:10 pm:
Acknowledgement of Country (Margaret Corrigan, President ACTA)
Outline of event & introductions (Helen Moore, Vice President ACTA)
7:10 – 7:20 pm:
Department of Home Affairs AMEP Team – Introductory Talk
7:20 – 7:45 pm:
Introductory speakers –
Karen Slikas Barber (North Metropolitan TAFE, Perth): Qs 1 and 2
Karen Sole (QATESOL member, South-East Qld): Qs 3 and 4
Fiona Braybrooks (TAFE NSW, Cootamundra): Q 5
7:45 – 8:10 pm:
Break-out Groups – discussion with notes recorded on Padlet: https://padlet.com/victesol1/bm75sqv439x39cy0
Questions:
Groups 1 and 2 –
- What resources do teachers need to ensure quality teaching? How should they be shared?
Groups 3 and 4 –
- How can the AMEP support the different needs of the diverse student cohorts, particularly those who have low literacy or limited formal education?
Groups 5 and 6 –
- How can the AMEP benefit from advances in educational technology? What resources do teachers and students need in terms of digital and remote learning?
Groups 7 and 8 –
- What is the ideal teaching environment (e.g. mode of delivery, class size, mixed levels)?
Groups 9 and 10 –
- What role should AMEP providers play in seeking employment outcomes for students?
8:10 – 8:55 pm:
Reporting back using Padlet from break-out groups with whole group discussion.
8:55 – 9 pm:
Closing acknowledgements (Helen)
In the breakout rooms, participant responses will be collated using Padlet. Click here to access the Padlet for this session.
This event is a follow on event from the ACTA Forum on The Future of the AMEP (11th Nov. 2020). The Department of Home Affairs provided answers to the questions that arose in the forum. These were collated and summarised under relevant headings by Helen and Jakki- refer to the file below:
Please view the Department’s answers in the file below:
Please note the questions at the end of the Department’s file to which Ms Larkins seeks feedback. This Zoom meeting will focus on providing this feedback.
1. What resources do teachers need to ensure quality teaching? How should they be shared?
2. How can the AMEP support the different needs of the diverse student cohorts, particularly those who have low literacy or limited formal education?
3. How can the AMEP benefit from advances in educational technology? What resources do teachers and students need in terms of digital and remote learning?
4. What is the ideal teaching environment (e.g. mode of delivery, class size, mixed levels)?
5. What role should AMEP providers play in seeking employment outcomes for students?
About the speakers:
Karen Slikas Barber is an Advanced Skills Lecturer in the Adult Migrant English Program at North Metropolitan TAFE, Balga campus, Perth, Western Australia. Her areas of interest include adult literacy and preliteracy, materials development, specialist English courses, and classroom-based research as published in TESOL in Context. She writes and publishes language learner literature including the ‘Carly and Kumar: Easy-to-read short stories’ series. She has a Master of Education in TESOL, a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, and Diploma in Modern Languages: German and is presently doing a Diploma in Spanish.
Fiona Braybrooks is a full time teacher of English for Speakers of Other Languages as well as Literacy and Numeracy programs with TAFE NSW. Fiona currently teaches in the rural townships of Cootamundra and Young. Her experience as an ESOL teacher spans internationally as well as within Australia and she is a current member of ATESOL NSW. Fiona is passionate about adult literacy and learning. She is currently pursuing research regarding the relationship between language use and identity. Fiona is also the Artistic Director and choreographer of her own Bollywood dance group, the Coota Bollywood All Stars.
Karen Sole is an AMEP teacher at TAFE QLD Brisbane – Loganlea. She has owned several businesses and has been employed in multiple industries such as retail, hospitality and education. She began her ESL career as a volunteer tutor in 2000 and completed her PG TESOL in 2005 when she was employed as an ESL teacher. Since then she has completed her MA TESOL.
Karen was a manager for AMEP & SEE Teams in 2012 and 2016, and she has taught students across all levels from beginners to advanced. She continues to strongly advocate for change in the AMEP and has attended ACTA meetings and forums in Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane. Her main advocacy has been around having a national ESL specific curriculum and a national research and resource centre. She continually advocates to improve workplace culture with a focus on reducing educator workloads.
Karen lives on the Gold Coast, QLD.
