AMEP News Adelaide Community Expo Success - TAFE SA

English Language Services Semester 1, 2020

AMEP News
Adelaide Community Expo Success
On 7th November 2019, a Community Expo was held at the TAFE SA Adelaide City Campus (ACC).
Over 20 organisations participated to provide students with information about services that can help
them settle in Adelaide.
All the AMEP students at the ACC attended and found out about services like volunteering with
Volunteering SA. Students spoke to the police from SAPOL, the RAA and members of the Metropolitan
Fire Service. There were also representatives from various legal departments including health, education
and multicultural services.
Students found out information by asking questions and writing down what they learnt and discussing it
afterwards in class. Some students were very surprised to learn that they could get mentoring services,
help finding work and free legal help if they needed it.
It was a very successful day and the service providers were very impressed with the enthusiasm of our
students to understand what different services could offer. All the classes from the Noarlunga Campus
travelled up by train to attend as well – see our story on page 5.
Special thanks go to the TAFE SA AMEP counsellors at Adelaide for their superb organisational skills.
Thank you also to all the community organisations for giving us their time and sharing their information
with our students.

TAFE SA English Language Services Contact us:
Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) T: 8226 6555 | F: 8226 6882
TAFE SA Adelaide City E: foundationskills.amep@tafesa.edu.au
Level 1, 120 Currie Street ADELAIDE SA 5000 W: tafesa.edu.au/els

 The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) is funded by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs.
RTO Code: 41026 | CRICOS Code: 00092B | HEP Provider Code: PRV14002 In South Australia, the AMEP is delivered by TAFE SA.

Manager’s Message
Welcome back to a new term in the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP).
There are only a few weeks of winter left and, as we move into spring, we usually
have some lovely weather with many sunny days which are not too hot and not
too cold.
Term 2, 2020 was a new experience for everyone due to the threat of COVID-19.
We did not have face-to-face classes and AMEP students studied either online
or with telephone support from their teacher. The AMEP teachers created
booklets with lots of information about 10 different settlement topics and they
put in a tremendous effort to deliver classes off-campus. It was pleasing to see
how many AMEP students continued with their study through this difficult time.
Despite the complications, we all learnt many new skills. These will be useful in
your future endeavours.
The AMEP is funded by the Commonwealth Government and entitles you to 510 hours of free English language
tuition. There are also several sub-programs you may be eligible for.
AMEP Extend is available to some students who have reached 500 AMEP hours, have a good attendance
record and are motivated to learn more English. This program provides an extra 490 hours of English language
tuition.
Students who want to progress to work or vocational study can apply for the Settlement Language Pathways
to Employment and Training (SLPET) program. This program provides an extra 200 hours of tuition,
comprising of vocational English and a 60-hour work experience placement. During this course you also
undertake vocational electives from other TAFE SA programs.
In Semester 1, 2021, we aim to deliver 4 SLPET programs:
Hotel Cleaning: English for employment plus training for 1 day per week over 6 weeks, at the 5-star
Intercontinental hotel. As this is completed before your work experience placement, many students are work
ready before going on placement and often gain employment with their work experience host.
Food Handling: English for employment plus vocational training at the TAFE SA Regency Campus, where you
complete certain units of competence in Food Handling.
Community Services: This course is for students who want to gain employment in Children’s Services, Aged
Care or Disability Services. It helps prepares you for further study in TAFE SA, so you can gain the certificate
necessary for work in these areas.
Construction & Warehousing: This is a new course. Students will study English plus white card, a forklift
driver’s licence and scissor lift certification. Graduates from this course can go on to further study in a trade,
or seek work in construction and warehousing, setting up stages and platforms at major events or theatre
productions.
As Semester 2, 2020 progresses, you will be asked if you want to join one of these SLPET courses in 2021, so
please keep an eye out for when they are promoted. Talk to your teacher if you are interested!
Learning English is one of the most important aspects of settling in Australia and developing your language skills
will make it easier for you to take part in the social and economic life of the country. Regular attendance in class,
completing homework, using your full 510-hour entitlement and completing one of the sub-programs will greatly
improve your chances of attaining a functional level of English and gaining employment.
We have a group of qualified and very skilled AMEP teachers, so make the most of your opportunity to learn
from them during your time with us. Have an enjoyable 3rd term and I hope to see you all in class.
Peter Begg
TAFE SA Educational Manager

AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 2

Adelaide Community Expo Success continued from page 1

A Recipe for English
The Muslim Women’s Association of South Australia (MWASA)
and TAFE SA AMEP have been working together to help newly
arrived immigrant women settle into their new country. We have
been folding English lessons into a cooking class! It is the fourth
term the class has been taught.
All the scrumptious recipes used in the class come from
the kitchens of students from Syria, Iran, Kurdistan, India,
Afghanistan and Russia. The English lessons aim to improve
their vocabulary for cooking and shopping for ingredients and
understanding instructions by following the recipes.
For Rilia Mouretova, from Russia, the class is a welcoming
space where she can learn English in a fun way and meet friends too.

 Amal from Syria says that learning English
 this way is an excellent experience and she
 can’t say what is better - the yummy snacks
 from different parts of the world that she eats
 with her classmates, or the fun experience of
 making them together!
 The English cooking class is every Thursday
 from 10:00am to 2:00pm.
 Fariha Safdar (Lecturer) | Adelaide City Campus | Class 114
 http://mwasa.org.au/wp

 AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 3

SA Police (SAPOL) Cadets
Every second semester, the lower level AMEP classes
have a couple of visits from SAPO Cadets. The cadets
are sometimes assigned to the same small group, but
sometimes move around the class so they can talk to
many different students. Our students get some great
speaking and listening practice and it gives the cadets
the opportunity to communicate with people with very
limited English from many different countries.
For their first visit the cadets are dressed in casual
clothes as they are aware that many of our students
might have a negative perception of police in their home
country. Students practise their casual conversation
skills, talking about family, jobs, hobbies, likes and dislikes etc.
For their second visit, the cadets come dressed in police uniforms. As the students now know them, this
helps to build trust and show the students that SAPOL are there to help them in times of need. They play
 board games about the law and common signs and
 symbols in Australia. The students ask lots of questions
 and have interesting discussions.
 It is a very useful and enjoyable experience for
 everyone.
 Qudsia Ahmed (Beginner English Coordinator) | Adelaide City Campus
 www.police.sa.gov.au

What’s been happening in our regional classes?
Riverland AMEP on ABC Radio
On Wednesday 26th February, ABC Riverland radio was at the TAFE SA Berri Campus recording a story
about the launch of the StudyHub. The English class were having a short break when the interviewer
spontaneously decided to interview the women. She explained that the interview would be aired as small
stories on the morning breakfast program on 1062AM and also on their Facebook page. Three of the
students agreed to be interviewed.
They really enjoyed using their English to answer
questions about learning English, living in the Riverland
and their home countries. They found it particularly
challenging to speak into the microphone as well as
being ‘put on the spot’. One student said that it was
a ‘great experience’ and other students didn’t know
the meaning of ‘experience’ or the idiom ‘put on the
spot’ so the conversation back in class was vibrant
and informative as well.
It was a really great experience for the women.
Cathy Schier (Lecturer) | Berri Campus
www.abc.net.au/radio/riverland

AMEP News Semester 1 2020 | Page 4

What’s been happening at the Noarlunga Campus?
Staff and students in the three classes at Noarlunga campus took advantage of many opportunities to get
out into the community in November and December 2019. Here are some of the highlights:

AMEP Expo
On 7th November students walked to Noarlunga Centre to board the train
for the 40-minute journey to the city. For some students this was their first
time using public transport in Adelaide, so they were a little nervous and
glad to have their teachers and classmates to tell them what to do. At the
TAFE SA Adelaide Campus, they formed mixed level groups and were given
a scavenger hunt to familiarise themselves with the campus. When they
found things on the scavenger hunt list, they took photos to prove they had
found it. Some groups got very creative and took some funny photos. After
chatting over lunch, the teachers and students went down to the Community
Expo (see page 1) to talk with service providers and gather information. This
included information about fire safety at home, diabetes, driving, joining the
police force, legal aid and playgroups for young children. Everyone left with
their hands full of brochures and lots of food for thought.

Learning about reptiles
 On Friday 13th December the doors of the Christie Downs
 Community Centre were opened to people who wanted to
 learn about reptiles such as snakes and lizards. This was
 organised by the AMEP with Onkaparinga Council outside
 of lesson times so many students were able to go with
 their families to listen to the guest speaker from Radicool
 Reptiles talk about what to do if they see a snake or lizard in
 their backyard. Students learnt that although snakes can be
 dangerous, they should not kill them but rather, call a snake
 catcher to catch it and take it away.
They also got to touch a freshwater crocodile and hold lizards and non-venomous snakes. Many students
felt less scared of these animals after this experience. Find out more at: www.cdch.org.au

End of year lunch
After studying hard for many weeks and months, the
teachers and students from all three classes got together
on Thursday 12th December to share lunch and talk
together. Students made a variety of delicious food from
their cultures. It was a great opportunity for students to
talk to students they didn’t know from other classes and
to learn about each other’s cultural heritage. Awards were
presented to some students who had made a noticeable
contribution to their class. When it was time to go, there
was still lots of food to share around and take home.
Thank you to all the students for their generous contributions.

 AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 5

What’s been happening at the Noarlunga Campus?
Beach safety
 In the summer holidays, some students and their
 children signed up for swimming lessons run
 by iSwim at Immanuel College. They had some
 swimming lessons in a pool first and then went to
 Moana beach where Peter, from Surf Life-Saving
 SA, and Kathy, a class teacher at Noarlunga,
 taught them about beach safety. They had a
 tour of the club, learnt about rips, sandbars and
 how to stay safe in the water, and then got into
 the surf on paddle boards. Everyone agreed
 that it was great fun and an important learning
 experience that they would share with other
 people in their communities.
 www.surflifesavingsa.com.au

Discovering some gems along North Terrace
On 11th December 2019 the Pre-CSWE/ CSWE 1 class at Noarlunga campus took the train to the city with
many questions. We walked along North Terrace from the Adelaide Railway Station to the Botanic Gardens.
We talked to people and read signs to find the answers to questions given to us by our teacher and also
questions that we had about the many useful and important places on this road.

 Nida liked the State Library because she could
 find a lot of things for learning English here.
 Shahram liked the museum because he saw
 animals. Ni learnt how to take the train to the city
 and was most interested in the museum. Na was
 shocked when she went into the Mortlock Library
 because it is a very beautiful room and has a lot
 of old books.

We were glad to relax in the Botanic Gardens and share
lunch together after the long walk.
A few students want to go back to the museum or the
library in the holidays with their families. There are lots of
interesting places to go along North Terrace and most of
them are free. We recommend you go for a walk there too.
Sonia Mysak (Lecturer)
Beginner/Elementary class | Noarlunga Campus
https://guides.slsa.sa.gov.au/Mortlock

AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 6

Helping on Kangaroo Island
On 12th March 2020, the Intermediate students at Noarlunga campus had the pleasure of having a guest
speaker come in to talk to them about her work in the bushfire
recovery effort on Kangaroo Island. Here are some of the stories that
she shared:
Bree Day is a member of the Australian Army Reserve. This means
that she is not full-time and she can choose how much time she
spends and which tasks she does. However, she must do training
every Tuesday night and for one weekend every month. Bree has
been a driver for 3 years and drives big vehicles and trucks. She also
helps to train cadets, who are children under 18 preparing to join the
Army.
On 4th January Bree went to Kangaroo Island to help the residents
after the bushfires. She thought she would only be there for 1 or
2 weeks but ended up staying for 6 ½ weeks. She also thought
she would be driving a truck, delivering hay to farmers. In fact, she
became a temporary vet nurse.
Bree spent her first couple of nights at the Kingscote airfield. On her
second night, the wind changed direction. She thought the fire would
come to the airfield – the sky was orange and full of smoke. Ash fell
on the airfield and everyone had to wear face masks. During the day the sky was dark with all the smoke.
For over 6 weeks Bree was based at the Parndana Wildlife Centre. She helped look after injured animals
– mostly koalas, but also kangaroos, wallabies and echidnas. About 100 koalas came in every day. Their
paws, noses and ears were burnt. Bree helped with bandaging the burns, giving the koalas water and
building enclosures for them. There were lots of baby koalas, which will all stay at the Centre after they
recover. The adult koalas will be released, so Bree and the other workers tried not to touch them too much.
While Bree was at the Centre, about 800 koalas came in. Sadly, only about 200 of them survived. Many of
them were badly burnt and dehydrated, as well as being very hungry. Every koala was given a microchip
so they can be tracked. Some will be released back into the wild, but around 80% of their habitat has
been destroyed by the fire. Because of this, volunteers are providing food and water supplies to wildlife on
Kangaroo Island. This will probably continue for a long time, until the trees grow back.

 After 6 ½ weeks Bree found it hard to
 leave the koalas and come home. She is
 still thinking about how the experience has
 affected her. She thinks that the Army needs
 more training in emergency services, and that
 it should work more closely with emergency
 organisations like the State Emergency
 Service.

 You can listen to Bree talking about her
 experience on ABC Radio at:
 www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/race-is-
 on-to-save-kangaroo-island-koalas/11894964

 Sonia Mysak (Lecturer) | Noarlunga Campus

 AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 7

Shunwei’s Calligraphy
My name is Shunwei Si and I come from China.
I am a writer and a calligrapher. I was the curator
of an art gallery in China. My dream is to share the
beauty of Chinese art with the world. However, my
English skills used to be very poor. Once I retired,
I studied three terms of English at TAFE SA. Along
the way I met caring teachers and other students
from different parts of the world. This term, I started
writing calligraphy in both Chinese and English. I’m
very happy to see my progress. From the bottom
of my heart, I would like to thank the TAFE teachers
who have helped me.

我是斯舜威，来自中国。我曾担任美术馆馆
长，是作家和书法家。我非常希望中国的书法
艺术能够走向世界。遗憾的是，我的英语水平
很低。退休后，我在阿德莱德TAFE学习了3
个学期英语。在这里，老师精心教育，还有来
自世界各地的同学。这学期，我尝试着创作中
英文书法, 我取得了一些进步，我很开心。我
从心底感谢TAFE的老师们。

The calligraphy in the photo on the right is a well-known Chinese 14th
century (Yuan Dynasty) poem. The poem can be expressed in English as:
 “There sits a plum tree next to my home
 Its blossoms appear as if they’re painted lightly with washed out ink
 This faded blooming needs no adoration or compliments
 And yet their crisp fragrance fills the world.”

Shunwei Si (Student) & Xiaomei Wang (Lecturer)
Adelaide City Campus | Chinese Community Class

Art therapy
On 11th December 2019, Class 606 did art therapy with Jane Cursaro from Heart through Art.
At first, we introduced ourselves to Jane. Then,
Jane put some picture cards on the floor and we
chose a card that showed the feeling we had. Next,
we explained our feelings to each other. After that,
everyone drew a circle and filled it with pictures and
symbols of things they need to help them learn. Finally,
we shared our picture stories with each other. We really
enjoyed the activity and liked expressing our feelings
through art.
Salisbury Campus | Class 606
www.facebook.com/coeurthroughart

AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 8

Playing with letters – a teacher’s view
My students are very low literacy new migrants in Australia.
They just loved the resources that are available in the AMEP
library when I introduced new vocabulary about body parts.
They had great difficulty remembering spelling of different
parts of the body which is important because when they
go to the doctor, they cannot express what symptoms or
ailments they have as they are not sure of English words for
head, stomach etc. They were very engaged in group work
using their picture dictionaries and the magnetic alphabet.
These students are also learning about capital and small
letters and the colours. They sorted out the letters to put them in separate bags. Personal information is
another thing they enjoyed writing with these magnetic letters. I could see the confidence building up when
they were selecting the letters to spell out their names and address.
This resource was an absolute delight for these students who find learning in the library more relaxed,
compared to the classroom.
Monika Kumar (Lecturer) | Salisbury Campus

Adelaide Fringe
During the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2020 classes 102 and 103 went to three visual arts galleries.
On Wednesday 19th February we went to
the Bob Hawke Gallery to see the SANNA
exhibition. All of the art pieces were done
by migrants from African countries. The
paintings and drawings were beautiful, and
we picked our favourite piece.
In the second week we went to Tandanya
Aboriginal Art Gallery and saw Yabarra –
Dreaming in Light. Yabarra is an exhibition
using light technology and state of the art
illumination to tell the Kaurna story of Tjilbruke. The exhibition was wonderful and all of the students loved
watching and learning about an indigenous story.
In the third week, 4th March, we went to UniSA to see the MOD exhibition which was about what life might
be like in the year 2050. This exhibition was very interesting and made us think about the future.
 Every week, when we came back to our classroom, we wrote a recount
 about the excursions. After the last exhibition we discussed and wrote
 about what our favourite exhibition was. All three exhibitions were great
 in their own way and we are grateful that we got to experience different
 types of visual art.

 Adelaide City Campus | Class 102 + 103
 https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/yabarra-dreaming-in-light-af2020
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGCEfSkRSZM
 https://mod.org.au/

 AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 9

Botanic Gardens
On Thursday 20th February classes 003 and 005
went on an excursion to see the Adelaide Botanic
Gardens and some of the Fringe Festival.
First, we met in the classroom at TAFE SA. We
looked at a map and some information about the
Botanic Gardens. We brought some food to share.
Some students also brought their children along.
At about 10:00am we walked to the tram stop at
the Railway Station. We took the tram along North
Terrace.
At the main gate of the Gardens, we stopped to take
some photos together. Then we walked through the
trees and chatted with our friends.

 We saw the Cactus House with lots of different spiky
 plants.
 We saw a lake with birds, fish and turtles. We saw
 many different types of plants.
 When we found a nice place to sit on the grass, we
 had a picnic. There was a lot of different food and
 drink to try.
 Next, we walked back to North Terrace and went
 to the ‘Giant Sing Along’ that was part of the
 Adelaide Fringe Festival. There was music and many
 microphones. Many students sang together and had
 fun.
 The weather was lovely. We were happy. It was a
 great day.

Adelaide City Campus | Class 003 + 005
www.botanicgardens.sa.gov.au/visit/adelaide-botanic-garden

AMEP News Semester 1 2020 | Page 10

Cinema adventure and Botanic Gardens
 After lunch, some classmates continued to explore
 the park. The teacher and the rest of my classmates
 lay on the picnic mats, chatting and enjoying the
 warm sunshine. We all felt relaxed and content. We
 took many pictures in the park. Around 1:00pm we
 walked to the bus stop to catch the bus home.
 We had a gorgeous day. I hope we will have another
 chance for an excursion.
 Hayley | Adelaide City Campus | Class 104
In November 2019 class 104 went to the cinema www.palacenova.com.au
and Adelaide Botanic Garden. The weather was
very nice that day. It was sunny with a gentle wind.
At 9:05am we met at TAFE SA. When the teacher
and all the students had arrived, we walked to the
bus stop. We only waited for the bus for a few Popeye Excursion
minutes. We got on the bus with a few passengers.
After three bus stops we got off and hurried to the
cinema. The teacher paid for our tickets, drinks
and popcorn and then we went into the cinema.
At 9:30am the movie started. We watched ‘Last
Christmas’ and enjoyed the film quietly. It lasted
about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

After the movie, we took some pictures in front of
the cinema. Then the teacher led us to the Botanic
Gardens. The gardens are super beautiful. There
are many big trees, flowers with different colours
and sweeping lawns. There is a small pool with Class 301 students from the Adelaide City Campus
many lotus leaves. We also saw turtles and some enjoyed a lovely day out on the River Torrens in Term
ducks playing in another pool. Finally, we walked 4, 2019. They learnt about the history of places
to the lawn and sat under a tree. We put picnic along the Torrens River. It was also interesting to
mats on the lawn, then everybody took out their learn about plants and animals that live along the
food and shared it. Everyone liked the Sichuan cold riverbank. Some of the students were even given the
noodles that I made. opportunity to steer the boat. It was lovely to support
 a local Adelaide business not far from the campus.
 We would definitely recommend the experience!

 Adelaide City Campus | Class 301
 https://thepopeye.com.au

 AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 11

City Library and Fringe Excursion
Our class (003) decided to get amongst Adelaide’s ‘Mad March’ by visiting some festival events, as well as
the City Library, on an excursion from the TAFE SA Adelaide City Campus.

 On Wednesday 4th March 2020 we met at TAFE SA
 and then zipped along Currie and Grenfell Streets to
 Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute. There,
 we saw an amazing Fringe exhibition called Yabarra
 – Dreaming in Light. The students experienced an
 Aboriginal dreaming story, made with spectacular light
 projections on the walls, floor and ceiling. We saw
 many images of the land, animals and culture that are
 important to the indigenous people of the Adelaide
 Plains. The exhibition was free for all visitors.

After a walk along busy Rundle Street,
we arrived at City Library. This library
is very modern, with a wide range of
technology available to learn about.
We looked at some 3D printed objects
and watched someone interacting with
a little robot. Students also browsed
movies and international books, and
some signed up to become library
members for the first time.

 Our last stop was a fun one in the middle of Rundle
 Mall: a giant version of a pretty toy dollhouse that
 we could walk inside! This was an installation as part
 of the Adelaide Festival called A Doll’s House, and it
 was three storeys high with open walls to see inside.
 We got some good photos of our doll friends in the
 kitchen, lounge room and using the bathroom.

There were lots of smiles and it was a fabulous day exploring our festival city and chatting together in
English.
Adelaide City Campus | Class 303
www.cityofadelaide.com.au/community/library-services/library-locations/city-library
https://2020.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/a-dolls-house

AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 12

Diabetes Information Session
In December 2019, some of AMEP students were lucky to have an interesting talk by Amy Teasdale from
Diabetes SA. Amy spoke about the different types of diabetes, the risk factors, and ways of managing your
health. She used a great prop to teach the students – a felt board showing parts of the body, and what
happens as the body manages blood sugar levels. Diabetes is a problem for many students and their family
members. Information sessions like this are really important to help students understand how to be healthy
and how to ask for the help that they need in Australia.
You can look up more information on the Diabetes SA website: www.diabetessa.com.au
There is also information in many languages on the national website:
www.ndss.com.au/about-diabetes/information-in-your-language

Celebrating our time together
At the end of the year, it’s always fun to celebrate our time together. Students share food, play music,
dance, do creative activities, and practise lots of conversation. It is a great way to relax at the end of a busy
term and kick off the holidays!
Here are some photos from December 2019, when the Beginner and
Elementary English classes got together in the atrium:

 AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 13

Harmony Week

Adelaide City Campus: Art Exhibition
Harmony Day is usually held on the 21st March. This year,
it was going to be held for a whole week, from Sunday 15th
to Saturday 21st March.
Our wonderful staff at English Language Services had
planned many fantastic Harmony Week activities. But
due to the risks posed by the COVID19 virus, all group
Harmony Week activities were cancelled. Activities were
still held within some classes but not as part of large group
gatherings.
One activity that went ahead was a small Art Exhibition in the City Campus
library. Students lent their artwork and photography and it was wonderful to
see their talent on display.
Elena is from Russia. She has graduated from our Upper Intermediate program
and is now studying the Diploma of English Proficiency at TAFE SA. Raul is
from Venezuela. He is currently studying in the Beginner English program.
Elena and Raul are both photographers and they shared their appreciation for
South Australian scenery, activities and animals in their beautiful photos.
Latif is from Afghanistan and he is also in the Beginner English program. He is
incredibly talented at drawing very life-like portraits. He shared his pencil and
charcoal pictures of famous people, family and friends. If you give him a photo,
he can turn it into stunning artwork!

Qudsia Ahmed (Coordinator, Beginner English) | Adelaide City Campus
www.harmony.gov.au

Salisbury Campus: ‘From Many Lands We Come’
 AMEP teaching, counselling
 and library staff and the Client
 Engagement Officer from
 Salisbury Council organised a
 joint exhibition between the City
 of Salisbury and TAFE SA for
 Harmony Day. The exhibition
 celebrated cultural diversity
 through clothing and memorabilia from across many
 lands and religions. The AMEP students at TAFE SA
 Salisbury loaned over 120 beautiful and skilfully made
 items from countries around the world. Even though
 the Exhibition was cut short due to COVID-19, many
 members of the Salisbury community visited the Hub
 and enjoyed seeing the wonderful exhibits.
 Francie English (Lecturer) | Salisbury Campus

AMEP News Semester 1 2020 | Page 14

Strawberry picking
Beerenberg Farm is an attraction for food lovers visiting the
Adelaide Hills. It’s one of Australia’s oldest family-owned jam,
condiment and sauce producers. The original farm was founded
in 1839 by German migrants. Today’s farm has been open to the
public since 1975. People can pick their own strawberries, so
our teacher booked a strawberry picking trip for us and we really
enjoyed it.
Our group met at the entrance to TAFE SA and then went to
catch the 864F bus. It took about 56 minutes to get there, and
although it was a long trip, we enjoyed a beautiful view of the
trees surrounding the road to Hahndorf. You wouldn’t believe it,
but we had one student who was on a bus for the first time in her whole life! She was a bit scared because
the road was winding through the hills.
When we got there, we paid $4 to enter the farm, and we were given a container for picking strawberries.
There were a lot of other delicious things made of strawberries for sale, like jam, ice cream jelly, mayonnaise,
and ketchup. After looking in the shop, we crossed the street and went to the farm.
We were very surprised when we saw the strawberries were much bigger than strawberries in the
supermarket. The strawberries were fresh and soft, and tasted sweet. It was raining that day, but when we
started picking strawberries it stopped. How lucky we were!
After that, we went to Hahndorf and all had lunch together. While we had lunch, one
of the students showed us a magic trick. He made the salt bottle disappear. That
was amazing!
We enjoyed the trip a lot and we think the most amazing things were the picking
process and seeing the amount of strawberries waiting for us to pick. It was such a
nice day and we had fun together. Finally, we caught the bus back to TAFE.
Adelaide City Campus | Class 205
www.beerenberg.com.au

More Strawberries
 Summer is the perfect season
 to head up to the Adelaide Hills
 and pick strawberries. Many
 AMEP classes go on this excursion in Term 4 and
 Term 1 every year.
 Class 003 also enjoyed a trip to Beerenburg and
 then shared a coffee in Hahndorf afterwards. It was
 great to be able to take the students’ children as
 well, and they had lots of fun running around in the
 strawberry patch. Here are a couple of photos of
 our time together in the sunshine.
 Adelaide City Campus | Class 003
 https://hahndorfsa.org.au

 AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 15

Stories from COVID times: learning English online

AMEP Salisbury Evening : Whatsapp Wonder
Term 2 – a term unlike any other! Because of COVID-19 we had to change very suddenly
into the unfamiliar world of online classes. There was lots to learn and many challenges -
for students and teachers! My Beginner class learned lots of new skills and worked very
hard to continue learning English at home. I’d like to share some online learning highlights
from Salisbury evening class 621.

 Speaking: We practised pronunciation by listening to examples and
 repeating the word or sentence. Some students were a bit shy at first,
 but soon they were confident and shared voice recordings with the
 group. We had some fun and lots of laughs practising phonics with
 English tongue twisters. A couple of favourites for you to try.
 First say each word slowly, then read the sentence quickly three times.
 • I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen
 • Red leather yellow leather

Listening: We did many listening activities. We watched videos, listened to conversations
and instructions from the teacher. We tried dictation, the class listened to some short
stories and wrote down the words they heard. When they finished, they sent photos of their
writing, then used the text to check their answers and spelling.
Reading & writing: Students practised reading together and individually by sending voice recordings. Our
typing skills were given a workout but we also continued to work on writing the old-fashioned way with a
pen and paper. The students sent photos of their writing for feedback and correction.
Kahoot: The class completed weekly quiz challenges on the Kahoot website for homework. We also used
Kahoot to do some class surveys in the workbooks. We looked at a picture of the results to discuss our
answers.
We stayed safe, had fun, continued learning English together and now we are fluent in emoji! 
Lisa Krinas (Lecturer) | Salisbury Campus | Class 621

AMEP City Beginner Class: Colour Challenge
 My name is Parisa and my friend’s name is Ziba. We come
 from Iran. Our teacher’s names are Wes and Qudsia and
 we are in Beginner English class 003. In Term 2 we had to
 learn English online because of COVID restrictions. We used
 booklets, WhatsApp and Blackboard Collaborate. Each week
 we studied a different topic. We were interested in all the
 topics that we learned, particularly Housing, Activities at
 home, Shopping, and Job-seeking. We liked this because
 we learned how to live in Australia.
It saved on travel time and travel costs but there was some difficulty. For example,
we missed our teachers and our classmates. In addition, there was no face-to-
face communication between teacher and student except with video calls. It was difficult for students to to
understand a few topics because we were not sitting in a classroom and it was sometimes boring.

AMEP News Semester 1 2020 | Page 16

AMEP City Beginner Class: Colour Challenge continued from previous page
 However, our teachers relieved our tiredness with
 interesting ideas such as the ‘Colour Challenge’
 in Week 4. Every morning the teacher gave us a
 colour and we had to run around the house and find
 things, take a photo and describe what we saw. It
 was a lot of fun!
 When we came back to TAFE in Week 7, we were
 so happy because we saw our teachers and classmates. We could play games and
 talk face-to-face. In the future, I hope that a Coronavirus vaccine will be made, and we
 can study at TAFE happily. However, we are also interested in a combination of online
 learning and learning in class, if available. Parisa & Ziba | Adelaide City Campus | Class 003

AMEP City Elementary: Happy Hats
 We studied online with our teacher Bronwyn during
 COVID-19. The first time we all met our classmates
 was online! At first, we thought it would be difficult, but
 we learnt so much and had fun playing games, telling
 jokes, wearing colourful beanies and scarfs and even
 doing some exercise to music! We liked learning from
 home because it saved time but we were happy to
 finally meet each other back in class and now we are
 good friends. Thank you for encouraging us to learn English and for making this
 time fun and interesting. Kobra & Rakia | Adelaide City Campus | Class 107

AMEP Community: Pros & Cons
When we returned to class, our mixed level Disadvantages
community class shared our experiences of • It was hard to concentrate with young children.
learning online when face-to-face learning had • We were uncertain what time we would be
not been possible, due to COVID-19. contacted to go through work on the booklet.
Advantages: • There were problems with technology, some
• Able to learn in pairs and one to one. times lack of access, or noise interference.
• Everyone could work on a booklet for their level. • It was less social, and we often felt less con-
• We all improved our technology skills, and these fident speaking on WhatsApp or Blackboard
 skills are needed in the workplace. Collaborate.
• We were able to continue learning, uninterrupted. • It was harder to be self-motivated and get
• There was more flexibility with study time & place. longer pieces of work done.
• It was easier for some students to do online To summarise, we learned
 learning, especially during Ramadan. some new skills, but we
• There was no travel so it was less tiring. are happy to be back face-
• It was still possible to teach or be a student if we to-face in classes with our
 or our children were unwell. friends!
• Clare could write corrections on the Blackboard
 Collaborate chat line. Community Class | Gilles Plains Campus | Class 819

 AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 17

Stories from COVID times: learning English online

AMEP City Elementary: Serving a Story
 Learning online meant that Empanadas Venezolanas Recipe
 many teachers and students Description:
 came up with interesting
 The Empanada is an important part of Venezuelan
 ways to talk about their lives.
 culture and it is a fundamental part of the daily menu
 Class 103 created a recipe
 at any time of the day. It’s made with corn dough that
book, where each student wrote about a dish
 is fried in oil and filled with any ingredient.
that was special to them in some way. They learnt
 Ingredients:
about writing a ‘procedural text’, wrote memorable
stories and checked each other’s work. Here is an » 1 Lt of water
example from Kevin, from Venezuela: » 1 tbs of salt
 » 2 tbs of sugar
The Story: » 500g of cheese
Since I can remember, empanadas are one of the » 1 cup black beans
main dishes for breakfast and dinner in my country. » 500g of cornflour (Harina PAM)
Although we can also eat it for lunch since it can » 1 Lt of oil
be filled with meat, chicken, cheese, beans, fish or
 Directions:
seafood. When my dad was just a child, he had to
 Firstly, place the water, salt and sugar in a container.
go to the street to sell a basket with approximately
150 empanadas, to help his mother. Not only did Secondly, add the cornflour in the form of rain and
my dad sell the empanadas, but so did his six then a splash of oil until it forms a compact mass.
brothers. Next, take small portions of dough and make a ball.
Over the years he also learned how to prepare Place on plastic and flatten until you get a thin circle.
them, and he became an expert. He always Then, place the black beans and the cheese on one
pampered us by preparing delicious empanadas of the sides. Close the empanada, mark the edge well
with different fillings and sauces. My dad is well- with the help of a bowl and remove the excess dough.
known to our friends and family for making ¨The After, fry in plenty of oil until golden brown on both
Best Empanadas’. The empanada not only sides.
belongs to the gastronomy of the country where I Finally, drain excess oil on a paper towel and serve.
was born, but has big sentimental value for me.
Right now you can go to the Adelaide Central
Market to a Colombian restaurant called Cumbia,
or to Latin-American Food located on Goodwood
Road, Goodwood, to try empanadas. Enjoy!

AMEP City Intermediate: Memorable Music
While listening to different groups of students in our online class,
I switched back to this group and found that Aysa, Eli, Sophea
and Erena (clockwise from top left) had decided to have an
impromptu concert! There were traditional, classical and modern instruments to be heard, along with
individual demonstrations when the whole class returned to the main chatroom. It was good fun and lifted
everyone’s spirit – just what the doctor ordered. A face-to-face concert was planned for a later date, so
when all restrictions are lifted, we’ll be recruiting more members for the orchestra!!
Andy Barrett (Lecturer) | Adelaide City Campus | Class 203

AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 18

SLEPT Community Services SEE Pathway Course
Childcare For those students who have completed Pathways
My name is Ngoc and I come to Community Services or CSWE 2/3 but aren’t
from Vietnam. I have successfully ready to take the Certificate III in Early Children’s
completed and received my Services, there is another option. The TAFE SA SEE
Certificate III in Early Childhood program runs a Certificate II in Community Services
Education and Care. The (Early Childhood Education and Care) pathway
Pathways to Community Services course helped course. This includes Certificate II in Community
guide me in the right direction in terms of preparing Services (CHC22015), 6 Units from the Certificate III
me for studies and being involved in the community in Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC30113)
with practical work. I felt more confident after and 2 Units from the Certificate III in English
completing the SLPET course because it made Proficiency (10269NAT). This course can improve
completing the Certificate 3 easier. your English while learning more
Now I’m planning to work towards getting my about childcare. You will also
Diploma. I would highly recommend the Pathways complete six units towards your
course for anyone who is interested in childcare and Certificate III or Diploma.
wants to make a positive difference in the upbringing To apply for this full-time,
of children. semester-based course you
 must be eligible for the SEE
Aged Care Program; check with Centrelink
My name is Barbara (Xiangying) and or your job provider.
I come from China. I worked in the Contact Linda Fahy on 0433 206 130, or email:
fashion industry in China for many Linda.Fahy@tafesa.edu.au
years. Now I live in South Australia
and I would like to work in the Aged Care industry.
 Volunteer Tutor Scheme (VTS)
I enrolled in the AMEP at the beginning of 2019.
After my AMEP English course, I was lucky to enter The VTS is looking for new volunteers who can
the Pathways to Community Services (Aged Care) service the northern suburbs. Tutors recieve free
course. I have learnt more English from this course training and work in AMEP classrooms or visit
and gained a lot of knowledge about the Aged Care students at home to help them with their English.
industry. Two weeks workplace experience in an Due to COVID-19 many tutors were unable to
Aged Care facility was very valuable as well. I have continue, however, some found new ways to
a clear direction where I would like to work and how continue the teaching and learning process:
to get a job. The Pathways program helped me on Anne and Fatima: Using Facetime, Skype and
to my further study. Now I am studying Certificate III email, Anne worked successfully with her
Individual support (Aged Care) in TAFE SA and I like pre-intermediate student, Fatima. They
this practical course. used Facetime or Skype to chat about
SLPET (Pathways to Community Services) | Adelaide City Campus family and Fatima’s cooking business.
 They used computers to work through
 online materials such as citizenship test
 questions, health worksheets and stories that Anne
 AMEP Tutor Elizabeth
 went ‘all out’ with this emailed to Fatima. Anne enjoyed helping her student
 colourful front garden and learnt how to scan documents and use Skype.
 display for National Their sessions were shorter than home visits, but still
 Volunteer Week.
 enjoyable and useful.
 Find out how you can become a tutor at
 www.tafesa.edu.au/VTS

 AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 19

SLEPT Housekeeping Success
Last year, AMEP students were successful in being trained in
housekeeping departments in 5-star hotels around Adelaide.
Over 10 weeks, students learnt English for employment and
hospitality training with Shannon Hazelwood from the TAFE SA
Regency Campus at the Intercontinental Hotel, North Terrace.
Students also learnt:
• How to clean premises and equipment.
• How to prepare rooms for guests.
• Communication in the workplace.
• Manual handling. Good luck to our Hotel Cleaning Students on placement!
• Health and safety in the workplace.
After they pass their assessments, the students do work
experience for two weeks which helps them to gain experience
in an Australian workplace. Our employers happily support this
program and we have built up excellent relationships with industry
leaders in this field. When tourism starts to grow again after
COVID-19, hotel managers will be looking for staff again and it
pays well.
If you are interested in finding out
more about this course, please ask
your teacher if you are eligible.
Bronwyn Keanie (Lecturer)
Pathways to Hospitality (Hotel Cleaning)
Bronwyn.Keanie@tafesa.edu.au

 TAFE SA’s Shannon
 Hazelwood, instructing
 students on how to make a
 professional bed.

 Congratulations to Lal Rem Thang on Congratulations to Micheline for
 completing his work placement at getting a job at Old Lion Apartments
The Playford Hotel – he was offered a job. and Majestic Minima in North Adelaide.

 AMEP News Semester 1, 2020 | Page 20

Useful Internet Resources
for Learning English
LITERACY SKILLS

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/ - Practical literacy skills for adults in reading, writing, spelling, grammar,
speaking and listening
http://www.starfall.com/ - Literacy activities with simple letter sounds and stories for adults learning to read.
http://www.learningchocolate.com - vocabulary & some grammar practise across many topics (American English)
https://www.kizphonics.com/materials/phonics-games/ - interactive listening & reading phonics practise

GRAMMAR
http://eslpartytown.com/quiz-center/quiz.html - grammar, idioms & vocabulary quizzes
www.adelescorner.org/ - grammar, listening, vocabulary and reading at beginner and intermediate levels
http://www.eslcafe.com/grammar.html - higher level grammar lessons
http://a4esl.org/ - Grammar quizzes at all language levels
https://www.grammar-quizzes.com/ - Grammar explanations and quizzes
http://www.eslau.ca/ - Excellent grammar explanations and exercises
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/tgg - BBC Grammar gameshow
https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/ - grammar quizzes at different levels
https://www.esolcourses.com/ - variety of skills, topics and levels

READING

http://resources.marshalladulteducation.org/reading_skills.htm - great reading website for adults even though the
recording is American English.
www.onlinenewspapers.com - news from around the world
www.newsinlevels.com - world news for students of English at different level

WRITING AND VOCABULARY
http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/vocabulary/beginner-vocabulary - vocabulary beginners, lots of visuals
http://www.englishvocabularyexercises.com/AWL/ - vocabulary practise at a higher level

PRONUNCIATION AND SPEAKING
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation - Tim’s pronunciation workshop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL1iGL11Jzg - Difficult Vowel Sounds (Australian accent)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjVp_xr0WR0 - The SCHWA Sound! (Australian accent)
https://www.facebook.com/fireflyeducation/posts/10155577525924229 - the Great Australian SCHWA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFZX9ooCFTM - Come Have Coffee with Us! English Conversation Practice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsTVU1RE3mU - 1 Simple Tip to Sound Australian: /ɑ/ How To Do an Aussie
Accent

LISTENING

Linking the Law project - www.lsc.sa.gov.au/cb_pages/linkingthelaw.php
The Legal Services Commission has produced and released eight video clips, in different languages. These are
designed to assist new migrants to access legal information and advice. They are also available to share on YouTube
and the specific links to the languages are here: Arabic, Farsi, Liberian English, Nepali, Pashto, Sierra Leone Krio,
Sudanese Arabic, and Swahili
www.eslradioandtv.com - higher level listening for different purposes, with quizzes
www.englishclub.com - a range of activities. Check out dictation under ‘listening skills’:
https://www.englishclub.com/listening/dictation.htm
www.elllo.org/- American English
www.englishcentral.com/videos - listening and vocabulary development (need to register for free)
www.rong-chang.com/eslread/eslread/dict/contents.htm - listening and dictation exercises
https://listenaminute.com/ - excellent listening activities with lots of exercises
https://www.abc.net.au/education/learn-english/video-courses/everyday-english/ - videos with grammar
and vocabulary for Settlement focused English
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7HSPnTFVAuFBm7LUa8rq6NfNqDECCQ8y – Living English “Sisters and
Brothers” - drama episodes by ABC Australia
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRhdtdA9BzzyZq5aTl4zT1w - Top Notch Videos: different levels of
English difficulty. Episodes are set in a travel agency and include other casual interviews on the street

GAMES
https://www.eslgamesplus.com/ - primary school content but fun & interactive, good for lower levels
https://www.gamestolearnenglish.com/fastenglish/ - adult English games at different levels
http://eslgamesworld.com/members/games/levels/index.html - adult English games at different levels

APPS
http://emergencyapp.triplezero.gov.au/ - Set up by the emergency services this invaluable app gives the address
and co-ordinates, so you can read out the exact location (eg of a car accident) to the emergency services.
https://www.redcross.org.au/get-involved/learn/first-aid/first-aid-app - This app gives basic First Aid
information and step by step instructions of what to do in the most common medical emergencies. There are
also quiz questions and answers so users can test their knowledge.
http://www.driveabout.co/ - animations to help you pass the Learner Permit driving license test in all Australian
states
http://www.bom.gov.au/app/ - official Bureau of Meteorology app to get the most accurate weather forecast
https://www.lifewire.com/the-7-best-free-language-learning-apps-1357060 - many other suggestions here

For any questions about the AMEP Newsletter, please contact the editor:
 Qudsia Ahmed
 TAFE SA English Language Services
 Email: Qudsia.Ahmed@tafesa.edu.au | Phone: 08 7210 3663