Class helps with plain Strine

By Lia Bichel andRussell Bennett
HAMPTON Park’s Holy Trinity Anglican Church has started an English education program to break down the language divide.
The church’s new initiative is set out to help local residents from non-English speaking backgrounds improve their English language skills.
Trinity English Education Programme (TEEP) co-ordinator Judy Cale said: “It was started to assist some new Sudanese refugee families who have recently come to our church.
“We found that each person coming from a non-English speaking background has their own unique story of how and when they came to Australia and how they have come to learn English.
“While some pick up conversational English quickly, others continue to struggle with gaining the confidence to speak out loud knowing they will make lots of mistakes.”
Ms Cale said students found they liked reading English more when the stories were short, but interesting.
“The main reason they haven’t enjoyed reading before this is that the reading material was too academic or childish, and often took too long to understand,” she said.
“They are now happier and more confident to read new stories out loud both in class and at home.”
TEEP runs every Monday morning from 10am to noon and each Monday evening from 7-9pm for seven weeks each school term.
Each morning session is followed by a lunch, where teachers and their students can enjoy English conversations together. Adults from all nationalities and backgrounds are welcome.