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TAE70110 Vocational Graduate Certificate in Adult Language, Literacy & NumeracyStudent Profiles Appendix 1

Abdul

Abdul is a 30 year old refugee from Afghanistan. He had started an engineering degree in Afghanistan but was forced to leave because of the war. After spending several years in camps in Pakistan he came to Australia where he spent more time in a detention centre. While in the centre he had no access to reading material and became withdrawn and depressed. He speaks of spending time curled up in the foetal position. After three years he was eventually allowed to leave the detention centre and has been on a temporary protection visa for two years. This means that he was still in limbo and could not continue his education in any meaningful way. His aim is to complete tertiary studies in Australia and then use his skills to help rebuild Afghanistan.

Abdul hopes to improve his English at TAFE and then continue his interrupted tertiary studies. His time in camps and detention centres has affected his capacity to concentrate and learn. He has a lawyer who is helping him work towards permanent residency status. This process makes it difficult for him to concentrate on his study and he finds it hard to focus until he knows what his future holds. He has quite a good command of English (ISLPR 2+) but needs to improve his essay and report writing in preparation for further study.

Initial ACSF Assessment

Learning 2.01, 2.02

Reading 3.03, 3.04

Writing 2.05, 2.06

Oral Communication 3.07, 3.08

Numeracy 4.09, 4.10, 4.11


Carol

Carol is a 35 year old native speaker Australian. She passed year 12 and studied to be a Child Care worker and has been working part time in that area. She is married with 3 children and all are now at school and she has decided she wants to return to study. She is interested in going to University to study an Arts Degree and knows she will need to do a range of statistics courses as part of her psychology and social studies subjects. She is very anxious about her maths abilities as she was never a good maths student. Although she passed maths each year, she says she only just scraped through and never felt she really understood much about what she was doing.

Carol has decided that before she applies to return to University she should do a bridging course. She wants to refresh and update her writing and study skills. But in particular, Carol would like to learn more maths and revise some of the skills she learnt at school. She also knows that she will need to understand statistics to complete her University study. Overall her numeracy is at ACSF 2, however Carol has some strengths in everyday maths concerned with finances in which context she is operating at ACSF 3.

Carol is a mature and cheerful student who is keen to learn, although the thought of studying maths makes her feel very anxious and apprehensive. She is unsure that she can ever learn enough maths and feel confident about using it. Her memory of maths at school is that it was repetitive and irrelevant with a focus on working out of a text book and off the board. She is very confident and competent at writing about personal matters and reads a wide variety of magazines and popular novels. Carol uses the computer for personal use and has very good work processing skills. However, she has not used other software packages and feels she might need a supportive class to develop these skills.


Learning 3.01, 3.02

Reading 4.03, 4.04

Writing 2.05, 3.06


Numeracy 2.09, 3.10, 2.11


David/Deng

David (Chinese name Deng) has been in Australia for 18 months. He has a wife who attends English classes at the local neighbourhood centre and one young child. David has completed his 510 hours of English and is now working in a factory but needs to improve his language skills to get on in his work. In China, he completed 9 years of formal education before going to work in his family shop which sold household and kitchen items. He has been working at the factory for 12 months, but his supervisor has suggested that he do some English classes to help him with reading signs and completing work related forms. Eventually David would like to have his own business or shop, but initially he needs to have enough English to allow him to progress in the factory.

David needs to improve all skill areas. His priority however, is his pronunciation.


Learning 1.01, 1.02

Reading 1.03, 1.04

Writing 1.05, 1.06


Numeracy 2.09, 2.10, 2.11


Frank

Frank is a single 27 years old who lives with his parents and a younger sister. He is the second youngest of four children. Frank’s parents migrated from Italy soon after their first child was born. Frank was born and educated in Australia but when he was a small child Italian was the main language spoken at home and is still the main language of his parents. When he started school Frank spoke little English. He completed 9 years of schooling and reports that he didn’t particularly like school. “I wanted to be out doing things – not sitting in class listening to someone go on. I’m still a bit like that. If someone shows me what to do and then I have a go then I’m fine but if you give me a sheet of instructions or just tell me what to do then I just glaze over.”

Frank is currently employed as a machine operator in a sheet metal factory located in an outer suburb. The company has identified that some shop floor workers have problems with English language, literacy and numeracy and they believe these are affecting workers ability to meet the quality assurance practices the company has put in place. The company is working with a local TAFE to offer a Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) training program. The training will initially focus on workplace communication including reading job sheets and will cover a unit of competence from the Engineering Training Package. Frank has told the production manager that he would like to attend the training. He likes his work and the company and is keen to get promotion but he realise that he needs to improve his English literacy and numeracy skills if he is to work as a supervisor. As a supervisor he would need to read a range of job sheets, set machines correctly and sometimes write job sheets and reports about what has happened.

Frank is generally a confident person with good oral communication skills and an easy way with other people. Although he has shown a willingness to learn at work, he lacks confidence as a learner. He has learnt to input data into the computer and is quite confident in doing this. He is, however, not always sure about the significance of the data he is entering.

The training hasn’t begun as yet but Frank’s English language, literacy and numeracy have been assessed.


Learning 2.01, 2.02

Reading 2.03, 1.04

Writing 1.05, 1.06


Numeracy 2.09, 2.10, 1.11


James

James is a 34 year old who lives and works in a metropolitan area. He was born in the United Kingdom and came to Australia about 6 years ago. He has a partner who has recently had a baby.

He completed 10 years of schooling in the UK. Although he wasn’t strong in maths, he didn’t have difficulty with school work. Apart from art and graphics he didn’t enjoy school and when an opportunity for work came up, he jumped at it. He worked as a gardener for some years and learnt to become a tree surgeon. Most of this training was ‘on-the job’ but included some classroom based training and he became an accredited tree surgeon.

James works as a tree surgeon in Australia where his qualification was accepted after he went through a qualification recognition process.

James has a passion for photography. He first became interested in photography at school when it was included in art classes and is now keen to do a Certificate IV course which includes photography. He then hopes to do a Diploma of Arts (Applied Photography). He realises that his literacy and numeracy skills may not be ‘up to scratch’ – particularly his writing skills -and he has enrolled in a night class to improve his literacy skills. The class runs for 2 hours a week and is at a Certificate II level as he showed considerable learning anxiety when he was initially interviewed. However, James is coping well with the level and it is obvious he is ready to go on to a Certificate III level class in reading and writing.

James hopes to have improved his skills to the point where he can apply for a Certificate IV photography course next year. However, his teacher has told him he will need to put in more time out of class to be ready for the demands of the photography course. He finds it difficult to spend time out of class completing tasks because of the demands of work and family life.

The class is a Certificate in General Education for Adults (CGEA) class and runs for 2 hours a week.


Learning 3.01, 3.02

Reading 2.03, 2.04

Writing 2.05, 1.06


Numeracy 2.09, 2.10, 2.11


Kirsty

Throughout her initial interview Kirsty was talkative and confident. Kirsty stated that she enjoyed the social side of school but had lacked discipline when it came to study. She also found that she only applied herself in certain classes, largely determined by whether she liked the teacher or not. She attended school for 11 years but with wide variation in her results. Since leaving school, Kirsty has had no trouble getting and keeping jobs. Kirsty showed a lot of maturity and honesty in her reflection on her education and work history. She feels she has strong employment skills. She likes working and she especially likes earning money so she does not want to undertake any study commitments that would interfere with her work. Kirsty is a competent user of computers in her work and personal life.

Kirsty said that she had never had much trouble with reading and writing. However, because her application at school was so spasmodic she feels she has lots of gaps in her formal learning. Now that she is required at work to write reports and material for advertising she feels she is going to be “found out”. She identified some areas she wanted to improve in. These include vocabulary extension and the development of more complex essays and reports. The writing she completed in the initial assessment confirmed Kirsty’s comments. She undertook the personal writing task confidently but her work, although competent, lacked sophistication and depth. Kirsty needed more support with the procedural writing task. She said that she enjoyed creative writing at school but she could not remember ever learning about other styles of writing. In her numeracy assessment Kirsty indicated that she had forgotten lots of maths. Once I modelled a process she was quick to pick it up. She stated that she is surprised that she has coped well with the maths that is required of her in her work and personal life. Most of this centres on money and budgets.

Kirsty has tried adult classes before but she said the pace was too slow and that the teacher focussed on a lot of material that wasn’t relevant to her. She wants to work specifically on her writing skills and is keen to make quick progress. She enquired about other forms of learning eg online. I did a brief assessment of Kirsty’s computer skills.


Learning 4.01, 4.02

Reading 3.03, 3.04

Writing 2.05, 2.06


Numeracy 2.09, 2.10, 2.11


Mary

Mary is a 32 year old migrant from Sudan; she has been in Australia for 18 months. She has 4 children and is pregnant with number 5. If she comes to class, the government will pay for childcare for her children; she likes the idea of having a break from looking after them. She seems friendly and outgoing. Her oral skills are much stronger than her other skills. She has a job cleaning for 3 hours once a fortnight. She had very little education in Sudan and so is unable to read or write in either English or her first language. There is a strong Sudanese community at the local church which Mary attends and many of them also attend classes at the regional TAFE.

Mary struggled with the reading task of matching key words to symbols, eg police. She copied her name and address from her Centrelink card however, her script is ungainly and she does not have good control of a pen. She was unable to complete any writing without highly supportive modelling. Her poor reading skills also inhibit her maths and numeracy although she can complete some maths tasks when using hands on material. This includes simple fractions and division with counters or lollies.

Throughout the initial assessment Mary needed much encouragement and support to complete reading, writing and numeracy tasks. She is not able to identify any particular goals that she would like to achieve in her education. She would prefer to be in a class with some of her friends. Due to her other commitments she feels she would only be able to attend a couple of times per week, for a few hours at a time.


Learning NYA 1.01, NYA 1.02

Reading NYA 1.03, NYA 1.04

Writing NYA 1.05, NYA 1.06


Numeracy 1.09, 1.10, NYA 1.11

Include later -Mary is easily distracted in class; she often comes late and likes to have long breaks to talk to other students. Classes are more important to Mary as a social outlet and something to do rather than be at home with her small children. She has made little progress in the 6 months she has been in class; in part because she will not take any risks, ie. will not write a word unless someone tells her how to do it.


Nicola

Nicola is 17 years of age. She is typical of many young people who have dropped out of school early. She is one of three children. Her father ‘skipped through’ when she was about 7. Her mother had a number of partners and two other children. It is possible that Nicola was abused as she left home at 14 and is reluctant to talk about her childhood. School didn’t feature highly in her childhood and it is likely that her attendance was irregular. She left school altogether after 10 years.

When she left home she lived with an aunt and uncle but was unwilling to conform to their rules and it appears that she spent time moving from friend to friend and returning to the aunt when there was no where else to go.

In the last six months she has had more contact with her mother who seems to be in a more stable relationship. She is now living with her. Recently she has enrolled in a Year 10 equivalent course at the local TAFE. The course includes literacy, numeracy as well as personal development and vocational skills.

Nicola is often late to class and does not always attend. She gets on reasonably well with the teachers and other students but looses concentration and can easily be aggravated. She tends to respond by swearing and doesn’t readily express her opinions. She has basic literacy and numeracy skills and although she presents with low oral communication skills it is likely that there will be a noticeable jump in this skill when she gains confidence, feels secure in the class and develops an ability to critically evaluate situations. She has moments when she is engaged in the learning and at that time can be quite focused. Nicola has expressed an interest in getting into a child care, hairdressing or beauty course in the future.


Learning 1.01, 1.02

Reading 2.03, 2.04

Writing 1.05, 1.06


Numeracy 1.09, 1.10, 1.11


Oman

Oman is a 45 year old health professional. An Iranian national on a temporary visa, he has come to Australia to prepare for and take an English language test. He is a highly focused individual with specific learning needs in a high stakes environment. Although he has only recently arrived in Australia, he is determined to present as a candidate at the next sitting of the test in three month’s time. If unsuccessful, he can re-sit the test, but this is complicated by the terms of his visa and his financial circumstances. Success in this test is the first step to having his qualifications recognised in Australia and in turn to achieving his personal goal of emigrating and practising his profession. In order to be successful in this English test he will need to demonstrate competence in reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Oman demonstrates highly developed learning strategies: through his professional studies he has developed an effective and disciplined approach to formal learning and assessment, and he has a strong belief in his capacity to acquire new skills and knowledge. He respects teachers for their knowledge of the requirements of the tests and seeks to enlist them as collaborators in his success, but he has little need of support or affirmation from them. He is a resourceful learner, having studied English privately in his homeland where no classes were available. He has developed a wide vocabulary with good control of syntax, although his lack of colloquial and cultural knowledge is apparent in casual conversation. He is a careful listener, giving consistently appropriate response to questions. His spoken language is less confident where hesitation, pausing and some mispronunciation interfere with fluency.

Because his needs are so focused on language, a numeracy assessment was not appropriate.


Learning 5.01, 5.02

Reading 3.03, 3.04

Writing 3.05, 3.06


Numeracy not assessed


Robert

Robert is a 23 year old indigenous student living in a regional centre in Australia. He is single and lives in a share house with a number of friends. He is studying a Certificate 2 in General Education at the TAFE College as he left school before completing his School Certificate. He wants to get an apprenticeship to be an electrician. This is the second time he has enrolled in General Education at TAFE. He felt he was too young and not ready the first time. Apart from some labouring work and a “Work for the Dole” scheme he has been out of work ever since. He was excellent at sport at school and was popular, but struggled to pass his academic subjects, not so much because of his lack of ability but because he found the subjects and teaching irrelevant and boring. His oral skills were excellent and he could write OK if interested and motivated, but his maths skills were very poor.

When assessed for his literacy and numeracy skills on application to the course he was rated at ACSF Level 2 in both his writing (spelling was a major problem) and numeracy (OK with money but little else). He writes poorly with pen and paper but is quite computer literate. Apart from his technical subjects he has to study a maths subject and a communications subject (both at approximately Year 10 level) and is struggling with working from and understanding the trade manuals that the teachers at the College tend to rely on.

Robert enjoys the social life of the College and is becoming a popular student. He is very relaxed, friendly and outgoing. He is easily distracted in class and likes to chat to other students. He responds well if teachers show an interest in him and talk him through issues and skills.


Learning 1.01, 1.02

Reading 2.03, 2.04

Writing 2.05, 1.06


Numeracy 1.09, 1.10, 1.11


Serena Serena is a sixty year old student who has lived in Australia for the past 35 years. Originally from Italy, Serena has spent her life in Australia raising five children and working in the family business. Until recently, she has not had time to attend language classes and has learnt English language within the context of work and family. Now in a position of economic security and with some time to spare, she has a strong desire to address the gaps in her education and to further her personal and professional growth. She has high expectations of study and is interested in welfare work and tertiary study. At this stage she does not have enough knowledge of her own skills and where they fit in the learning environment to confidently develop realistic long term goals.

Serena presents with stabilized English characterized by limited vocabulary and errors of syntax which can subvert clear communication of meaning. This is compounded in her spoken English where pronunciation can make high demands on the listener. Her discussion of theatre and of social issues at initial interview indicate well developed conceptual thinking, however her ability to communicate ideas to her satisfaction is frustrated by the limitations of her language development. Her gregarious personality and focus on self-expression do not lend themselves to careful listening, although this may have been a response to being a little anxious during the interview process.


Learning 2.01, 2.02

Reading 3.03, 3.04

Writing 2.05, 1.06


Numeracy 2.09, 2.10, 2.11


Suzanna Suzanna is a 20 year old student from an Anglo-Saxon background who has vision impairment. She would like to study Cert III in Disability Work but needs to improve her writing and numeracy before she can undertake the course. She completed year 8 at school and has tried adult education previously, however, she did not like having an aide to help her with her work. She says that the aide did not allow her to do her own work, so she wants to try studying without an aide. She has enough vision to move around unaided and uses public transport. She can read 18 point font and can read from the board if she is allowed to go up very close and look at it. When studying a novel it would be necessary to get a large print version from Vision Australia. It is sometimes possible to get a computer which enlarges the print or one which reads the information that the teacher writes on the board, but this technology is expensive and not always available.

Suzanna is a cheerful student who is eager to learn. She has done a little voluntary work in the disability area which she enjoyed. She has a disability pension and lives with her mother.


Learning 2.01, 2.02

Reading 2.03, 1.04

Writing 2.05, 2.06


Numeracy 1.09, 1.10, 1.11


Vicki

Vicki is a 42 year old urban dwelling Australian born woman who has self referred for placement in a literacy program. Although she has had a long history of substance abuse she has been free of addiction for the past 9 years. Currently unemployed, Vicki has a background of economic and educational marginalization. It is difficult to know whether her early difficulties with literacy and numeracy stem from a mild learning disability or from the emotional turbulence of her family life, which was marked by abusive and devaluing relationships. She completed 8 years of school based education, much of it in the special education class of a mainstream school setting. At the time this experience left Vicki feeling sidelined and labeled as second rate. From her current perspective as an adult learner, she feels that her formal education denied her the opportunity to come to grips with her literacy needs and she is anxious to ensure that these negative experiences are not repeated.

Despite carrying some baggage due to her negative past experiences, Vicki is keen to participate in formal learning again, seeing literacy as a personal challenge she is now ready to take up. While greatest needs are in reading, writing and numeracy, she appears to be operating at a higher level in learning strategies. She demonstrates a capacity to reflect on her learning and the learning environment. She also has a sense of herself as a successful learner in informal settings and provides much evidence of her ability to incorporate new information and processes to solve everyday problems if they are presented in a practical way. She has well developed oral communication skills enabling her to quickly establish relationships with others and to discuss her learning history and needs. She does not have long term vocational or educational goals in mind, other than to develop confidence and competence in reading and writing.


Learning 3.01, 3.02

Reading 1.03, 1.04

Writing 1.05, 1.06


Numeracy 1.09, 1.10, NYA 1.11


VeronicaVeronica is a young Aboriginal woman, 24 years old, who lives in a NSW regional centre. She was born in the area and her extended family all live nearby. She has a young son, 7months old, who is currently in the care of Dept of Community Services. She lost custody of her baby because she had an alcohol problem and the house where she was staying (with 6 other people) had a rat infestation. She currently lives alone in a newly constructed Dept of Housing flat, and is seeing her baby regularly. She has been encouraged to come to TAFE by her DOCS case worker, as it is seen as an important step in her rehabilitation and will help her regain custody of her son.

Veronica left school in year 8. She has a mild intellectual disability, and suffers acute anxiety over the situation with her baby, and the issues she has to deal with regarding this. She is being supported in her return to study by her case worker, the TAFE Aboriginal Learning and Liaison Officer, the TAFE counsellor and General Education Head Teacher, who all liaise on a regular basis.

Veronica’s learning goals are to improve her literacy/numeracy and computer skills, so she can find work as a Home Care lady, but her highest priority is to regain custody of her son. She is a warm, gentle person with a ready smile, and gets on well with others. However, she is very shy, and struggles to express her needs without the help of a mentor. She has limited work experience, cultivating vegetables for House with No Steps and CDEP.

In her initial assessment, she was able to complete a form with personal information and write two simple sentences. She was able to read a brochure and find specific information, then attempted a more complex newspaper advertisement and successfully interpreted embedded meanings. She can do simple money calculations and locate some information on a map. She can do all 4 operations and calculate a two-step percentage problem with a calculator, and can make a money decision based on a comparison, by rounding up to whole numbers.

She has enrolled in an AQF-accredited course Certificate I in Access to Work and Training: Work Opportunities for Women, and is receiving mentor support in some of her classes.


Learning 1.10, 1.02

Reading 2.03, 2.04

Writing 1.05, 1.06

Oral communication 1.07, 1.08

Numeracy 1.09, 1.10, 1.11


GregGreg is a 53 year old who lives in a small rural village 30kms from the nearest regional centre, where he attends TAFE literacy class. Greg left school when he was 13 years old, in year 8 of high school. The principal told his parents that “there was no hope for him” in terms of reading, writing and spelling. Greg spent all his working life in a variety of manual jobs in abattoirs, plaster manufacturing works, and timber mills. Due to an injury sustained at home, Greg can no longer do heavy labour. He is divorced with a 14 year old daughter.

Greg is a confident, good humoured, sociable person, demonstrating good communication skills. Greg can complete a form with his personal information, but that is the full extent of his writing. He can read a short workplace text aloud with support for decoding longer words, and can answer reasonably complex questions on the text if they are read to him. He is able to compensate for his lack of literacy by having a good memory and strong sense of context clues, gained from years of workforce participation. He has successfully completed his First Aid Certificate, and several short work-related courses. His numeracy is impeded by lack of literacy.

Greg’s goals are to be able to function independently in all relevant literacy tasks. He feels confident enough to “begin at the beginning” and as an initial short term goal, is determined to finally “crack the code”.


Learning 2.01, 2.02

Reading 1.03, 1.04

Writing NYA 1.05, NYA 1.06


Numeracy 1.09, 1.10, 1.11

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