Published:
Thursday, June 30, 2016
For more than 20 years, the Adult Literacy Tutors Association (Alta) has continued to thrive thanks to the work of our committed volunteers, and the passion of Alta’s founder and CEO, Paula Lucie-Smith.
This was clearly evident at Alta’s annual tutors meeting, held on June 25, where over 100 active and newly trained volunteers came together to chart the way forward into another successful academic year. Present amidst the volunteers was Alta’s patron Zalayhar Hassanali and Professor Ian Robertson who gave a presentation on Creole English and the Adult Literacy Student.
Professor Robertson is well known in academia for his research in the field of linguistics.
Guyanese by birth, Robertson is the former Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the UWI St Augustine Campus, and a former lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics.
He gave a lengthy but incredibly interesting presentation, which looked at the value of teaching adult learners in Creole English versus Standard English. He also looked at the intricacies of Creole English and gave many entertaining examples of both phonetic and grammar rules, which tutors should keep in mind when teaching Trinidadian adults to read and write.
He left the audience thinking about the importance of understanding the nature of language—both the language which is being taught, as well as any languages students bring into the classroom—in order to teach effectively.
We also took the opportunity to discuss our recently launched anti-stigma campaign and student recruitment efforts leading up to student registration on September 6 and September 7, at 12 libraries around the country.
To this end tutors were separated into regions and guided by their regional co-ordinators. Our tutors were also able to interact with and meet newly trained volunteers.
It was extremely inspiring and promising for Alta’s future to see so many long standing and new tutors attend a meeting on a Saturday morning—many coming from as far as Point Fortin.
The feedback we received during our student recruitment and anti-stigma campaign meeting is also testament to the unwavering commitment which our volunteer tutors have to the Association. Undoubtedly, without this dedication Alta would not be where it is today and so we take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all our volunteers—both past and present.
Have you considered becoming a volunteer or know someone who may be interested in joining an Alta class?
• Call 624-2582/653-4656 for more information. You can volunteer, donate or sponsor-a-student.
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