Thursday, 28 May 2009
New English teaching resource also aims to protect rights
A new resource using real life stories to teach English and human rights awareness has been launched in Canberra today by Federal Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland.
President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Cathy Branson QC, said It’s Your Right! has been developed by the Commission in partnership with Adult Multicultural Education Services (AMES) Victoria as a teaching resource about human rights and responsibilities in Australia for adult learners.
“It’s Your Right! is a resource tailored to the needs of people who are newly arrived in Australia and who are learning English as a second language (ESL).
“Newcomers to Australia often experience unfairness or discrimination in their daily lives, either at work or in seeking accommodation, for example, but are not aware of where they can go for help.
“It’s Your Right! teaches English and at the same time raises awareness of human rights and equal opportunity laws in Australia that protect people against unfair treatment and discrimination,” Ms Branson said.
Students learn English as they follow the journey of Hayat, a Muslim Ethiopian woman, as she learns about her rights and the services available to her after being treated unfairly and losing her job. Most importantly, however, students learn that Hayat has the power to change her situation.
Federal Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, launched the resource today in Canberra at the first national Conference of the Settlement Council of Australia (SCoA) .
"It’s Your Right! is a timely resource that will reach a broad range of individuals and help many communities in Australia who may face discrimination ," Mr McClelland said.
AMES (Victoria) General Manager Education, Teresa Angelico, said: "It's Your Right! is another example of the way AMES partners with government and other organisations to get key messages across to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities across Australia. This resource is already proving to be highly popular with both teachers and learners."
Ms Branson said the resource had been developed in consultation with community leaders who had learned English as a second language and trials of the resource were extremely positive.
“Teachers who evaluated the resource commented that students gained not only language comprehension skills, but also improved cultural awareness and language that empowered them,” she said.
A 90 second video clip showcasing It’s Your Right! can be viewed at www.humanrights.gov.au/education/esl. It’s Your Right! can also be downloaded from the site.
Ms Branson will be delivering a keynote address entitled ‘Settlement services through the looking glass of human rights’ on day two of the SCoA Conference on 29 May.
It’s Your Right! is the first completed project of eight being undertaken by the Australian Human Rights Commission as part of the federal government’s National Action Plan.
Media contact: Louise McDermott on (02) 9284 9851 or 0419 258 597
