Case Study - Being Australian

Deliver the Program

Teach the sequence of activities

‘Being Australian’ was delivered to a small group of students of mixed skill level. Students participating in flexible delivery programs were also interested in the material, so they were provided with a package to take to their units. The students were generally keen to give the program a go.

The class setting included several reluctant learners, two women who were very emotional (intoxicated?), and a core group of students who liked to apply themselves and get on with what was organized for them. I removed the two emotional women from the class (to a room on their own to have time with a church volunteer), and introduced the program to those who remained. Shortly after one women stood up from the table, flopped herself on the floor and drifted into sleep! Another noisily pushed her chair back, said “Ya can shove ya multiculturalism” and stormed out of the classroom only to return a minute later to demand “Open the fuckin’ door, will ya! I’m not stayin’ here!”. After letting her out the centre I returned to a group who seemed interested in what was ahead and not at all perturbed by a couple of students opting out.

A class discussion followed which focused on ‘diversity’ and why we would want to ‘celebrate diversity’. The students generally agreed that it was good that there were so many different cultures that made up Australia, and “wouldn’t it be boring if we were all the same”.

Two groups then formed – those who were confident to read and work on their own, and those who wanted to work together.

Generally, the students’ oral discussions were vibrant and they offered interesting insights of their own experiences of being treated badly by others, or of racism. The reactions to each others accounts were sensitive and there were comments like “Gees I never knew that”, or “Did that really happen to you? How awful!”.

The students who worked on their own worked quietly and seemed genuinely thoughtful about the material.

Monitor learners’ progress through the course

Examples of written work give insight into the skills the students used….

In response to the question:

Many people have a religion or a faith that helps give meaning to life. Do you have a belief or a religion? If so, can you describe what it is?

Sara wrote:

I have been brought up a Catholic girl. I can’t actually describe what it is as I’ve never really understood. I could tell you about the practical work that goes into being catholic but I can’t tell you the theories about the subject/religion.

Thi wrote:

I’m a Buddhist. The Believing in a higher being gave me faith and strength to go on when ever my world seemed to collapse a round me.

In response to the question:

Imagine what it would be like to live in an English-speaking country and not be able to speak English. What would it be like? Discuss this with those around you, then write as much as you can.

Andrea wrote:

I would feel very scared lost. Wouldn’t know how. To get around buy things. Ask for help. I would feel very isolated

Sara wrote:

Well my parents moved to Australia not knowing a word of English but they’ve learnt in time and now are both financially, physically and mentally stable, not to mention speaking English quite fluently.

Thi wrote:

Living in an English country and not be able to speak English would be very difficult, Because we need to be able to communicate with the people around us.

Written responses show different levels of writing ability. Some students needed help with spelling, others with sentence structure, others with punctuation. This tuition was offered and supported with extra exercises as the program progressed.

Assess performance

I selected some written/numeracy exercises and observed some oral communication for assessment purposes. Those chosen were from students who had consistently shown they could achieve competence in the area being assessed.