‘A Voice of Welcome’: Biography of a volunteer tutor

Luu and Michelle pictured in TasTAFE’s Hobart Campus.

Vietnamese-born Luu emigrated to Australia at the end of 2021 and began studying under the Australian government-funded Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) in 2022. Luu was comfortable with reading and writing in English but struggled to confidently speak English.

After progressing from a Certificate 2A class to 2B under the Certificate in Spoken and Written English (CSWE), Luu was still struggling with his conversational English. Luu’s teacher, Ian, suggested he see a volunteer tutor.

Luu was matched with Michelle, who had just completed the volunteer tutor training available through TasTAFE. Before long, Ian was pleasantly surprised by Luu’s notable improvements in his spoken English.

“Luu was initially very reluctant to speak [English] in front of the class.  But with Michelle’s help, his confidence grew immensely, and he started talking more and more each week,” Ian said.

Luu is now enrolled in English as an Additional Language (EAL) Certificate 3 and for a recent assignment he decided to write a biography of Michelle to say ‘thank you’ for her English tutorials. EAL teacher Mark helped Luu develop a list of questions to ask Michelle to help him with his assignment.

“Luu wants to get better at talking with people in English but still struggles a bit to get past the initial small talk. This project was a great chance for him to think; how can I ask interesting questions and get longer answers?”

Through the project, Luu not only learned interviewing and writing skills, but also found many things out about Michelle.  The biography covered her long and fulfilling nursing career, various places she and her family have lived, and why she decided to become an AMEP volunteer tutor.

Luu titled his assignment ‘A Voice of Welcome’, reflecting his experience in receiving support from Michelle. The support not only helped him improve his English but also made him feel part of the Australian community.  Luu wrote:

“For Michelle, volunteering at TasTAFE is more than teaching – It is about building trust, breaking down barriers, and helping others feel that they belong. It continues a life of sharing and helping that began in her youth, proving that the desire to help never really stops. When asked what she hopes for the future, Michelle smiledgently and said, “Since I retired, I had some free time and wanted to do something that involved literacy. It is very rewarding to help someone.”

Volunteer tutor Michelle was pleased with Luu’s work.

“Luu geared the questions into my experience in helping people. The actual interview took about two hours, and we had three more sessions to correct what he wrote down.

“It was very rewarding to read what Luu wrote about me. It was like validating what I have been doing in my life.” Michelle said.

Luu said that his assignment ‘was not an easy project, but I’m very happy that I did it.’

“Michelle’s story is a quiet but powerful reminder of how small acts of kindness can have lasting effects,” Luu said.

Luu is currently enrolled in English as an Additional Language (EAL) Certificate 3 and sees Michelle once a week to keep improving his spoken English.

The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) is funded by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs. TasTAFE is an AMEP service provider in southern Tasmania.