VOLUNTARY tutors from
Inishowen are being sought to help people brush up
on reading and writing skills.
An estimated one-in-five adults in the peninsula, as
nationally, have some form of difficulty in their
daily lives with the written word.
VEC adult literacy organiser for Inishowen, Joyce
Burns, said there were different levels of
difficulty.
"It is not to say that people cannot read or write
or at all, but they might not have enough skills to
cope with everything that life throws at them today.
"Official forms can be a big problem. People might
have to deal with Council forms, or social welfare
forms or passport forms and that can be a huge
mountain for some people to climb.
"Getting to grips with the language of a form can be
a big problem for some people. Sometimes the
language of bureacracy can be difficult to get
around."
Ms Joyce has encountered cases in Co Donegal where
some people had problems reading the driver theory
test book.
"It depends on the style of language as much as
anything else," she added.
The VEC in the peninsula is now looking for
volunteer adult literacy tutors to take part in a
20-hour course in Carndonagh. The course will start
on October 20, 2011.
Ms Joyce said she had a total of 16 places available
on the tutoring course with plenty of them still to
be filled.
The 20 hours of training is followed by 25 hours'
working with a student and one or two assignments.
The completed course counts as one module towards a
literacy-related certificate accredited by the
Waterford Insitute of Technology.
"There would be a huge level of discretion involved
in being a tutor. Anyone who thinks they might
benefit from having a tutor to help them with
reading and writing, can be assured of the utmost
confidentiality," she added. For further information
on both the tutoring course and the local literacy
service itself, please phone Joyce at 074 9329774. |
