Who are the families that we will be tutoring?
Our families are refugees that have settled in Brisbane, generally on visas that will entitle them to stay in Australia permanently.  Some have arrived recently, and others have been here for two or three years but have also requested assistance from VoRTCS.  Our families are from a mix of countries. Many of our families are African, or from Burma, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, to name a few. All of our families are incredibly warm and welcoming, and grateful for the assistance.  

How old are most of your tutors?
It’s a little hard to say – they range from high school students who partner with parents through to retirees. They include many in their twenties and thirties, who are either university students or professionals.  Anyone can volunteer for our tutoring program.

Do you need to have any teaching experience?
Our tutors use their existing knowledge of English, the community and schooling to help them. They are often amateurs who take a 'professional' approach to their tutoring practice. No previous experience is necessary to join the program.  We provide tutors with basic training and ongoing learning opportunities. All you need is a willingness to help out a refugee family.  We also provide resources to use in your tutoring sessions. But as tutoring is always done in pairs or small groups of tutors, often if you don't know the answer to a question then your fellow tutors will!

Where will I be tutoring?
We try to match tutors up with a family who lives in a region of Brisbane where they are able and prepared to travel to each week. As a guide, while there are still families living on the Inner Southside of Brisbane, and there are large numbers of refugee families moving to Logan, Acacia Ridge, Goodna and Wacol, or Chermside, Zillmere and Stafford.  However, there are families scattered throughout many suburbs and we will always endeavour to find a family in a location that is convenient for you to get to.

If there are any concerns about attending another family’s house to tutor, we can arrange for the tutoring to occur in a public place, such as a public library, school or community hall, however our stakeholders tell us that one of the great strengths of the VoRTCS program is the home-based model.  

How often will I be tutoring?
We ask that all tutors commit to tutoring for a minimum of one hour a week.  Many tutors find that this is not long enough, and most groups choose to tutor for one and a half or two hours per week.  It is entirely up to you and the family how long your sessions run for.  We strongly recommend that weekly tutoring sessions be held, to establish a routine and also to ensure that your students get enough assistance with their school, university or TAFE work.  

Do I have to tutor at a certain time?
Some of our tutors are university students whose lecture timetable changes regularly. Others are shift workers or professionals who are only available at certain times, such as after business hours. We leave it up to tutors to negotiate with their family about a suitable time to tutor. Many of our tutors attend tutoring sessions in the early evening, while others attend in the morning or on weekends.

Do I need to have my own transport to tutor?
While an advantage if you have to travel to visit your family, tutors are not required to have their own transport.  As tutoring is done in small groups, if you do not have a car then we will try to match you up with someone who lives near you and does have their own transport.  Of course, you are more than welcome to catch public transport to visit your family, and you will find that many families live quite close to public transport as they often have to use it themselves.  

I want to tutor with my friend/partner.  Is this possible?
If you already have someone that you want to tutor with, we will place you together with a family.  Tutoring with a friend or family member can work well because of the convenience of travelling together and the ease of communicating about tutoring arrangements. If you do not already know someone that you would like to tutor with, then we will place you with someone who wants to tutor in the same area as you.  

What if I can’t attend tutoring one week, due to illness or work commitments?
We understand that our tutors are busy people.  If they are unable to attend tutoring at their scheduled time one week due to illness, work or personal commitments, we ask that they phone their family and either schedule another time that week or arrange to attend at the usual time next week.  As a minimum of two tutors must attend each tutoring session for safety reasons.

Can I change the day and time that I tutor?
All days and times for tutoring sessions are negotiated between the tutors and the family.  If you would like to change the day or time that you tutor, simply discuss this with your family.  We do ask that you let us know of any changes, however, so that our databases are kept current and our risk management obligations can be met.

I don’t have a lot of experience working with children and would prefer to tutor adults.  Is this possible?
Wherever possible, we try to ensure that our tutors are confident in their tutoring.  If a tutor would prefer to work with adults, we assign them to a family that has no school-age students.  Some families have only high school-aged children.

Conversely, if you would like to work with a family that has younger children, we will try to arrange that.

How many students will I be working with?
A typical tutoring team will be two or three tutors, however it depends on the size of the family that you are assigned to.  Many refugee families are quite large, with more than three children.  Remember that there will be at least two tutors attending each household, though if the family is large we will send more tutors to assist.  We try to ensure about two family members per tutor. Not all family members will participate however you should let us know if the numbers in the family exceed this and we can look to find another tutor for your group.

What does a typical tutoring session involve?
A typical tutoring session involves the tutors spending some time just chatting with the parents and their children and assessing their needs. This assist with their conversational English skills and also identifies if there is any advice needed to deal with community participation such as meeting Centrelink obligations or accommodation correspondence. Tutors generally bring worksheets that focus on specific skills, such as grammar or problem-solving.  We encourage our tutors to incorporate some reading into each tutoring session. Often the children will seek assistance with homework, and the parents may have TAFE asignments or may need help with tasks such as compiling a resume for a job application.

What resources are available to tutors?
All tutors are provided with a handbook that includes tips from experienced ESL teachers and a CD of worksheets to use in tutoring sessions.  Other resources for tutors are available on our website.  There is also a library of resources that is available for tutors to borrow at tutors’ meetings.  

How much guidance will I receive when I start out?
At the intake training session tutors will told what to expect at tutoring sessions, given advice on what to take to their initial session, and given tips on how best to tutor your students. Resources will be available to all tutors, and coordinators are always just a phone call or an email away.

If you have any questions or would like guidance from an ESL teacher we also encourage tutors to contact their children’s school teachers where additional guidance can be obtained. 

Can the families speak English?
That depends on the family.  Generally there is at least one family member who speaks enough English to communicate, though that may be a child.  Children often have been attending Australian schools for long enough that they are able to speak English quite well, though often have difficulty reading and writing it.  Many of our parents do not have good English, and tutoring is an invaluable opportunity for them to practice their English conversation skills.  Most parents are or have attended a TAFE English course, and all school-aged children are attending school.

What if I can’t guarantee to make it every week?
If you have a busy schedule and are not sure that you will be able to make it to your tutoring session each week, let us know and we will match you up into a group of three.  This way, at least two of you will be able to tutor each week.  And if you have to cancel a particular week, this is not a problem either.