This year the Hagley Adult Literacy Centre (HALC) moved to the Hagley campus at 102 Champion Street, Edgeware.

The learners and tutors are enjoying the new venue and have settled in well. HALC has six English as a Second Language (ESOL) classes at Champion Street ranging from Beginner to Intermediate level. The classes are part-time and focus on everyday Kiwi English.

HALC also has ESOL classes in the community – at Wigram, Upper Riccarton, and Papanui. At these classes, the learners focus on improving their English language skills so they can be actively involved in the community. There are learners from over 23 ethnicities attending the ESOL classes.

For people who are working part-time or full-time HALC offers a workplace communication course. The sessions are often one-to-one with a tutor, or in a small group, at a time that suits the learner. The focus is on improving communication in the workplace as well as learning about health and safety, computing, and workplace maths. Learners from different countries attend the workplace programme, including: New Zealand, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Sri Lanka, Egypt, China, Korea, Japan, Chile, and Spain. A learner who attended the course said: “In my work, having more English means I can laugh and talk. It’s good to feel happy”.

In term 3 this year, HALC started an ESOL computing course. Three computing classes are at the Champion Street campus, and one class is at Hagley College. Learners are studying basic computing skills as well as how to use the internet for everyday use.

If you know of anyone who may be interested in any of these courses, or if you want more information, please contact HALC on (03) 379 1916 or 027 899 5220 or visit our website: www.hagleyadultliteracy.org