Rota volunteers attend English training course

Reach Out To Asia (Rota) volunteer-tutors attended a trainer training course held at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), ahead of Rota’s Adult English Literacy (RAEL) programme for low income migrant workers in Qatar. Volunteer-tutors from across Qatar took part in the training course, developed by Qatar Milestone Training Solutions, to equip tutors with the necessary skills to effectively facilitate the RAEL initiative. The tutor training course covered a range of topics including Rota’s literacy curriculum, issues facing low-income migrant workers, methods to effectively facilitate adult learning, and community-based learning tools. Mohammed A Saleh, national programmes director, Rota, said, “The course is essential to ensure our RAEL tutors are fully trained and equipped with the required skills to deliver our Adult English Literacy course in an effective and professional manner.”“Training the RAEL facilitators to become confident literacy tutors will ensure that the migrant workers will reap the maximum benefit from the Adult English Literacy programme. The course also reaffirms the importance of social responsibility and community development,” he added. This year, 85 volunteer tutors attended the capacity building course to ensure tutors gain a better understanding of the low skilled workers’ backgrounds while acquiring new skills relevant to teaching adults and community-based English literacy. “I’m so grateful to Rota for selecting me to be part of this incredible initiative which positively impacts the lives of migrant workers in Qatar. Taking the training course has helped me to feel more confident in my ability to effectively facilitate and deliver the RAEL programme,” said Sarah al-Raeissi, a student at the Academic Bridge Programme (ABP) in Qatar.“I believe I will be able to utilise the skills I have learnt during the course in other professional areas too. The course has taught me how to be a competent literacy tutor and the importance of community development and lifelong learning,” added Aaqifa Altaf, a student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar.Rota’s Adult English Literacy classes are taught over a 16-week period split into two terms. The first term begins in October and ends in December, with the second term commencing in February and ending in April 2017.