Bev Killington’s a volunteer home tutor who also helps an ESOL class for learners with low literacy.

Bev trained in 2019 and was started teaching learner Musdalifah binti Sunoto. Musdalifah was born in Indonesia and is married to a Rohingya person. The family arrived in 2018 from Malaysia, where they’d been living.

Bev is probably the only English speaker Musdalifah has regular contact with, and she’s become like a daughter.

Bev really enjoyed her volunteering and asked if she could volunteer more! So she joined Helen Van Den Ende‘s ESOL Literacy class in Palmerston North. Bev’s become an integral part of the class, joining them twice a week. She’s well-loved and often the recipient of many hugs. “I enjoy coming to class, it gives me a feeling of self-worth,” says Bev.

“The learners are so grateful and make me feel special.”

Bev is a valuable asset to Helen, as she can work with individual learners while Helen is teaching, giving people more opportunity to practise speaking and reading skills.

“Bev’s a natural teacher who knows instinctively how to encourage learners. She lets them ‘give it a try’ and knows when to step in and help,” says Helen. Bev also enjoys a good laugh with the class.

During lockdown, Bev continued her home tutoring, ringing Musdalifah and chatting over the phone twice a week to check up and make sure that everything was OK with her family.

She also joined the online ESOL Literacy Zoom class every morning. Bev was worried about her tech skills at first, but after a bit of training with Helen, she was able to lead breakout rooms, share screens and provide valuable feedback to Helen about what was and wasn’t working in the Zoom class.

If that isn’t enough, Bev’s also a Citizens Advice Bureau volunteer, helping out twice a week. This comes in handy when questions come up that she can advise on.

Super Volunteer? We think so!

Join us as a volunteer!

More! And how to volunteer with ELP