Celebrating our linguistic and cultural diversity is important to the Hume Libraries. So is ensuring all Australians have access to equal opportunities. Learning English can help migrants find employment, friendships and navigate everyday life in Australia. It’s never too late to start learning.
To learn more about the Hume Libraries free English language programs in Victoria, visit: https://www.humelibraries.vic.gov.au You can select your preferred language in the top right corner of their website.
The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) also provide free English classes and free childcare for eligible migrants across Australia. To find one near you, visit: https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/amep
Transcript:
[Jacqueline Auhl]: Here at Hume Libraries, our programs are a great first point of call – we’re a good first step to becoming part of a community. We have programs in English, Arabic, Turkish, Assyrian – a lot of different languages, and we’re including more languages every year. [Sarah Restuccia]: There are offerings that we have where we can help people understand what their rights are, what their responsibilities are; you know, so really breaking it down so that people who are new to Australia or to our community, really understand where they fit. [Adriene Rodriguez]: Australia embraces all languages, but English is what binds us. I think it’s really important for migrants to learn English to become a part of the community, to participate in a community. That’s what multiculturalism is, it’s for us to all engage; and one thing that everybody in Australia has in common, generally, is English. Pretty much every aspect of life would be enriched by learning English in Australia. [Angelo Ludwig]: I’m 80 years old and I want to still learn English. I found the Hume Library – it’s a great institution, actually. It offers to you so many, many things, actually – not only English classes, but friendship. It helped me day-by-day, in daily chores – when you’re at a shopping centre. It allowed me actually, not only we meet people in the library, which is a great place to meet people, but even to outside anyway – friends which I never thought I can communicate with them or socialise with them. [Adriene Rodriguez]: I want them to feel connected; I want them to feel part of the community. [Jacqueline Auhl]: I love that there is no one way to be Australian. There’s more than 25 million people in the country, and that means there’s more than 25 million ways to be Australian. So, whether you’re a new migrant or whether you’ve lived in Australia your entire life – becoming part of a diverse community with lots of different backgrounds can only help you grow as a person; and creating that community can only help make our society stronger.Australia’s diversity is one of our greatest strengths. No matter our backgrounds, we’re united by the values of freedom, respect, fairness and equality of opportunity for all.
Learn more about the Australian values.
This post is also available in: 简体中文 (Chinese Simplified) 繁體中文 (Chinese Traditional) Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese) العربية (Arabic)