Sara, who hails from Eritrea, initially came to the Centre as a client in the IT room. It was when she attended an assessment that she realized in order to pass her Life in the UK test she would benefit from one to one coaching in basic reading.

Using this principle, I used a number of advertisements in the Metro newspaper to see if Sara could recognize some of the well known brand names; needless to say she could and this certainly gave her an initial confidence in her ability to read English.
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Sara has conscientiously attended all her weekly sessions and usually takes home a copy of the pages we have covered in that session so that when we revisit the previous week’s work she is able to pronounce the words I have underlined for her to concentrate on.
I have discovered that Sara has a liking for chocolate, and we have celebrated with a bar of Kit Kat when her homework on pronunciation, especially of vowels, has borne fruit.
It is most rewarding working with Sara, who has a clear goal as to why she needs to become proficient in the English language.
Written by Paul Tobin, Volunteer