Emily Ong loves helping students progress and gain confidence in reading and literacy.
Learn a little more about this enthusiastic Literacy Centre tutor in our featured profile.
What do you like about your work?
Emily: There are so many joys in my job! I love it when I see the pride in our students’ faces when they work out a word by themselves and the confidence they gain when they realise they have the skills to read. I love hearing stories the students tell of their reading successes. One such recent story was a student who had been chosen to read a passage for Remembrance Day. Her joy and pride beamed through the camera in our online lesson!
I also enjoy teaching using our programs as they are backed by research evidence and therefore I know I am using best practice when teaching our low-progress readers. Many of our Literacy Centre students have experienced years of failure at school and it is rewarding to see our programs give them the necessary literacy skills to access the school curriculum.
How does improving literacy make a difference to children later in life?
Emily: Literacy underpins so much of our daily lives. It doesn’t matter whether it’s reading a recipe, road signs, or just food package labels. More and more, it seems we need literacy to function in our daily lives. A lot of our interaction these days is through written means such as social media and text messaging, which all require the ability to read and spell. I think more than ever, our kids who struggle with literacy are more likely to be limited in their access to knowledge and opportunities in their adult life.
What's something you wish more people knew about literacy?
Emily: I wish people knew that not all kids will automatically learn to read just because they’ve been read to as a young child. Literacy is a skill that needs to be taught. I also wish that people knew that using an evidence-based phonics approach in teaching literacy during the early years is crucial in laying down a solid foundation for subsequent reading success.
And something you wish more people knew about MultiLit?
Emily: I’ve had many people ask what MultiLit stands for – it’s ‘Making Up Lost Time In Literacy’. I’d also like people to know that MultiLit’s mission is to ensure that one day every child learns to read, no matter their circumstances or background. It’s wonderful to be a small part of such a worthwhile mission!