Adult Learners’ Week – Celebrating the Value of Lifelong Learning

Lifelong learning is great for health, wellbeing and mental agility. Adult learners of all ages and backgrounds report benefits like better self-esteem, greater tolerance, confidence and career prospects.

Adult Learners’ Week/He Tangata Mātauranga runs 4-10 September and celebrates all adult learning whether it’s upskilling for a better job, preparing for further study, improving life skills or having fun. It is supported by the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO and incorporates International Literacy Day on September 8.

If you’ve ever been curious about our learning programmes for adults – sessions on learning how to use a new piece of technology, family history research, or polishing up your CV – Adult Learners’ Week is a great time to head along and try out what we have to offer.

Library events during Adult Learners’ Week

• eResource Taster sessions, Central Library Peterborough –  Each session focuses on a different eResource. Learn about accessing/downloading digital newspapers (PressReader), eBooks (Overdrive), eAudiobooks (BorrowBox), and eMagazines (RBdigital Magazines) as well as tips for researching family history (Ancestry Library) or online language learning (Mango Languages)
• Technology Help Drop-in Sessions, several libraries – Have a specific issue relating to a device or piece of technology? Drop-in and get some guidance.
• ESOL Club, Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre – This club is for non-native speakers who would like to practice English in a relaxed, pressure free environment. Every week we will have a different themed topics to guide conversational practice.
• Family History Help, Fendalton and Upper Riccarton Libraries – Looking for more help with your family history research? A volunteer from the New Zealand Society of Genealogists will be available to help you with your family history questions.
• CV drop-in, New Brighton Library – A librarian will be on hand to assist customers who are needing help with their resume. We can offer guidance on creating, updating, and editing your CV.
• Learner License Course, Aranui Library – This course, delivered by Literacy Christchurch, is designed to give you all the knowledge and confidence needed for best success at passing when sitting for your learners licence test. Laptops and devices will be available for use during the class times to sit practice tests and for researching questions.
• How to organise and edit your digital photos, South Library – Learn how to organise your photographs and do some basic editing using online photo editing software. Please ensure that you bring your camera and USB download cables. Cost: $7. To make a booking please call 941 5140

Find out more

• See our Adult Learners’ Week page for more lifelong learning resources
• More Adult Learners’ Week events in Canterbury

Adult Learners’ Week – a time to learn something new

If you think that learning is for children or for university students, then think again. Learning is for everyone and it is possible to teach ‘an old 0dog a new trick’.

If you don’t believe me, then think about this: I’m writing a blog on a computer. Computers were around when I was at school, but they were very big, very expensive and not very fast. Blogs hadn’t been invented and if you made a typing mistake, then you either had to start all-over again, or use correction tape. Thank goodness I continued to learn new things.

For those of you who would like to learn something new, Then Adult Learners’ Week / He Tangata Mātauranga is for you. It is supported by UNESCO, the Tertiary Education Commission, and adult education course providers. It takes place from Monday 5 September to Sunday 11 September. It includes International Literacy Day which is held on 8 September.

Lifelong learning not only teaches you new skills, it helps keep the “little grey cells” active and is a way of meeting new people. Our website can connect you with e-resources, books and courses. There will be something just right for you.

International Literacy Day celebrates the fact that literacy is a human right. The library has many tools which can help you improve literacy skills and those aimed at both students and tutors.

To get yourself  started, You will find English language skills collection material in our libraries. This collection includes resources for both people with literacy difficulties and their tutors. We also have Simplified readers. These books are popular titles that have been re-written to cater for people with different levels of reading ability.

When you can’t get to the library to borrow books, try our eResources. You can access these from home with your library card and password / PIN

• Road to IELTS: General  Access a self-study preparation course to help candidates prepare for the globally recognised IELTS exam. It tests English use at a general level.
• World Book Discover  World Book Discover offers access to reference resources for reluctant readers, students with learning difficulties, adult literacy students or those who are learning English as a second language.

For more handy hints, check the following, which you’ll also find on our Adult Learners’ Week page –

• Find education providers and groups in our community directory CINCH;
• Research using free access to computers and the internet;
• Browse our lifelong learning page;
• Improve your library and online service knowledge with our key skills page;
• Discover the full range of library services;
• Explore a world of knowledge at your fingertips through our eResources collection of encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers and other reference sources.

Adult Learners’ Week — He Tangata Mātauranga: an opportunity to try something new

My grade three teacher confused me. He told me that he learned something new every day. How could that be? He was a teacher and he knew everything. My grandmother and her sister added to my primary school-aged confusion by telling me that they enjoyed learning new things all the time. What was going on? Adults know everything.

What I didn’t realise then, but I am well aware of now, is that adults don’t know everything, and that many, if not most, like learning new skills and information, and expanding their horizons by trying new experiences. The importance of this lifelong learning is celebrated every year during  Adult Learners’ Week — He Tangata Mātauranga.

The library fosters learning at all times, of course, but during Adult Learners’ Week it particularly encourages you to learn something new and to celebrate your successes and achievements as a lifelong learner. If you want to take on a new challenge, I recommend you:

• Drop in to one of our libraries for book clubs, computer skills, craft, cards, scrabble and much much  more.
• Explore the Source: learn a language, delve into your family history, or refine your home improvement skills – the selection of resources available at your fingertips is much vaster than you may think.
• Check out the community programmes run by our Learning Centres.
• Take a look in CINCH for adult education courses in your area.
• Look at the education websites listed in our Internet Gateway.

Adult Learners’ Week also incorporates International Literacy Day on 8 September. Find out about our English Language Skills resources for both people with literacy difficulties and their tutors.

What’s going on at South Learning Centre for Adult Learner’s Week?

Adult Learners Week at South Learning Centre  in Colombo Street, Beckenham has a range of classes for you to choose from:

Wednesday 4 September Computer Drop In Classes 2.30-3.30pm
Bring along your own mobile device(iPad, Tablet, laptop, iPhone, Smartphone) to learn more about its functions and capabilities. If you don’t have one, feel free to use ours. Have you heard about The Web, Email, TradeMe, Facebook and Skype? Don’t worry come to learn in a relaxed and social environment with other like-minded adults.
Learn some new skills and adapt old ones to ever changing technologies.

Thursday 5 September Craft Group 1.30-3.30pm
Come and enjoy new company who are also keen crafty people. Share knitting, crochet or craft of your choice in this lovely social group.

Saturday 7 September Introduction to iPads 2-3.30pm
Learn the basics of an iPad in a relaxed, comfortable setting. It is self-paced learning – looking at the basics of home screen, finger navigation, connecting to a WiFi network as well as exploring the World Wide Web.

Sunday 8 September Create Your Own Slideshow 1.00-3.00pm
This is a chance to make more of your digital photos or your printed photographs. Bring along photos on a USB/memory stick or from your photo albums to create a digital slideshow accompanied by your favourite music. Your final product can be recorded onto a disc to take away and played through your DVD player or computer. It may sound complex but it is surprisingly easy!

Explore more Adult Learners’ Week events at our libraries.