Justine Jackman has a background in accounting and IT. She also has two degrees. A BA in English Literature and a BComm in accounting. She began training as a literacy tutor for Literacy Aotearoa in 2006 and gained CALT level 5 in 2007.

Since then Justine has worked in a variety of literacy projects including:

• Women's computing
• Evening computing
• Men's Literacy
• Volunteer tutoring
• Workplace Literacy

Justine's main area of expertise is the Men's Literacy group. Her course has proved to be amazingly successful - attracting a group of dedicated learners who attend classes regularly. Around ten men attend literacy sessions for two and a half hours on both Tuesday and Wednesday nights throughout the year.

The fact that the attendance rate is high and the students are so motivated in their learning is due to Justine's methodical, no nonsense approach.

The guys are just so keen. They have often come along for a specific purpose. They want to learn and can see how the group helps them. Many are older guys with families. Some are facing school pressures with their children. Others might be having literacy problems at work. We work hard but we also have a bit of fun.

The group is focused and well organized. And Justine finds the 'men only' approach works well.

'The group dynamics are good and there is a helpful camaraderie among the men. They can also be quite competitive.'

Mostly the lessons are quite structured.

''We concentrate on spelling, writing and reading. Also computing and maths. The spelling part is important and gets them reading. They also enjoy the dictation. We cover things like spelling rules and word families.'

If the men are nervous when they first come along Justine soon puts them at their ease.

'For some of the men it's the first time they've have the chance to be open about their literacy problems. And that's a big thing. But it's a safe environment and it's good for guys to get to know each other and know they're not the only one struggling with reading or spelling.'

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The men seek help for different reasons.

'Some are motivated by promotion or find they have to write a report for work. Or it may be a school or family thing. Some of them have just got to the point where they're sick of covering up all the time. Most of the men who seek help have had bad school experiences. They've been put down by people or told they were stupid. They may have experienced a lot of failure in the literacy area.'

The men soon realize that with a bit of help they can learn. And when they start seeing results it inspires them to keep going.

'After a few sessions I've had lots of guys say 'Hey! I don't feel so dumb any more.'"

Some of Justine's students have gone onto higher things - like tertiary study.

'One of the guys who had an interest in writing is now doing a course at tertiary level. When he first came along his writing was very basic. He made huge improvements. It's good to see the men progress and here how it improves their daily lives.'