Guides: English and Employment Skills: Books/Video

BOOKS AND EBOOKS

We have both printed copies of books in our libraries, as well as eBooks (readable online). You can also access free books to download from various trusted websites.

Note: if at any time you are asked to sign or log in to access a resource, use your student ID and current password.

AMEP Picture Dictionary audio tracks.

Harris, C. [Producer]. (2019). AMEP Picture Dictionary [Audio file]. South Metropolitan TAFE.

Readers to Borrow (from our libraries)

Readers by Clare Harris to Borrow (from our libraries)

Readers to Download Free

The Umbrella by Harris, Clare

Carringbush Reading Series Titles: Amal can't go to class, A visit to the doctor, My English class, A busy Saturday, Kim volunteers
Tasmanian Council for Adult Literacy. Namaste Book Series Six people tell of seeking asylum in Australia, fleeing their homeland under dangerous circumstances, living in limbo, and leaving everything behind for a new life in Tasmania. The stories are deeply moving, and deal with the themes of family, community, freedom and independence. All the protagonists emphasise education and life skills as necessary for creating fulfilling and autonomous lives for themselves and their families, and write about the great sacrifices they made in achieving these skills.

Literacy & Numeracy (Featured Books & eBooks)

Writing Paragraphs: from sentence to paragraph

English Idioms: learn and practise more than 1000 common idioms.

Real Listening and Speaking with Answers: 1

Understanding Everyday Australian: Book 1

English Grammar in Use Book with Answers

Subject Searches

A search of Supersearch (library catalogue) will find resources in varied formats by using search terms and Filters. We have created a few subject searches for you here below.

Basic numeracy

Writing skills

English grammar

Readers OR Easy to read

IELTS

VIDEO

Watching video material can be educational and make learning English easier. Our Libraries have DVDs to borrow on many topics and we make streamed video collections available to you. There are also free video materials to access online.

These are our streamed collections you may search for subjects or feature films.

Note: if at any time you are asked to sign or log in to access a resource, use your student ID and current password.

Tip: Videos play best in Chrome

Alexander Street Press Video Collection > SMT This link opens in a new window Alexander Street Press Video Collection includes Music and Performing Arts, Classical and World Musio. Issues in Health Science, Social Science and Engineering, Anthropology, Business Economics, History, Diversity, Art and Design, Personal Interest, Psychology and Counselling.
EduTV > SMT This link opens in a new window EduTV includes over 20,000 programs including documentaries, drama and series
Kanopy > SMT This link opens in a new window Kanopy is a streaming video service with customised content on a wide range of subjects, including health and safety, child care, education, hospitality and engineering. (Note that requests for additional titles are only available to staff via the online request form. Students should consult their lecturers or our guides for alternative content.)
Safetycare Safetyhub > SMT This link opens in a new window Safetycare Safetyhub contains Safetycare's comprehensive library of Workplace Health & Safety and Skills Training video programs.

Life Skills Videos (free online)

Everyday English
Get Wise

ABC Education has a series of videos titled Everyday English which are available to stream.

Here are just a few:

Get Wise - Your Health & Wellbeing

Get Wise - Your Money

Get Wise - Work & Study

Get Wise - Your Time Out

Get Wise - Your Communication

Get Wise - You & Me

Australian Feature Films

Australian feature films streamed
DVDs to borrow

The following titles are just a few available from our streamed video collections. You can view them both on and off campus using your student or staff ID and network password. We advise using a browser such as Chrome.

Lion A young Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, miles from home. He is eventually adopted by an Australian couple, but years later he sets out to find his lost family.
Red Dog The legendary true story of the dust-covered Kelpie who hitched his way to the mining town of Dampier and into the hearts of each and every one of its residents, in search of his true master.
The Castle The happy existence of a man and his loving family is disrupted when they are told they must leave their home to make way for an airport expansion. Determined to stay, they take their case to the High Court .
Crocodile Dundee An American reporter goes to the Australian outback to meet an eccentric crocodile poacher, and invite him to New York City.
Looking for Alibrandi A high school girl growing up in a broken but loving home with Italian traditions who finds love and heartbreak in on of the most difficult years of her life.
Muriel's Wedding Muriel finds life in Porpoise Spit dull and spends her days alone in her room listening to ABBA and dreaming of her wedding day. Slight problem, Muriel has never had a date.
Yolngu Boy A drama about the coming-of-age of three Aboriginal boys in Arnhem Land who inhabit two cultures at once: traditional Aboriginal culture from north-east Arnhem land (where the word 'Yolngu' comes from, meaning an Aboriginal person from that area) and also western culture.
Strictly Ballroom When 21-year-old ballroom champion Scott Hastings commits the cardinal sin of dancing his own steps and not those of the all powerful Dance Federation, the retribution is swift.
Ride like a girl Enjoy the incredible true story of Australian jockey Michelle Payne. Against impossible odds, Michelle never gives up on her childhood dream of winning the Melbourne Cup.
Jasper Jones A young boy living in an Australian country town sets out on a dangerous journey with Jasper, the local outcast, to solve a mystery that is consuming the town.
Paper Planes This whimsical family tale about ingenuity and resilience charts the journey of a boy with a passion for flight who dreams of competing in the world championships in Japan.
Bran Nue Dae It's the summer of 1969 in Broome, an idyllic pearling port on Australia's west coast, and shy Aboriginal teenager Willie (Rocky McKenzie) reluctantly finds himself on his way back to Catholic boarding school in Perth before he gets to date the girl of his dreams, local church singer, the beautiful Rosie (Jessica Mauboy).
Tracks The remarkable story of Robyn Davidson, a young woman who leaves her life in the city to make a solo trek through almost 2000 miles of sprawling Australian desert. Accompanied by only her dog and four unpredictable camels, she sets off on a life-changing journey of self-discovery. Along the way, she meets National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan who begins to photograph her journey.
Phar Lap Phar Lap is as well-known today for his mysterious death as he is for his fabulous accomplishments. The chestnut horse won 37 races in three years and united a depression-plagued Australia in the 1930s.
Rabbit-proof Fence In the 1930's in outback Australia, three young Aboriginal girls are snatched from their mothers' arms in Jigalong, Western Australia and sent to a remote settlement at Moore River. Distanced from their mothers and forced to adapt to a strange new world, the girls attempt the impossible and embark on a daring escape. What ensues is an epic journey which tests the girls will to survive and their hope of finding the rabbit-proof fence to guide them home.
Ladies in Black Ladies In Black is an alluring and tender-hearted comedy drama about the lives of a group of department store employees in 1959 Sydney.

Crocodile Dundee [DVD] A crocodile hunter from the Australian outback is enticed by an attractive New York journalist to visit her homeland, and becomes an overnight sensation through his 'downunder' approach to the perils of big city life.
Gallipoli [DVD] A compelling story of friendship and adventure between two Australian soldiers in 1915. They cross continents and oceans, climb the pyramids and walk through the ancient sands of Egypt to join their regiment at the fateful battle of Gallipoli. The echoes of history blend with the friends' extraordinary destiny as they become part of a legendary World War 1 confrontation between Australia and the German-allied Turks.
Ned Kelly [DVD] The story of one of Australia's most famous legends, Ned Kelly. Persecuted by the police and hunted by an empire, Ned Kelly had the largest reward in the world on his head. Forced into hiding whilst his friends and family were unlawfully imprisoned, Ned and his gang became a part of Australian folklore.
The Castle [DVD] The Kerrigan family should still be living at 3 Highview Crescent Cooloroo, in total obscurity. They were terrible houses on worthless land. The compulsory acquisition should go through without a hitch...right?...wrong. How Darryl and his small time suburban lawyer mate, assisted by a new friend, retired QC Lawrence Hammil ended up in the High Court of Australia, is the story told in The Castle.
Australia [DVD] In northern Australia at the beginning of World War II, an English aristocrat inherits a cattle station the size of Maryland. When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn stock-man to drive 2,000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country's most unforgiving land, only to still face the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier.
Rabbit-proof Fence [DVD] In the 1930's in outback Australia, three young Aboriginal girls are snatched from their mothers' arms in Jigalong, Western Australia and sent to a remote settlement at Moore River. Distanced from their mothers and forced to adapt to a strange new world, the girls attempt the impossible and embark on a daring escape. What ensues is an epic journey which tests the girls will to survive and their hope of finding the rabbit-proof fence to guide them home.

English, Law & Current Affairs

You have access to other video titles (both streamed and on DVD) on subjects that may be helpful or useful to learning English. The titles below marked [DVD] will lead you to Supersearch (the library catalogue) and show you which campus library you may borrow it from.

BTN (Behind the News) Educational news program aimed at 10-13 year old kids. It unpacks and explains news and current affairs to young people in a dynamic and creative way.
BTN High Behind the News High is similar to BTN but is aimed at older secondary high school students around the ages 13-18 years.
English on the Go Series 1 Series of short videos explaining the differences between English words: such as Rain, rein or reign.