Australia Network - Nexus - English Bites

Here at Mount Borradaile in north western Arnhem Land tourists from around the world are being treated to a sunset cruise through Aboriginal land.

Today we join a group of visitors on tour through the Northern Territory. Max Davidson is running a training course for local Indigenous people, so they can learn how to be tour guides.

MELINDA JAMES: Here at Mount Borradaile in north western Arnhem Land tourists from around the world are being treated to a sunset cruise through Aboriginal land.

MAX DAVIDSON: Well ladies and gentleman, you're doing a cruise on Cooper Creek, for those of you who haven't been out here.

MELINDA JAMES: Max Davidson first came to this part of the country in the 1960s as a buffalo shooter.
About 20 years ago he negotiated a lease with the traditional owners to run tours of the pristine wilderness around Mount Borradaile.
He's been involved in tourism training courses for years but he wants to see more young Aboriginal people working in tourism on their own land.

MAX DAVIDSON: It's been one of my pets for many, many years getting Aboriginal people back working on their own land or land they came from and explain to guests what the land's all about.

Max says this project has been 'one of his pets'. Usually, 'pet' refers to a tame animal that is kept and cared for - like a dog or a cat. But pet can also mean favourite. A pet project is a favourite project. A teacher's pet is a teacher's favourite student. Let's hear about part of Max's pet project.

MELINDA JAMES: Seven Indigenous trainees are doing a five week course devised by a Darwin-based training company - ICAE - and funded by the department of employment, education and training and job network agencies.

SEAN MAHONEY: We had an interest in trying to develop a program that was going to suit industry and to suit the participants who come on the program. It's an entry level course for these participants and the objective of the course is to get them into employment

MELINDA JAMES: Max Davidson says tailoring the course to suit the trainees' background and experience has paid off.

MAX DAVIDSON: A change in the way that they became more confident, you know before they were very shy. We kept it very low key because that's how we conduct it anyhow, we don't do a high pressure thing where large numbers of people, small numbers of people where there's more contact

Indigenous trainees learn to run the tours. Making the course suit the trainees has 'paid off'. Here, paid off means been successful. But it has other meanings too - you'll find them on the English Bites website.
Now, let's talk about apostrophes. There's a possessive one here.

MELINDA JAMES: Max Davidson says tailoring the course to suit the trainees' background and experience has paid off.

Tailoring the course to suit the trainees' background has paid off. An apostrophe can be used to show ownership.
The student's book.
The teacher's car.
The trainee's idea.
If we're adding a apostrophe to a plural then we put the apostrophe after the 's'.
We write 'the trainees' background' because we are talking about a group of trainees.
the teachers' conference
students' lockers.
Back to the story.

MELINDA JAMES: For many of the trainees, this is their first real experience of having a job.
They come from Katherine, Maningrida, Croker Island and the Tiwi Islands.
The course is designed to give them a taste of how the tourism business works - from cooking and cleaning for guests to guiding tours.
Lachlan Raymond is from Katherine and is enjoying the course so much he now wants to be a tour guide.

LACHLAN RAYMOND: Learning tourism job, meeting people from all over the world, coming round here, picking them up at the airport, greeting them, picking their luggage up, bit different to back home.

MELINDA JAMES: The students already have some knowledge of bush tucker and bush craft .
They're being taught how to pass that knowledge on to tourists.

This is Lachlan. Lachlan talked about his favourite things about being a tour guide. Where would you put the apostrophe?
'Lachlan's favourite thing is meeting people from all over the world.'
What about this one?
'His favourite thing is meeting people from all over the world.'
This sentence doesn't need an apostrophe. Possessive pronouns - like his or hers - already show possession.
So apostrophes show possession. But they do other things too.

MELINDA JAMES: At the end of the course, the seven Indigenous trainees were given their certificate one in tourism and Indigenous culture.
For a few the course has led to a job.
For some of the others just completing the course has been a massive achievement and is at least a first step towards meaningful employment.
The Territory Government has indicated to the training company ICAE that it will fund future courses.

SEAN MAHONEY: I think it's been extremely successful, the retention rate on the program is 70% so 70% of the participants who started completed, they've undertaken five weeks of training out here in Mount Borrodaile, they haven't been away from Mount Borrodaile so that's a big deal for these participants, they're away from their family, they're away from their friends, they're away from their home and to be out in a remote location in relatively strange surroundings is a big deal for them and to get through the program has been an enormous challenge so from that point alone it's been extremely successful.

The course has been successful.

You can watch the story and find out everything you need to know about apostrophes on our very successful English Bites website.