Let’s Talk Numeracy

A VALBEC (Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council) Professional Learning session presented by Tina Berghella.

This practical, example-rich professional development session explores how numeracy is embedded in everyday oral language — and how we can use it to strengthen adult learner numeracy skills.

We’ll look beyond equations and worksheets to focus on the oral communication that surrounds numeracy: the language of estimation, comparison, measurement, and reasoning. From making a cup of coffee to commenting on the weather, real-life conversations offer powerful opportunities to build confidence and capability in numeracy.

Drawing on ACSF indicators .09 and .11, we will:

• Unpack the difference between maths and numeracy
• Identify mathematical information and reasoning in oral texts
• Explore how everyday talk supports adult learning
• Discuss practical strategies and examples for the classroom

This session will help you tune into the numeracy hiding in plain sight — and give you new tools for teaching it.

Tina Berghella is the Director of Oggi Consulting, a business formed in 1998 to provide quality vocational education and training consulting services. Tina has a background in manufacturing and project management and is an experienced VET researcher. She has worked on various LLN projects, including the recent CGEA review, and has a particular interest in workplace numeracy.

Her numeracy related publications include Numeracy by Measure, Numeracy in Focus, Numeracy in Practice and the NCVER report, Seeking the N in LLN. Tina is a former member of Australian Government’s Foundation Skills Community of Practice and the Australian Government’s Language, Literacy, Numeracy and Digital (LLND) Skills Quality Assurance Expert Panel.

We look forward to seeing you there.

VALBEC PL Forums Team

Who: Tina Berghella

When: Thursday, 21^th August 2025, 5.30-6.30 pm AEST

Where: Zoom

Cost: VALBEC Members Free; non-Members $10