It’s Adult Learners’ Week, the nationwide festival of learning organised by NIACE (National Institute of Adult Continuing Education), and one City of Westminster College student is living proof that you are never too old to learn something new.
Mohammad Ali Azadi Hajimoosa, 87, is an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) student. He is in a group of mixed ages and nationalities - his youngest classmate is 19 - but that causes no problems at all. Mohammad Ali says he enjoys the experience: “I’ve mixed very well. I like every student and I enjoy studying among young people”.
He’s not new to education, in fact you could say it’s in his veins. Mohammad Ali was a primary school head-teacher and university literature lecturer in his native Iran, before coming to the UK 12 years ago to join his son and daughter – both of whom are engineers.
He speaks French, Kurdish and Farsi (Persian), so he decided it was time to improve his spoken and written English and enrolled on the ESOL Entry Level 1 course last September. When he’s not studying, he stays active by going to the gym, playing tennis and walking in the park.
Mohammad Ali says joining the ESOL course was a natural thing to do: “This College is local to me and the tutors are very good. Education in the UK is the best in the world and I enjoy studying.”
As a former teacher himself, he also has strong views on the value of learning: “It is important for everybody to have an education - and some people should improve their English”.
ESOL tutor Azza Hanafi says that Mohammad Ali is a great asset to her group, and a model student: “He’s articulate and opinionated, good at writing and always does his homework. Mohammad Ali is also still a teacher at heart and likes writing on the board. He always writes the date up for us at the start of each class!”
It’s Adult Learners’ Week, the nationwide festival of learning organised by NIACE (National Institute of Adult Continuing Education), and one City of Westminster College student is living proof that you are never too old to learn something new.
Mohammad Ali Azadi Hajimoosa, 87, is an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) student. He is in a group of mixed ages and nationalities - his youngest classmate is 19 - but that causes no problems at all. Mohammad Ali says he enjoys the experience: “I’ve mixed very well. I like every student and I enjoy studying among young people”.
He’s not new to education, in fact you could say it’s in his veins. Mohammad Ali was a primary school head-teacher and university literature lecturer in his native Iran, before coming to the UK 12 years ago to join his son and daughter – both of whom are engineers.
He speaks French, Kurdish and Farsi (Persian), so he decided it was time to improve his spoken and written English and enrolled on the ESOL Entry Level 1 course last September. When he’s not studying, he stays active by going to the gym, playing tennis and walking in the park.
Mohammad Ali says joining the ESOL course was a natural thing to do: “This College is local to me and the tutors are very good. Education in the UK is the best in the world and I enjoy studying.”
As a former teacher himself, he also has strong views on the value of learning: “It is important for everybody to have an education - and some people should improve their English”.
ESOL tutor Azza Hanafi says that Mohammad Ali is a great asset to her group, and a model student: “He’s articulate and opinionated, good at writing and always does his homework. Mohammad Ali is also still a teacher at heart and likes writing on the board. He always writes the date up for us at the start of each class!”
Click here to find out more about what City of Westminster College are doing for Adult Learners' Week 2009