John Denham meets English language students and teaching providers
Secretary of State for Innovation Universities and Skills John Denham and MP for Regent’s Park and Kensington North Karen Buck visited Paddington yesterday to meet organisations, including City of Westminster College, that provide English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teaching.
The visit was arranged through Westbourne Forum, which has facilitated a partnership between local students, education providers and other key partners, including the Learning and Skills Council and Jobcentre Plus. John Denham and Karen Buck met students, teachers and local representatives and heard about the special issues facing ESOL providers and their students in an area with such a high demand for English language skills.
A presentation outlined some specific challenges faced by residents living in Paddington, and ways in which the partnership is acting to improve local provision. Research has estimated that ESOL teaching is needed by 47 per cent of the local population (compared to the London average of 26 per cent). It has also highlighted the isolation faced by these local residents and the impact lack of language skills has on their ability to integrate and contribute within their communities.
The Minister also heard from students about the life-changing effects of learning English. These included:
- Najia Tahir, 19, from Iran, arrived in the UK aged 15. She spoke no English and because of her age she remained outside the school system. After two years she took the decision to enrol at City of Westminster College. Now she combines ESOL Entry Level 2 with Computing and is planning a career in the service sector.
- Amani Chouman, 37, from Lebanon, arrived in the UK in 2004 and felt so under-confident that she wasn’t able to go out by herself. That changed when she enrolled at City of Westminster College on an ESOL Entry Level 1 Course. Swiftly progressing onto ESOL Entry Level 3 and then Level 1, Amani was able to join a computing course in 2007/8 and is now a Level 3 ITQ student. She has recently applied to Cambridge University to study Computing.
Skills Secretary John Denham said: "Since 2001 over £1billion has been invested in ESOL, helping over two million people to improve their English language skills. I’m delighted to have met some of those people at this event.
"We want to target funding for English language teaching where it will have the biggest impact on community cohesion and integration. We must make sure that people who are at a disadvantage because of poor language skills get the help and support they need. We know that access to a shared language is vital for social inclusion, as well as helping people to get jobs and access services.
"As has been demonstrated at this event, our partners at a local level have a key role in shaping ESOL provision, and we have been working with them to carry out a consultation focusing on how best to promote community cohesion, the results of which will be published shortly."
City of Westminster College student Amani Chouman said: “Today was a useful discussion and I am happy that the Minister came to listen to our issues. Learning English gives people the opportunity to communicate with others, study and find a job.”
College Director of Faculty for Business & Community Studies Des Reardon said: “Learning English enables you to become a full member of society - to become a citizen. On a practical level, the better your English, the more likely you are to get a job or move on to a vocational course.”