Over the past year, we have been working on a piece of research to better understand the barriers that people in work face when learning English, and how English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses can be designed to better address these challenges. This project is being supported by The Bell Foundation, a charity aiming to overcome exclusion through language education.
So far, through this project we have worked with 133 people. This includes more than 100 responses to our ESOL in Work survey, interviews with ESOL providers and employers and learners on our first ESOL in Work pilot programme. Additionally, ESOL learners were also involved in co-designing our survey, and going forward we’re planning to involve learners in the co-design of courses for those in work and the ongoing evaluation of this work.
We were also pleased to welcome The Bell Foundation and GYROS (a charity supporting migrants in the East of England) at our spring ESOL Learner Forum. This was a brilliant opportunity to meet our learners and get involved in a variety of fun activities, including the wellbeing bingo.
In the coming year, we’re looking forward to continuing our work with The Bell Foundation, building on our findings to develop more ESOL pilot programmes for people in work, across a variety of sectors. We will also be publishing our research findings in the coming autumn.