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Information and guidance resources managed by Migrant English Support Hub

Spring Bank, Hull

Exploring and Belonging

Spring Bank is a road that runs westwards from Hull city centre. It is a busy street with lots of cafes and shops. It has always been a busy, bustling city street. These days it has become more multicultural. In the early 2000s, the government sent many Kurdish asylum seekers to Hull and many found a home there, in the streets around Spring Bank. Since that time, more migrants have settled in the area and now it is known as a multicultural hub. An article in the Hull Daily Mail says ‘From Kurds to Syrians, Chinese people to Caribbean people, Brits to Poles – there is no end to the diversity in Spring Bank, and the influx of different cultures has transformed the street from what it was before the turn of the Millennium.’ Although when Kurds first came to Hull they encountered a lot of racism and found it difficult, over the years diversity has come to define Spring Bank. As one Kurdish resident says: ‘we came here with nothing – now we are part of the community.’

Participants in our Exploring and Belonging project chose Spring Bank as a place that is important to them. Many refugees and asylum seekers find the street to be a great place to shop and to spend time. There is a mosque on Spring Bank, and another mosque close by. The diverse cultures of Spring Bank help people to feel at home.

Spring Bank in the 1970s

You can get vegetables from all around the world on Spring Bank today

Reading Books

Spring Bank Entry 1 Reading book

This reading book has been prepared by participants on the project in collaboration with the MESH team. The book has been prepared for learners working at Entry 1 level.

It has been prepared as a pdf which can then be printed. To print as an A5 booklet, open in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Choose print, then under ‘Page Sizing and Handling’ choose ‘Booklet’. Under ‘Booklet subset’ choose ‘Both Sides’. Under ‘Binding’ choose ‘left’. Orientation should be portrait. Now press print! The pdf will print in booklet form which can then be folded and stapled for use with learners.

Preview the resource
Topic: Exploring and Belonging Suggested level: Entry 1 Skills supported: Reading, vocabulary
Click to Download a Copy

Entry 2+ Reading Book: Spring Bank

This reading book is the same as the one above, but it has been has been prepared for learners working at Entry 2 and above

It has been prepared as a pdf which can then be printed. To print as an A5 booklet, open in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Choose print, then under ‘Page Sizing and Handling’ choose ‘Booklet’. Under ‘Booklet subset’ choose ‘Both Sides’. Under ‘Binding’ choose ‘left’. Orientation should be portrait. Now press print! The pdf will print in booklet form which can then be folded and stapled for use with learners.

Preview the resource
Topic: Exploring and Belonging Suggested level: Entry 2+ Skills supported: Reading, vocabulary
Click to Download a Copy

Audio Books

Entry 1 Audio Book: Spring Bank

This slide resource is the same as the E1 reading book above. It has been prepared with embedded audio to help learners with reading and pronunciation. You can download, or preview to access directly from your browser

Preview the resource
Topic: Exploring and Belonging Suggested level: Entry 1 Skills supported: Reading, vocabulary
Click to Download a Copy

Entry 2+ Audio Book: Spring Bank

This slide resource is the same as the E2+ reading book above. It has been prepared with embedded audio to help learners with reading and pronunciation. You can download, or preview to access directly from your browser

Preview the resource
Topic: Exploring and Belonging Suggested level: Entry 2+ Skills supported: Reading, vocabulary
Click to Download a Copy

Audio Recording

Mohammad, one of the Exploring and Belonging participants, talks to a shopkeeper on Spring Bank

Inside a restaurant on Spring Bank

In this video, one of the Exploring & Belonging participants talks about photographs on the wall of a restaurant on Spring Bank. The restaurant is Kurdish, and the photographs are of Kurdistan. In restaurants like this and many other shops, images of home help people to feel more at home in Hull. The two places become linked, helping people to feel like they belong here, as well as there.

Acknowledgement

Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. Exploring & Belonging is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to run sessions for refugees and asylum seekers to enable them to explore, discuss and write about what is of value as local heritage in the place they live in Yorkshire & Humber. These resources have been generated by participants in these sessions, in collaboration with the MESH team. This project has also been supported by Migration Yorkshire.

Made possible with Heritage Fund