Out and About in Fartown
Fartown Community ESOL moved premises in September to a lovely bright room in Birkby Junior School in Huddersfield after being at Fartown Trinity church since 2014.
They have recently published a booklet (available as a pdf here) about their ESOL classes across that 11 years, which contains inspiring case studies from learners and volunteers alike. I visited the beginners and the intermediate classes last week and joined in with the learning and the fun! I met volunteer teachers, volunteer teaching assistants, and a volunteer tea lady.
A colleague of mine recently described volunteer ESOL organisations as ‘machines’ (and in Fartown’s case, a well-oiled one!). Not subject to the ties that can come with ASF funding, the volunteer-run ESOL machine dispenses with the need to constantly be writing bids for survival. Importantly, in this time of ESOL being defunded by migrant-hostile Reform-led Combined Authorities (such as Lincoln’s GLCCA), volunteer-led ESOL will not be cancelled. The volunteers are committed, so the machine can chug its way along in generously-donated community spaces. Volunteer-led ESOL is there for learners, migrants, new arrivals – whether they are waiting for a college course, or want to supplement their English learning.
Volunteer-led ESOL is often in a friendly, relaxed and welcoming environment – not that college and adult learning classes can’t be friendly, but sometimes it is nice to be able to turn up late without repercussions and knock on the window to be let in with a smile and a joke. At Fartown Community ESOL, they say their classes are ‘more than ESOL’ – there are trips out, parties and more. Friendships are forged – there is a refreshment break between the beginners and the intermediate classes so that people from the two levels can mix. Conversation and socialising are a built-in, important part of the ethos of the provision as is their maxim EVERYONE IS WELCOME – NOBODY IS TURNED AWAY..
