“Innovation, impact and inclusion are all part of our DNA in ESOL”
In this blog, Mary Osmaston from NATECLA reflects on the importance of ESOL provision and calls for colleges to put themselves forward for The Bell Foundation ESOL Beacon Award.
Why is it that a subject that may well have the largest number of students in your college is not considered ‘mainstream’? Think about which curriculum areas are most highly valued in your college, and they might include A levels, construction or engineering, but ESOL is rarely on the list.
The Beacon Award for Excellence in ESOL is a great new way to raise the profile of ESOL with your colleagues and in your community, and to showcase the life-changing work that you do with your ESOL learners.
Last year The Bell Foundation sponsored the Association of Colleges Beacon Award for Excellence in ESOL for the very first time, to highlight the vital role of ESOL provision in helping learners from all over the world not only to make a life in the UK but to do so confidently and successfully. At NATECLA – the membership body for ESOL and Community Languages teachers – we were delighted to be invited to participate. The response from colleges was amazing, with many ESOL departments telling us about their innovative work with learners (in fact, the ESOL award was amongst the ones with the most submissions!). It was a privilege for me to lead the assessor team, reviewing all the applications and visiting finalist colleges. We read about inspiring projects with specific groups such as ESOL 16-18s, pre-entry learners and those moving on to vocational courses, specific types of provision such as online and employer-based classes, and also large-scale developments either across whole ESOL departments or shaping the ESOL provision in the wider community.
The Beacon Award for Excellence in ESOL is a great new way to raise the profile of ESOL with your colleagues and in your community, and to showcase the life-changing work that you do with your ESOL learners.
Why shine a spotlight on good ESOL provision?
As ESOL teachers we are constantly innovating. We have to adapt to so many different needs, spiky profiles, past experiences and aspirations amongst our learners. We help them navigate through and thrive in a society that sometimes may not welcoming to migrants and refugees. ESOL managers are ever-flexible in being creative within a system that has too little money, especially for adults. Many senior leaders are also committed to investing in ESOL as a crucial skill for life and work, and for the good of the local community.
ESOL learners generally don’t have much time – not only too little time in their week, but also an urgency to move on, to improve their life, to achieve career goals as soon as possible. They want programmes that have a lasting impact on their language proficiency and well-being for life, work and study in the UK. As ESOL teachers and managers, we see the impact when they gain confidence, attend college regularly, get involved with their local community, move on to study for a career, or find a job that they enjoy. Learners we met spoke about a wide range of benefits of learning English, from job readiness to a sense of happiness and belonging in their corner of the UK.
ESOL is also about being inclusive, enabling everyone to participate in the lesson, the college community and the area they live in. Excellent ESOL provision values and builds on our students’ existing languages, knowledge of the world, and professional and other skills, all of which are vital for progress.
Beacon Awards are about shining a light on innovation, impact and inclusion, which are all part of our DNA in ESOL. The Beacon application window is open until 10 September, so why not tell us about the innovative, impactful and inclusive work you are doing to make ESOL excellent? Just applying will draw your colleagues’ and senior leaders’ attention to ESOL, and being commended or winning will certainly help to show that ESOL is actually part of the mainstream of college life, as well as raising the profile of your college. Above all, your students will appreciate and benefit from the focus on them as important members of your college community.
NATECLA is the UK’s association for ESOL and community language teachers in post-16 education. We work with the Bell Foundation on the ESOL Beacon Award and collaborate on ESOL policy campaigns.
Discover the 2024/25 finalists
“Shakespeare transforms students’ lives and gives them confidence”
Bradford College uses Shakespeare’s works to enrich language learning, helping over 230 learners to build language skills, confidence, and a sense of belonging.
"Sport provides an outlet and an opportunity to do something completely different”
New College Durham has made a significant impact on asylum seeking students through sports, increasing confidence, English skills, and integration.
“Our ESOL learners want to be in work”
Nottingham College champions a learner-centred approach and has created a welcoming, empowering environment for students from migrant backgrounds.