Rowan Harris (Learning Manager at CLEAR)
At CLEAR we know how ESOL education (English for Speakers of Other Languages) changes lives. Through our work in Southampton, we have seen over and over how English language learning empowers sanctuary seekers to overcome barriers to employment, integration and community participation. We have seen how its effects on individuals can be transformative.
Limited English is one of the key barriers faced by refugees seeking employment. Many have a wealth of skills and expertise that cannot be utilised because of a lack of English. Indeed, one of the hardest, most dispiriting things for many sanctuary seeking migrants is the feeling that their hard-earned professional experience and qualifications are rendered useless here. ESOL learning is key to unlocking this potential. It supports learners to access jobs, further learning and vocational training that can substantially improve their lives and those of their families. Our past learners at CLEAR have moved on to become teachers in the city, community workers, finance assistants, driving instructors, and learning assistants in local schools; many more have obtained jobs in the NHS, and in our retail, hospitality and care sectors. Some have used language learning to pursue their dream of higher education, and one recent past learner has just graduated from Winchester University with a first class degree in Computer Science.
ESOL education also empowers individuals and transforms lives by building personal confidence. Several of our learners at CLEAR have low literacy due to disrupted or minimal education in their home countries. For these learners, developing self-belief in their own capacity to learn, achieve and progress is itself life-changing. Many may have come to English classes with a desire to learn English to support their children’s learning, but will develop there an awareness of their own potential as lifelong learners. This increased confidence opens up possibilities for personal development, friendship, community involvement and leadership. Many of our learners have gone on to become volunteers, sharing their skills, talents and passions at CLEAR or in the community.
At CLEAR we are very motivated by the understanding that language learning can support wellbeing, a sense of belonging and even personal healing. We know that some learners in our classroom have had difficult, traumatic experiences; some struggle with isolation and cultural dislocation. At its trauma-informed best, the ESOL classroom can provide a safe space to develop personally and connect with others across difference. ESOL learning can help individuals regain agency, and manage the stresses and challenges of resettlement and a hostile immigration environment. We have also seen how it can provide focus and hope for those struggling with the long waits and setbacks of the asylum process. It can equip learners with the knowledge and language they need to access appropriate support and services. Most importantly, it can make people feel at home.
CLEAR’s core commitment is to the empowerment through education of those seeking to rebuild their lives in our city. Sanctuary seekers, in particular, face many barriers to education, including cost, eligibility and lack of childcare. CLEAR’s priority is to support those who struggle to access mainstream ESOL education. We are inspired by the examples of our learners, past and present, who repeatedly show us how ESOL education transforms individual lives, opening up new pathways to the future.
