Reflection on interviewing ESOL learners 7/2/08

" He will cover you with his feathers and under His wings you will find refuge " Psalm 91 verse 4


It was an enlightening and moving experience to spend some time talking to some Level 1 ESOL learners and to interview them in some depth about their experiences as learners, as well as about their background. We were very aware of the privilege it was to hear their stories first hand, and also of how difficult it was for some of the learners to share their stories with us, though also in some ways it was therapeutic for them. It has been helpful to get an overview of the kind of problems these learners have faced and in some cases are still facing, whilst at the same time trying to get to grips with English and with the new culture surrounding them.

Learner W was very happy to talk to us and also very keen to get the grammar correct whenever he used a verb, checking with me if he had used the right tense , he also knew the names of each tense and when each one should be used ! He had come from Hong Kong and had been in the UK for 10 years, his English was quite fluent , though with some pronunciation problems still. He likes living in Plymouth, particularly the coast, but preferred London, where he had lived before , because he liked the lively night-life and variety of things to do there, as well as the convenience of being able to visit other parts of the UK more easily from London.

Learner S had come from the Sudan and had been in the UK for about 3 years. He found it difficult to talk about how he had come to the UK , saying it would make him too sad to talk about it, He had fled his country because of the war in Sudan. He had attended school in his own country until he was sixteen, but was unable to continue due to the war and also lack of money. When he first arrived in this country, he found it very difficult not knowing what people were saying either to him or about him. He also experienced snow for the first time and found the cold weather extremely difficult.
He is fluent in his Sudanese language and also in Arabic , and had been so determined to learn English when he arrived here, that he had taught himself by using books and tapes at the beginning , and has even refrained from speaking his own language, even with his fellow-countrymen, for the last 4 months, in order to focus on improving his English. He is very self- motivated, and had also attended a computer course at the Learning Shop in the city centre until it closed down. He would like to continue studying computers and perhaps find a job using computers in the future.
When asked what he felt he would like to see happen in the ESOL lessons, he said he would like to have the opportunity to use computers more, especially for writing. He would also like to improve his pronunciation , by having the teacher model the correct version and by being corrected when he gets it wrong.

Learner A had come from Portugal and gave looking for fun as his reason for coming to the UK. He had lived and worked in a small village in Portugal and was quite bored and wanted to change his life. He has been in the UK for about 3 years. He also stated that he would like to be corrected when he gets something wrong, whether in speaking or in written grammar or spellings. He said he doesn’t mind being interrupted to be corrected when he is speaking. He also feels it is very important for the ESOL tutor to get to know the different learning styles of the various learners in the class, and he would also like to have more opportunity to use computers for writing in class.

Learner O came from the Congo and also fled his country because of war, losing his wife and children in the confusion. It was almost 5 years before he located their whereabouts , and another year and a half before he was able to get them over to this country, where they were finally reunited.
He had lived in Leeds for a while, which he had found a difficult place to live in with his children, particularly the area he lived in , where he did not feel his family was safe. He prefers living in Plymouth, where he feels much safer, and where he has found it easier and less expensive to travel around, especially when looking for work.

Learner M has been in the UK for 8 months and is an asylum seeker from Iran, who had travelled here in the back of a lorry and who has recently had his application refused again. He was very positive about the people in this country , but quite negative about the immigration policy which he feels has failed completely, stating that those with genuine human rights issues are refused , when others who are not genuine and may even have come here to commit terrorist acts, are backed by organisations financially , which enables them to buy the evidence they require to get through the immigration process and then laugh in our faces once granted asylum here. He also feels that the integration policy has failed , and that even second generation foreigners who are born here are not integrated into the society. When asked how he felt this could be improved , he talked about how when we welcome someone into our home , we try to make them comfortable, and that in the same way, we need to get to know the culture of these people and try to help them to feel comfortable here. He felt too that it is very important for the ESOL tutor to get to know their learners, and get to know their culture, in order to be able to teach them well.

Learner G had come from Ecuador, mostly for economic reasons, looking for a more stable economy and better work prospects. She has been in the UK for about 2 years. She has been impressed with the standard of services in this country , and is happy to pay taxes for them. She feels she has integrated well into the society as she has found friends at the language school and also at her work place, and has found most people have been friendly towards her, though she also said that English people are like the weather , they can be quite changeable in their moods !

Learner S had fled from Zimbabwe, where her husband was killed. She is very happy to be here and feels she is well integrated, partly because she has been attending a local church, where people have been very kind to her , welcoming her and taking care of her needs. She found the cold weather and the language very difficult to deal with at first, but is much happier now and has no complaints.

I found it very interesting and also very useful listening to the learners and will certainly try to bear in mind some of their suggestions regarding how they feel they like to learn and how they may learn best in the ESOL class, particularly regarding the tutor getting to know the learners and finding out their individual needs and learning styles.