The Glasgow Life South Wide ESOL language café was designed to offer learners and tutors the opportunity to celebrate ESOL with the focus on fun, food, and access to information. The family friendly event design brief aimed to highlight and showcase opportunities to enhance and further develop learning within the community and online. Community capacity building, integration and reducing barriers to partition were the key factors via the design of the language café, lunch and transport to and from venue included.

Family ESOL Intended Outcomes:

• Fun ESOL workshops to increase confidence in spoken English and encourage learners to find out about learning and other opportunities available within Glasgow and information online to support ESOL.
• Encourage integration and market the Library offer for families and ESOL learners.
• Expand English language via the theme of food, what’s on in Glasgow and ICT tuition.  
• Communal meal to celebrate learning and reduce isolation.
• Opportunity for participants to sing and perform over the lunch break to celebrate diversity and provide the platform for participants to share songs, stories etc.
• Art and craft activities themed up with key words and fun with food workshop provided by Urban Roots to encourage healthy eating and awareness of allergies.
• Learn about further opportunities for ESOL and support for families, thereby reducing isolation and promoting integration.

Feedback from participants:

• “My child is interacting at the session – she is saying it is tasty and very enjoyable.”   
• “It is great, very healthy. I will do a smoothie at home for my boys.”

Feedback from tutors:

• “The family Esol learning event was a great success as it gave learners and their families the chance to share learning and meet people from all over the city. The event was also a great opportunity for them to bring along their children as they were able to take part in a range of arts activities that also had an emphasis on the promotion of learning English through play”.
•  “Learners from different areas had the opportunity to meet up and have fun and share time. It was good to work with other tutors as part of a team sharing ideas for the language café. I am all for this, it would be great to do this again.”

The Family ESOL Group was originally developed by Glasgow Life to offer parents/carers, who couldn’t access mainstream ESOL, an opportunity to learn English with their pre-five children.

The ESOL Family programme is an 8-week programme, which runs for 1.5 hours per week in Royston Library. It has a different theme every week such as colours, food or animals and learners sing a new song with their children every week.  There is also time set aside at end of the session to signpost to other appropriate ESOL and family activities.

Family ESOL Intended Outcomes:

• Increased confidence in interacting with family in English.
• Provide parents and carers with ideas and knowledge of a range of positive play activities using ESOL.
• Provide parents and carers with an understanding of learning through play.
• Learn about further opportunities for ESOL and support for families, thereby reducing isolation and promoting integration.

The Family ESOL Group is making a real difference to lives. The feedback from parents includes:

‘Before my daughter wouldn’t mix, now she does after coming here.’

‘At home I used to only play Chinese songs but I now have an app on my phone so that me and my husband can sing English songs to my son’.

‘I have learnt some nice songs in English which I now sing at home’

‘My English is improving now, I look at CBeebies and I understand Mr Tumble!’

‘My husband is pleased I come here because I am meeting other mums.’

‘It is nice, I have learned how to teach my daughter some new things, like the colours on traffic lights’

‘On the TV I have heard some songs that we have sung here, I know them now’

 ‘We talk to each other and it helps my English and me as a mum’

Those taking part in the group are also progressing on to other activities. A couple of the group have now joined the International Women’s Group ESOL whilst others are enjoying making use of the library services and other programmes.

There are lots of examples of ESOL learners finding ways of using and developing their English language skills.  We will share some examples here.

If you have an example you would like to share, please tell us in a comment below.