On the 21st October, DCLG invited all the various projects that had won the CBEL competition, a competition to uncover new ways to teach basic conversational English to people who were facing significant difficulties in learning the language, to a networking meeting at the British Council. The event was an opportunity to catch up on progress as well as sharing tips and best practice.
We were fortunate enough to be able to bring along two of the e3 current learners, Shamima Akther and Sayarun Nessa, who also serve as Peer mentors to other learners. The experience was an invaluable one for all involved and gave projects the chance to hear from the most important people in these projects, the learners themselves.
We asked both Shamima and Sayarun what they thought of the day and here is what they had to say:
“I went to the British Council. I liked the meeting. Some people came from different organisations and everyone was supportive of the e3 project. I was happy.” – Shamima Akter
“The meeting was fantastic because everyone talked about how we can improve our English language, understanding and also improve communication. All projects are using different techniques, for example we are using Tablets and teaching how people can use technical things (e.g. Facebook, Skype, Gmail). It is very good opportunity to contact each other and also learn English.
I met different organisers like English my way and BBC English. Everyone shared their own ideas or own experience. I also shared about our Hot House Flower and the Safe Network leaflet we made a.The meeting made me confident. I think this is a very positive symbol of all communities. It was my first time at British Council.” -Sayarun Nessa
Photograph by: Ed Reeves (found on: emulsionarchitecture.wordpress.com)
When thinking about what might be the besiggt issue for English Language Learners I took into account what it was like for me, personally, to go through the process of trying to learn a new language. Learning the grammatical aspects of another language, I believe, is one of the most difficult factors when acquiring a new language. There are so many rules and differences between languages that it’s often times a constant reminding process and hard concentration to make sure your saying words in proper order, in the right tense, and with the correct intonational stress pattern. So I believe these ELL students probably have issues in that regards. Learning vocabulary and how to use it in correct contexts also proves to be an issue. There are so many words and like others have stated before, the English language has idioms and hyperbole and different slang that makes our vocabulary confusing for those who are learning it. Another issue that ELL face is that it’s hard to fit in and be confident when you don’t know the language of that country. I went to Spain a couple summers ago and I constantly felt confused and somewhat lost because I wasn’t fluent and couldn’t communicate with others as well as I would like. I stuck out and felt awkward and was almost embarrassed to try to speak the new language. I would think that ELL would feel the same way in our country. It takes some guts to try and communicate with someone of a different language. In addition I think the diversity of our cultures here prove to be an issue for ELL.
You’ve raised some interesting points about the difficulties that learners face in learning English. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts Igor.