Volunteer teachers working together : a refugee support group case study

Etherington, MS

Abstract

This case study describes an English language conversation class taking place at a refugee support group based in a large town in the north west of England. The refugee group is well established, running for over fifteen years, having been set up to provide practical support and friendship to refugees within the borough in the early 2000s. The group is run by volunteers, with some financial support from local authorities and churches. They provide a weekly drop-in for refugees, which includes, among other services, an ESOL conversation class. The conversation class is led by university student volunteers in academic term-time, and by local volunteer teachers in vacation periods. The case study aims to provide a general description of the conversation class, bringing together perspectives from different participants involved: student volunteer teachers, other community-based volunteer teachers, and the refugee learners. These viewpoints were collected through conversations and written submissions from participants in each group. In presenting their views, the case study attempts to explore some of the tensions and opportunities within the situation and to move towards a fuller and deeper understanding of how the teaching and learning of ESOL emerges within this context. Some implications and wider lessons from the case are discussed in the final sections.

Citation

Etherington, M. (2019). Volunteer teachers working together : a refugee support group case study. In F. Mishan (Ed.), ESOL Provision in Ireland and the UK: Challenges and Opportunities. Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b13398

• Online Publication Date: Sep 30, 2019
• Publication Date: Sep 20, 2019
• Deposit Date: Feb 19, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 20, 2020
• Series Title: Language, Migration and Identity
• Book Title: ESOL Provision in Ireland and the UK: Challenges and Opportunities
• ISBN: 9781788743754-(ebk.);-9781788743730-(pbk.)
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3726/b13398
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.3726/b13398
• Related Public URLs: https://www.peterlang.com/