A new way to see our learners' view of the world
Curriclum Manager Pauline Desch recently met with a class of our ESOL learners at Stone Hall Centre to present them with copies of the new My View booklet.
Nearly seventy ESOL (English as a Second Language) learners from our main centres across Birmingham contributed to the project.
The book contains a collection of words and images that represent the range of views that our learners see and also hold. The images and descriptions are all very different and definitely mirror our diverse student population.
The learners took very different approaches to the project and contributions ranged from the everyday view from the window of their new home in Birmingham, a view of a place or building that is significant to them, a memorable view of the pyramids while sitting on horseback.
Many of the contributors are still in the early stages of their studies and for some it was the first time that they had expressed themselves in written English. Barsha one of the contributors said how proud she felt and how much the project had meant to her. The picture she had chosen strongly reminded her of a childhood experience and the memory of it had made her feel close to her family.
I'm very happy inside. This is the first time I'd written a story in English. I'm very proud of it
Bushra - Stone Hall ESOL learner
Pauline Desch says "The idea for the project came about from watching a learner taking a photograph from an unusual angle. This led me to reflect on the fact that everyone's view is different. I wanted to know more about how other people see the world. The word view can mean what we can see, but it also means what we think or our opinions, for this reason I wanted learners to tell us why the image is important."
