Speak out for change case study 6: West Thames College ESOL Department
Student presentation
Public speaking opportunities through presentations at a student run conference
About the organisation
West Thames College in the London Borough of Hounslow is a higher and further education college with around 6,500 full and part time students, studying mainly for a range of vocational and specialist qualifications. The college has two sites, the Feltham Skills Centre and the main Isleworth campus, where the large ESOL Department is located.
Introduction to the project
The Speak out for change project involved 21 students who were part of the College’s Threshold Provision for 16-19 year olds learning ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages). All were studying for an ESOL qualification at Entry Level 3. An element of citizenship knowledge and understanding is a requirement within ESOL courses, although it is relatively unusual for ESOL students to have opportunities to take part in active citizenship projects with a degree of learner autonomy and also involving public speaking.
Citizenship activities
The project started with a series of sessions to develop students' understanding of key ideas and terminology relating to citizenship, their role in society and the aims of the project to develop skills for public speaking about issues of concern to themselves. Identifying these concerns within the class would form the basis of the citizenship projects for students to work on in small groups.
Identity and change
One key theme covered at this early stage was ‘Me and my world’ - an exploration of the sense of identity of group members. After class discussion each individual produced two posters to illustrate central ideas about their sense of identity – as this applied when thinking about their countries of origin and then as they felt about themselves and what was important to them in their current lives in the UK. This brought out feelings about belonging to two places and how they may feel like a different person in each country – drawing a picture of big challenges and different responses to change.
Students produced posters which took the form either of a map of the two countries or a silhouette of their heads (to represent their minds and thinking) containing words or images about themselves and the respective ‘home’ and UK communities (see Resources section below). This also included a short piece of writing comparing the two, together with vocabulary work on key words and phrases for the topic – identity, community, society, migration, belonging and so on.
Going further, the group were also asked, as appropriate, to produce a map/mind picture of what they hope their lives will be like in the future. They were encouraged to think about how they could achieve this.
Finally, at this stage, students then produced a larger map of the UK with their ideas about what they thought British people would include in a representation of British identity. This led on to work on cultural norms, values and traditions in the UK, some history and the diversity of people making up the UK population now.
At all stages students were engaged in discussion and also began to develop more public speaking practice and gambits for getting ideas across by presenting their ideas and identity posters to the class. This was linked closely with specific speaking skills development with work on intonation, stress, timing, fluency and accuracy – all integrated with the group’s language work in other areas of their course.
Choosing project topics
When the students were asked which social and political issues they had particular concerns about and would like to base an active citizenship project on, there was a very understandable carry over from the earlier discussions about identity, migration and change. In comparing circumstances and feelings about life in both countries gaps appeared which perhaps could be remedied. For example, if in one country students participated in local clubs but they didn’t in the UK there may be scope for investigation and action. For some it was a difficult challenge to move from broad ideas about concerns to more concrete plans for change – however, through focused and sustained discussions three sub-groups formed and decisions were made on the following projects:
Having chosen their projects and made initial classroom presentations to their peers and teachers, the three sub-groups embarked on a process of refining the focus of their topics and investigating further through online research and collecting information from fellow students in different parts of the College. The chosen topics were also taught by the teacher to ensure all learners had an understanding of the main ideas behind each other’s projects.
Public speaking skills and outcomes
Developing new skills
The process of developing skills for public speaking included a half-day workshop with Speakers Trust, arranged as part of overall provision from the Speak out for change project. This session was really well received by the learners with the professional approach to public speaking immediately seen as relevant for the group and the challenges that lay ahead. The skills and techniques learnt were immediately transferable to other speaking activities that followed.
Students also developed their skills through other regular activities which included:
ESOL learners’ conference
For the climax of the projects the main public speaking opportunity took the form of a conference of ESOL students and staff drawn from different ESOL courses within the Department. With an audience of approximately 120 the project groups presented their topics and main conclusions with each member contributing to carefully structured presentations which were supported with the students’ own powerpoint slides. They practiced and developed their techniques to remember and present their information with impact and confidence. Each student had their own techniques but the following methods were encouraged:
Links with ESOL learning and qualifications
As part of the course students are encouraged to develop their speaking skills and this central part of ESOL work combined well with the aims of the project which offered students an additional challenge in the form of an unfamiliar context for extending and demonstrating their English speaking skills. These include an on-going focus on pronunciation skills, syllables and stress patterns, emphasising specific difficulties transferred from students’ first languages.
There is also a focus on functional language for specific speaking tasks including, for example, the language of agreeing and disagreeing and language for active listening. In both of these areas the project work was especially useful with students, as they got increasingly involved, taking on a lot more responsibility for making decisions in their groups, resolving problems and prioritising what needed to be done.
Speaking activities within the project also made a direct contribution towards final preparations for students’ speaking and listening exams, a formal part of their Entry Level 3 ESOL qualification for the year. It was particularly beneficial, for a boost to confidence and some specific skill development that the Speakers Trust workshop coincided with the run-up to the speaking and listening exams.
Learner and staff reactions
The presentations at the conference were well received by the audience of fellow students, ESOL staff and College senior managers. One ESOL tutor summed up the reactions of many:
“I teach this group and know them well. There were very pleasing presentations by all. Good to see that many of the students are capable of speaking in public and have good communication skills despite the fact that they are often too shy to show this in the class environment. They said that they were all very nervous but I’m confident they will not be so nervous next time they speak in public, such as at college and job interviews or college presentations”.
The project group members themselves spoke after their public speaking event about a great sense of achievement and improved levels of confidence from successfully giving their presentations.
Lessons and legacies
For staff the experience of facilitating the project offered some valuable insights into the disparate levels of understanding of, and interest in, key citizenship issues in the same class - ranging from almost zero to high levels of knowledge and engagement.
This has led to a re-appraisal of the place of citizenship learning in different courses within the ESOL department. One plan is to introduce a citizenship focus to teaching during the final stages of the summer term for all classes in the 16-19 provision with a ‘citizenship week’ where issues and activities similar to those developed in the project are carried out.
There is also an intention to re-examine the content and structure of citizenship provision within adult ESOL courses to ensure that topics of particular concern to students are covered and more time is devoted to exploring ideas and developing learner activities – to go beyond the current focus on a superficial knowledge of a wide range of issues.
Project resources
My Identity Here and There introduces the activity where students explore their sense of identity in their countries of origin and the UK
National identities is an activity where students explore their ideas about national identity – with examples for Poland and the UK
Speak out for change self-assessment questionnaire used with students at the start of the project to consider existing citizenship understanding and public speaking skills together with targets for improvement
Project contact
Matt Calvert, Project Manager, West Thames College
Matthew.calvert@west-thames.ac.uk
About the organisation
West Thames College in the London Borough of Hounslow is a higher and further education college with around 6,500 full and part time students, studying mainly for a range of vocational and specialist qualifications. The college has two sites, the Feltham Skills Centre and the main Isleworth campus, where the large ESOL Department is located.
Introduction to the project
The Speak out for change project involved 21 students who were part of the College’s Threshold Provision for 16-19 year olds learning ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages). All were studying for an ESOL qualification at Entry Level 3. An element of citizenship knowledge and understanding is a requirement within ESOL courses, although it is relatively unusual for ESOL students to have opportunities to take part in active citizenship projects with a degree of learner autonomy and also involving public speaking.
Citizenship activities
The project started with a series of sessions to develop students' understanding of key ideas and terminology relating to citizenship, their role in society and the aims of the project to develop skills for public speaking about issues of concern to themselves. Identifying these concerns within the class would form the basis of the citizenship projects for students to work on in small groups.
Identity and change
One key theme covered at this early stage was ‘Me and my world’ - an exploration of the sense of identity of group members. After class discussion each individual produced two posters to illustrate central ideas about their sense of identity – as this applied when thinking about their countries of origin and then as they felt about themselves and what was important to them in their current lives in the UK. This brought out feelings about belonging to two places and how they may feel like a different person in each country – drawing a picture of big challenges and different responses to change.
Students produced posters which took the form either of a map of the two countries or a silhouette of their heads (to represent their minds and thinking) containing words or images about themselves and the respective ‘home’ and UK communities (see Resources section below). This also included a short piece of writing comparing the two, together with vocabulary work on key words and phrases for the topic – identity, community, society, migration, belonging and so on.
Going further, the group were also asked, as appropriate, to produce a map/mind picture of what they hope their lives will be like in the future. They were encouraged to think about how they could achieve this.
Finally, at this stage, students then produced a larger map of the UK with their ideas about what they thought British people would include in a representation of British identity. This led on to work on cultural norms, values and traditions in the UK, some history and the diversity of people making up the UK population now.
At all stages students were engaged in discussion and also began to develop more public speaking practice and gambits for getting ideas across by presenting their ideas and identity posters to the class. This was linked closely with specific speaking skills development with work on intonation, stress, timing, fluency and accuracy – all integrated with the group’s language work in other areas of their course.
Choosing project topics
When the students were asked which social and political issues they had particular concerns about and would like to base an active citizenship project on, there was a very understandable carry over from the earlier discussions about identity, migration and change. In comparing circumstances and feelings about life in both countries gaps appeared which perhaps could be remedied. For example, if in one country students participated in local clubs but they didn’t in the UK there may be scope for investigation and action. For some it was a difficult challenge to move from broad ideas about concerns to more concrete plans for change – however, through focused and sustained discussions three sub-groups formed and decisions were made on the following projects:
- Girls in Sport: investigating the level of participation in sports and whether this differs in the UK compared with home countries
- Politics: investigating the views and understanding of UK politics by ESOL students
- Education: an investigation into the levels of understanding of the UK education system of families prior to migration to the UK
Having chosen their projects and made initial classroom presentations to their peers and teachers, the three sub-groups embarked on a process of refining the focus of their topics and investigating further through online research and collecting information from fellow students in different parts of the College. The chosen topics were also taught by the teacher to ensure all learners had an understanding of the main ideas behind each other’s projects.
Public speaking skills and outcomes
Developing new skills
The process of developing skills for public speaking included a half-day workshop with Speakers Trust, arranged as part of overall provision from the Speak out for change project. This session was really well received by the learners with the professional approach to public speaking immediately seen as relevant for the group and the challenges that lay ahead. The skills and techniques learnt were immediately transferable to other speaking activities that followed.
Students also developed their skills through other regular activities which included:
- Giving presentations in class about their country/mind maps
- Holding discussions in class on various citizenship topics
- Making decisions in small groups (negotiation and supporting opinions)
- Talking to other class groups (explaining their projects and asking for responses to their key questions)
- Answering questions in a market stall event in the College Atrium
- After the main ESOL conference, holding follow-up meetings with relevant people in the College – e.g. The girls in sport group met with the senior sports organiser to present their findings and advise on how participation could be increased.
ESOL learners’ conference
For the climax of the projects the main public speaking opportunity took the form of a conference of ESOL students and staff drawn from different ESOL courses within the Department. With an audience of approximately 120 the project groups presented their topics and main conclusions with each member contributing to carefully structured presentations which were supported with the students’ own powerpoint slides. They practiced and developed their techniques to remember and present their information with impact and confidence. Each student had their own techniques but the following methods were encouraged:
- Interacting with the audience (asking questions, voting, getting brief opinions)
- Using short bursts of information so that it could be taken in more readily by the audience
- Using pauses
Links with ESOL learning and qualifications
As part of the course students are encouraged to develop their speaking skills and this central part of ESOL work combined well with the aims of the project which offered students an additional challenge in the form of an unfamiliar context for extending and demonstrating their English speaking skills. These include an on-going focus on pronunciation skills, syllables and stress patterns, emphasising specific difficulties transferred from students’ first languages.
There is also a focus on functional language for specific speaking tasks including, for example, the language of agreeing and disagreeing and language for active listening. In both of these areas the project work was especially useful with students, as they got increasingly involved, taking on a lot more responsibility for making decisions in their groups, resolving problems and prioritising what needed to be done.
Speaking activities within the project also made a direct contribution towards final preparations for students’ speaking and listening exams, a formal part of their Entry Level 3 ESOL qualification for the year. It was particularly beneficial, for a boost to confidence and some specific skill development that the Speakers Trust workshop coincided with the run-up to the speaking and listening exams.
Learner and staff reactions
The presentations at the conference were well received by the audience of fellow students, ESOL staff and College senior managers. One ESOL tutor summed up the reactions of many:
“I teach this group and know them well. There were very pleasing presentations by all. Good to see that many of the students are capable of speaking in public and have good communication skills despite the fact that they are often too shy to show this in the class environment. They said that they were all very nervous but I’m confident they will not be so nervous next time they speak in public, such as at college and job interviews or college presentations”.
The project group members themselves spoke after their public speaking event about a great sense of achievement and improved levels of confidence from successfully giving their presentations.
Lessons and legacies
For staff the experience of facilitating the project offered some valuable insights into the disparate levels of understanding of, and interest in, key citizenship issues in the same class - ranging from almost zero to high levels of knowledge and engagement.
This has led to a re-appraisal of the place of citizenship learning in different courses within the ESOL department. One plan is to introduce a citizenship focus to teaching during the final stages of the summer term for all classes in the 16-19 provision with a ‘citizenship week’ where issues and activities similar to those developed in the project are carried out.
There is also an intention to re-examine the content and structure of citizenship provision within adult ESOL courses to ensure that topics of particular concern to students are covered and more time is devoted to exploring ideas and developing learner activities – to go beyond the current focus on a superficial knowledge of a wide range of issues.
Project resources
My Identity Here and There introduces the activity where students explore their sense of identity in their countries of origin and the UK
National identities is an activity where students explore their ideas about national identity – with examples for Poland and the UK
Speak out for change self-assessment questionnaire used with students at the start of the project to consider existing citizenship understanding and public speaking skills together with targets for improvement
Project contact
Matt Calvert, Project Manager, West Thames College
Matthew.calvert@west-thames.ac.uk