English classes

Our free ‘English for Speakers of Other Languages’ (ESOL) classes offer clients the opportunity to improve their command of the English language, learn the culture of their adoptive country and meet others facing the same challenges.

We hold four different classes, with each class meeting in St Mary’s Church every week:

  • a beginners’ class
  • a pre-intermediate class
  • a literacy class: one-to-one tuition for those who speak English but have weak reading and writing skills
  • an advanced class: our best-attended with 15 students.

We also offer home tuition to those who cannot attend classes at the church.

Our students’ first languages include Farsi, Turkish, Twi, Shona, Albanian, Tamil, Hindi, Urdu and Arabic. Their ambitions vary too; some want enough English to obtain a job, some need to develop their skills so that they can fill in forms for regularising their ‘status’, some want to help their children prepare for school and others just want to improve their ability to be understood.

A large proportion of students are asylum seekers, awaiting a decision from the Home Office on their right to remain in the UK. Until that decision is reached, which can take years, most do not have permission to work or study; English classes offer them the opportunity to use their time profitably.

If you’re interested in improving your English classes, please contact us to discuss which of our classes would be most appropriate.