Action for ESOL – Leeds City CollegeCampaign to defend funding of classes of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

Table of ContentsRead the letter and answer the questions...................................................................3

Questions about the Letter.........................................................................................4

Student Testimony (Beginners).................................................................................6

Student Testimony (Entry 1 Lower)..........................................................................7

Student Testimony (Entry 1 Higher)..........................................................................8

Student Testimony (Entry 2)......................................................................................9

Student Testimony (Entry 3)....................................................................................10

Student Testimony (higher levels)...........................................................................11

Ken Livingston’s letter to John Hayes.....................................................................12

Let me tell you about myself...................................................................................13

ESOL Cuts Class Survey.........................................................................................15

Go Petition...............................................................................................................16

Student Petition........................................................................................................17

John Hayes and George Osborne contact details.....................................................18

To keep up-to-date:

Join Action for ESOL on twitter: click me

Visit the Action for ESOL Facebook site: click me

Join the ESOL-Research email distribution list: click me

National Action: the Action for ESOL national coordinating group meets in London. Next meeting Wed 26 Jan. For further information on the national group (meetings, activities, etc) join twitter, facebook and the JISC email list. Contact Mel Cooke for further informa-tion melanie.cooke@KCL.AC.UK or Dan Taubman (UCU) at DTaubman@ucu.org.uk or Pat Sullivan (NATECLA) pat207@btinternet.com.

Regional Action: Action for ESOL NATECLA Yorkshire and Humberside branch next meets on 12 Feb to discuss coordination. Contact Naeema Hann for further information n.hann@leedsmet.ac.uk

Local Action: complete the suggested activities overleaf as part of the Leeds City College initiative. Contact stephen.woulds@leedscitycollege.ac.uk if you have any questions.

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Action for ESOL activities

What can the college and staff and students do to petition against the cuts?

1. College principals should have received a request to undertake an impact assessment on the proposed cuts. Leeds City College is responding to this. See here for toolkit used by policy-makers: http://www.bis.gov.uk/ia. Potentially, 75% or our ESOL learners will need to pay their own course fees from September 2011. Many of them may not come back.

We suggest you do as many activities as possible, numbers 2-7, but a minimum of number 2.

2. Devote at least one lesson to help your students write a letter/student testimony. See overleaf pages 3-13 for class resources to help with this.

2.1. The letter should ideally be typed and saved so that can each letter can be emailed to the following people: the student’s (1) local MP (2) local councillor (3) John Hayes; Minister for FE, Skills and Lifelong Learning.

2.2. For students to find their MP, first type their postcode at http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/. Once the MP is found, click the name to go to a page with full contact details including email address.

2.3. For students in Leeds to find their local councillor, first type address at http://www.leeds.gov.uk/page.aspx?pageidentifier=5468a57e-e64f-4bdf-9569-7c31d1b93cc3 and click Search. Click Ward to find councillors. Click Constituency to find their MP.

2.4. For students in Bradford/Keighley to find their councillor, go to http://www.bradford.gov.uk/asp/councillors/byward.asp

2.5. For students to email John Hayes, use: hayesj@parliament.uk

2.6. If students are unable to send a letter via email, please write a paper-based version in class. If you can establish the MP's details, send to the MP. Otherwise, collect all the paper versions and send through the internal post to Mary Clayton, Thomas Danby Campus, En-field Centre. These will be sent to John Hayes. See contact details for John Hayes on page 18.

3. Complete a class survey to gauge potential impact. See page 15. Perhaps post to John Hayes.

4. Staff and students to sign the petition at http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/defend-esol/sign.html See Go Petition page 16 for fur-ther information.

5. Students to complete a community / home survey. See Student Petition page 17.

6. Invite local MPs into the college / classroom for a discussion on this topic.

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7. Group of students to visit MP’s local surgeries.

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Read the letter and answer the questions

Dear students,

This is a letter from your teachers at Leeds City College. We are writing to share with you our concern about the education cuts planned by this government.

On Thursday 9th December 2010, the government took a vote to increase university tuition fees. This is only the beginning. The education cuts will affect everybody all over the country. Students will lose their places and teachers will lose their jobs.

The government has already said it will stop the EMA, which helped 635,000 students to stay in education last year.

Adult education and ESOL are also being attacked. If you are not on 'active benefits', for example Job Seeker's Allowance or the new Employment Support Allowance, you will have to pay full fees for your course. This will discriminate against women who depend on their husband's benefits.

Many courses will close.

We believe that we can still change the government's mind. This is not a strong government. Anything you can do to show your protest against these cuts will help. Take a class survey to find out how many people will suffer from the cuts. Write a testimony about how you will be affected. Both of these can be sent to the government. Write your testimony on a computer so it can be emailed.

Thank you very much for reading this letter.

Best wishes

Leeds City College Teachers

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Questions about the Letter

1. Who wrote this letter?

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2. What is it about?

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3. Why did teachers write this letter?

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4. What do the teachers worry will happen to ESOL students now?

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5. Who will have to pay full fees for their ESOL course?

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6. Will you have to pay full fees?

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7. Why do the teachers say this is unfair?

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8. Can you find any figures in this letter?

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9. Can you find any opinions?

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10. Can you find any facts?

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Student Testimony (Beginners)

Address

Date

Dear ________________________

My name is ___________________________

I am studying English at ____________________________.

I need English _________________________________________________________

to get a jobto buy food for my family

Choose from/add own to help my children at schoolto understand lettersnot to need an interpreter in NHSto be part of UK life

Next year I can’t study because I can’t pay. Please stop cuts to ESOL.

From

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Student Testimony (Entry 1 Lower)

Rt. Hon. John Hayes MP,Minister for Business, Innovation & Skills,House of Commons,London,SW1A 0AA.

26th January 2011

Re: Changes in Funding ESOL

Dear Sir, My name is Shah Wali Khoygani and I am 17. I come to the UK from Afghanistan in May 2010 with no English. I go to Leeds City College for 8 months and I speak better.

I want to speak better English to get a job and to talk to people. I want to work and pay taxes but I need to speak well. If I have to pay for classes I can’t come to class. I am not rich. Please can you help me to learn English.

Yours faithfully

Shah Wali Khoygani

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Shah Wali Khoygani,___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Student Testimony (Entry 1 Higher)

Rt. Hon. John Hayes MP,Minister for Business, Innovation & Skills,House of Commons,London,SW1A 0AA.

26th January 2011

Re: Changes in Funding ESOL

Dear Sir,

My name is Shah Wali Khoygani and I am 17 years old. I am a student at Leeds City College and I am learning English. I came to the UK last year from Afghanistan because of problems in my country. I learn English to get a job and to talk with other people. When I came to this country I did not speak any English, but I can speak English better.

If I have to pay for my English classes I can’t come to class. I have many friends who are learning English and they want to find job. We all want to work and pay taxes and enjoy life here.

We are not rich people but we want help with our classes. Please try to help us to be good citizens with our language.

We thank you.

Yours faithfully

Shah Wali Khoygani

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Shah Wali Khoygani,___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Student Testimony (Entry 2)

Address

Date

Dear

I am writing to you about the cuts to ESOL courses.

My name is I came to England in from .

At first I needed an interpreter when I went to the doctor’s or hospital and went to school to talk to my child’s teacher. Now my English is better because I studied at college and I can interpret for my family and friends. I can also talk to my children’s teachers and help my children with their school work.

Thanks to my ESOL course, my English has improved and helped me to find a part-time job but I still need to attend classes to improve further. I cannot afford to pay over a thousand pounds for an ESOL course.

Some of my friends cannot get a job because their English is a problem. They have very little money and they too cannot afford to pay for an ESOL course.

Everyone I know wants to become part of British society and give something back to this country. They cannot do this if they have no ESOL class and cannot speak Eng-lish.

Please stop the cuts to ESOL because it will make life more difficult for a lot of people and stop them contributing to society. We will feel isolated and have no jobs, no money and no future.

Yours sincerely

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Student Testimony (Entry 3)

Let me tell you about myself.

My name is Amal. I am a student at Tower Hamlets College. I am a mother of two children. I come from Somalia.

Twenty years ago my country started civil war. I didn’t have any opportunities. Now I have opportunities to study.

I want to speak English properly. I struggle to make ends meet. Sometimes when I go shopping, I can’t afford the bus fare to take me home, and I carry the shopping by hand. It’s painful because it’s so heavy and at night time when I sleep I feel pain in my arms.

In the wintertime you need a jacket and you can’t afford it. The kids need a jacket and boots, winter clothes. You need to pay the bills because the benefit is not enough. I live on £148 a week. With that I have to pay the bills, buy food and clothes, bus fares, toys for kids, shoes for the kids.

When they cut this benefit, how can I survive? Every three months I go to interview and they say ‘Do you want a job?’ I apply for jobs, and I fail the interview because I can’t speak English properly. Every time they ask me ‘Do you have any qualifications? How can you work because you don’t have any qualifications.’ That’s why I failed.

Every job I go they want some qualifications.

George Osborne will never understand my life. He is a rich man. He is very happy.

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Student Testimony (higher levels)

My name is Roushon. I am studying at Tower Hamlets College. I am a mother of three children. I am from Bangladesh. I have been in London for 20 years. I have not had an opportunity to study (until recently). I got married away when I was 18. I did not have an opportunity to study when I came to London.

I want to speak English fluently. I find it difficult to mix/communicate with people from other countries. When I get phone calls, I can’t express myself, I can’t explain what the problems are. I face any more problems like this every day. My husband works but he gets very little money. I find it very difficult just to make ends meet. It is a struggle to pay the bills in winter, to buy warm clothes and so on.

If we lose our benefit, how can we survive? I won’t be able to work because I don’t have any skills. Can you get a job if you don’t have any skills? I went for a job interview last year. But after the interview they said my English wasn’t good enough. They advised me to improve me English. I did not get the job. My husband gets very little money. How can I study if I have to pay for it? And if I can’t improve my English, how can I get a job?

George Osborne is a happy man. He will not be able to feel/understand our problems. He has never faced such problems. People who have never been in poverty are not able to feel the burden of poverty. They will not even try!! George Osborne does not have to worry about winter bills or winter clothes. He has a lot of money in his bank and that’s why he is not able to understand our problems.

If we can learn something, we will be able to teach our children. Mothers are the first teachers. People say “Give me an educated mother, I will give you an educated nation.” Without education, you can’t improve the quality of life.

We don’t want our children to miss out on that opportunity. We have to take care of our children. I hope all the parents who have been in a similar situation will agree with me.

The standard of education in Tower Hamlets has improved. This is because the parents are now much more aware. And our ESOL classes have contributed a lot to this awareness. I myself have benefited a lot from attending ESOL classes. I have been able to help my children and they have been studying regularly at home. All these new cuts will deprive them of this opportunity and they will surely lose interest. How can we have an educated nation then? We will just sit at home and worry about the future. We will not have anything positive to do.

What shall we do? Why are the politicians doing this? What good will it bring? Correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t think this will bring good results.

Thank you. Roushon Choudhury

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Ken Livingston’s letter to John Hayes

Ken Livingstone Labour Party 

39 Victoria StreetLondon

SW1H 0HA

Thursday 20th January 2011

John Hayes MP, Minister of StateDepartment of Business Innovations and Skills1 Victoria Street London SW1H 0ET

Dear John,

London is the most dynamic and tolerant city in the world because it welcomes newcomers and en-courages them to make a contribution, both to the capital’s economy and wider society.

ESOL has given hundreds of thousands of Londoners an opportunity to learn new skills, find work, create new jobs and play a positive role in their communities.

Right across the capital there is real concern about the cuts you are making, particularly the reduc-tion in funding rates for adults, introduction of fees for those on most benefits and their depend-ents, removal of a £4.5 million learner support fund for adults on low incomes and the removal of all funding from ESOL in the work place. These will have the effect of excluding thousands of ESOL students from language learning.

The impact of your proposed cuts to ESOL are compounded by abolition of the Educational Main-tenance Allowance grants. These changes threaten to put education, learning and employment out of reach of some of the poorest Londoners.

I am also concerned that of all the regions in the UK, once again the impact of Tory-led govern-ment cuts is hitting London the hardest.

I want to know:

Have you considered the social and economic impact of the changes to ESOL and have you com-pleted a thorough equalities assessment?

How many Londoners will lose support because of the changes you are making?

How will the cuts to ESOL affect the number of people claiming other benefits?

Does the Mayor of London support your cuts to ESOL and has he made any representations to you?

Finally I urge you to think again before you make these sweeping changes to ESOL and extinguish the hopes and aspirations of thousands of Londoners.

Yours sincerely,

Ken Livingstone13

Let me tell you about myself

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ESOL Cuts Class Survey

Do you get JSA?

Can you pay the full course fees next year?

Will you come back to college next year?

How will this affect you?

Can I take your name? Male / Female

Do you get JSA?

Can you pay the full course fees next year?

Will you come back to college next year?

How will this affect you?

Can I take your name? Male / Female

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Go PetitionTutors could do the paper-based version first with their learners then block-book a computer suite to do online.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/defend-esol/sign.html

We urge the government to reconsider the approach to ESOL outlined in the 'Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth' Strategy, recognise the contribution that migrants make to the economy and society as a whole and prioritise publicly funded ESOL provision for low paid and economically vulnerable people.

ESOL students are keen to learn the language and integrate into society. In order to do this they need programmes that enable them to do so. We pledge our support to defend ESOL. Complete the fields below and click 'Sign'. Optional fields may be completed or left blank. * - required fields

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Student’s email address is their student ID (on their badge) followed by @student.leedscitycollege.ac.uk

Student PetitionAsk the students to collect as many signatures as possible from family and friends and the local community. Return the petitions to their teacher. Forward to John Hayes MP and local MPs.

SAVE ESOL! SAVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING!

We urge the government to reconsider the approach to ESOL outlined in the 'Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth' Strategy, recognise the contribution that migrants make to the economy and society as a whole and prioritise publicly funded ESOL provision for low paid and economically vulnerable people.

ESOL students are keen to learn the language and integrate into society. In order to do this they need programmes that enable them to do so.

We pledge our support to defend ESOL.

Name Address Signature

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John Hayes and George Osborne contact details

John Hayes, Minister for FE, Skills and Lifelong Learning.

Contact details:Westminster House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AATel: 020 7219 1389Fax: 020 7219 2273hayesj@parliament.uk

Constituency Office 1, Broad Street Business Centre, 10 Broad Street, Spalding, PE11 1TBTel: 01775 711534Fax: 01775 713905davieshm@parliament.uk

George Osborne, Conservative politician and Chancellor of the Exchequer. http://www.georgeosborne4tatton.com/

Members of the public can write to the Chancellor via HM Treasury.

This can be done by e-mailing public.enquiries@hm-treasury.gov.uk, telephoning 020 7270 4558 or writing to: The Correspondence & En-quiry Unit, HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ.

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