Hello readers! Today is Wednesday and it was our last day in Birmingham. I was so sad to leave, but we are in London now! Today we woke up at 6:00 and got ready to go visit a college. We also had to pack this morning which was very difficult considering my roommate and I shoved everything in our bags without folding them throughout the week haha! Anyways, we checked out of the hotel and got into the taxi. We made our way to South & City College in Birmingham.
The college offers a range of courses from Pre-entry to Level 1. According to our speaker, the majority of the students are at Entry Level 3 and below. They offer ESOL pathway programs with different levels. They can be paired with vocational classes such as plumbing, fashion & design, care, and construction. One challenge they have faced is reduction in funding for lower level courses. Many of the students who attend this college are migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, etc. Some students are Pakistani, Somali, Sudanese, Bangladeshi, Indian, etc. They also have a women’s only branch campus for women who are uncomfortable learning in the classroom with men. This can be for several reasons such as the fact that they may have never has an education in their country, maybe they have had an abusive experience with a man and want to feel safe with gaining an education. They also are able to guarantee an interview for each child who attends the school which is amazing! However, they implemented a punishment system where if the students do not come to class, the staff will inform their interviewer about their attendance.
We went to visit four different classrooms. In the first classroom, all of the students were from other countries and were struggling with English. We listened to a reading called “The British” by Benjamin Zephaniah. The class repeated what they learned to us! He was from Hemsworth in Birmingham and he passed away last December. He had dyslexia, yet he was a very talented writer and poet. He went to school in the 60s and his teachers and classmates called him dumb. He got bullied for having dyslexia. The teacher brought up a the statement “born and bred” in reference to what Zephaniah had said about himself. He was testing the class to see if they understood the saying. They all put the saying to use by telling us where they were “born and bred”. The teacher applied this learning skill throughout the class to teach the students different phrases. I found this to be very helpful for the students as he was teaching them history while incorporating the English language. We also learned that to receive citizenship within the UK, the refugees and immigrants must take a test about the history of the UK. This class can help them learn and understand so they can gain citizenship.
The second class we attended was a level 1 math class. The students were playing a game using flashcards which had English on them. This was helping them learn the language while still doing math problems. One flashcard would have a question and the other would have the answer so they could check their work. They were learning percentages and fractions today. The class relates to real life as well. For example, percentage practice is helpful for calculating tips when out to dinner, thus helping them with their daily lives. The teacher explained to us that active learning is better for students to learn a new language because they are able to interact with the words instead of just listen to them being said. They had to come up with the math questions on the flashcards, and one requirement was that it had to be a sentence. This makes the students think about what words they want to use to make a question. It also helps engage the students and helps with their memory for their exams.
The third class we observed was NCFE Cache Award in Caring for Children (entry level) class. The students were making information leaflets for the Council that provides information on the role of adults in supporting play and leisure activities. I talked to one girl in particular who is originally from Pakistan, and she told me her project was on children with disabilities. She learned how to provide links and research information. She inserted pictures and learned how to format a word document to create columns. The pamphlet contained lots of insightful information, and I was happy I got to read it!
The fourth and final class was a 12 week class that is set up by the job center. It focuses on helping the students with their vocabulary and pronunciation of the English language. We learned a lot about how to communicate with someone who does not speak the same language. Facial expression is a very important tool for communication. It also helps to break words down and speak slowly. This week the students are focused on vocabulary based on going into town, shopping, and exploring. They have pictures of the words and get to see how it is spelled and pronounced. The visual aspect helps them associate words better when they are out on their own.
Once we were done at the college, we went to the hotel to retrieve our luggage. Then, we made the drive to London!!!
We went to a Pitt alumni dinner which was so fun!
I will blog for my fans tomorrow! Goodnight!
