Story: Sandra Heilberg
People in English classes across Burngreave and the city took part in a national day of protest on March 24th. Their message to the government and council is simple – Learning English is the key to taking a full part in the life of our city.
The government proposes huge fee increases which will make the cost of ESOL classes beyond the budget of most ordinary householders. From September this year learners who are not on ‘active’ benefits, Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) or Employment Support Allowance (ESA) will have to pay hundreds of pounds for courses. This will impact particularly on women in Burngreave, who do not claim these benefits.
As part of their protest learners made keys to symbolize what ESOL means to them personally. The messages on the keys show the need for English in every day life, for communicating with doctors, schools, officials and making friends with their neighbours and people from other cultures. They demonstrate the fear and isolation that learners felt before they started to learn English. Mrs Ibrahim explained that before it was as though she had been blind and that learning English is helping her to open her eyes.
Many of the learners are mothers and their concern is with helping their children “My children speak English. If I can’t speak English how can I teach them behaviour and everything. How can I help them?” asked Mrs Kousar.
Burngreave Learners emailed more than 200 keys, with 100 from other parts of the city, to the local councillors and MPs to persuade them that English is a basic skill and should be supported like numeracy and literacy.
If you would like to support the campaign to save ESOL and adult learning from cuts, you can sign the petition, you can find details about the Campaign for adult learning in the Community section or call the Messenger to find out more.
