Challenges and opportunities for the UK immigrants learning English : a case study of ESOL classes

Abstract

It is widely accepted that, in the United Kingdom, thousands of women, men and children continuously confront challenges to their identity and sense of well being as they immigrate and acculturate into a new way of life, where language proficiency opens doors to social acceptance, economic security and cultural understanding. The needs of and provisions for adult immigrants to learn English include specific considerations for the recently arrived and those who have been living in the UK for a rather long time but still do not speak English; those in a wide variety of work situations, such as looking for a job or wanting to start a new career; those undergoing cultural shock and acculturation in a new country; those who have a low self-esteem because native speakers do not want to communicate with immigrants or these vulnerable and often disadvantaged learners suffer from a psychological barrier themselves. While most learning of English takes place in informal contexts and the English-speaking environment, formal institutions in the UK and immigrants’ native countries can also offer useful language training. With the above observations in mind, the present study aims at exploring the UK immigrants’ perceptions, needs and experiences concerning learning English within the curricula of ESOL courses at Boston ESOL Courses in regard to the attitudes of the students who attend these courses. The analysis includes the attitudes of Lithuanian, Polish, Russian and Latvian learners of English and is written from the perspective of the teacher who works with and teaches this diverse group of adults. [...]