In a time of increasing xenophobia, cuts to vital support services for migrants and refugees, and increasingly brutal border control policies, we believe it is crucial to enable migrants to make their voices heard (in the only language that some people are prepared to listen to).

ESOL is one of many public services that has been made vulnerable by austerity and racist anti-migration policy. According to the government’s own figures, the budget for ESOL was reduced by around 60% in real terms between 2010 and 2016. Free classes are nearly impossible to find, especially for people with no recourse to public funds.

Our language school runs 5 ESOL classes a week all over the city, from Croydon to Bethnal Green. We run our classes in partnership with other established migrant organisations, to address currently unmet needs.

We also occasionally run an advanced English / ‘teacher training’ course for migrants/refugees with good English who are interested in becoming language teachers or teaching assistants.

You can read about our teachers’ experiences here:
https://babelsblessing.wordpress.com/2015/11/04/daunting-responsibilities-and-brilliant-toddlers-half-term-update-from-an-esol-class/
https://babelsblessing.wordpress.com/2015/11/04/131/