I started at the college a year ago teaching a group of Thai teenagers who were on a 2-week vacation course (lessons in the mornings, trips and activities in the afternoons). However, soon I was asked to cover some ESOL classes. Although I have been teaching English for almost twenty years, I must admit I wasn’t really sure what the differences between ESOL and EFL were.
My manager explained to me that ESOL was about teaching learners the skills to participate and be successful to live in the UK. For example, teaching them about how to apply for jobs or the language that will help them to register with doctors.
I think though that it wasn’t until I actually taught an ESOL class that I realised what the difference was. If I think purely from a teaching skills perspective, EFL and ESOL are relatively similar. I use the same teaching and classroom management techniques, and I would say my teaching style is much the same. However, whereas in most conventional ELT materials, the topic is there merely to provide the basis for the language you want students to learn, in ESOL materials, the topic has equal if not more importance.
An example of this is the material I used with my first ever ESOL class, an ESOL entry 1 class at the college. I was covering a class for a week and the module they were working was on health. The key grammar was listed as:
- I’ve got
- Imperatives
- Possessives
- Common adjectives after be
I planned my lessons aims with the language points in mind and based my student outcomes on their learning of the above grammar. However, what happened in the lessons was, for me, a distinct critical incident and a significant learning moment.
It became evident very quickly that what the learners needed or were interested in, was not primarily the grammar. It was the skills and functions that were of use to them in real life. Which in this particular module were:
- How to register at a doctor’s surgery
- How to understand questions from a doctor and describe when you are ill
- How to make appointments with doctors and dentists.
- How to ask for medicine at the chemist’s and how to read the instructions on medication.
ESOL learner materials_ Entry 1, Unit 5
Source – https://esol.excellencegateway.org.uk/vocabulary/EGaudience/learning-materials
The learners, some of who were refugees, needed this language to do these things. In fact, one Syrian woman told the class that she had had an extremely traumatic experience at the hospital because she hadn’t been able to describe her son’s symptoms and had been forced to wait for a translator to come before her son could be treated. Other students told me similar stories in different contexts, such as at the benefits office where they had been forced to wait for hours for a translator to come because they couldn’t understand or be understood.
It was an eye-opening moment for me as up until then, my experience of teaching had been primarily one about helping learners to improve their level of English. For these learners, this wasn’t just about language. It was about their personal contexts, trying to survive and to integrate themselves into society. When learners share there personal challenges I try my best to make them feel comfortable and to know that the classroom is a safe space for them.
I realised that if I wanted to be an ESOL teacher then my role and responsibilities would change dramatically and I would need to become more aware of the issues and needs of ESOL learners and of the barriers they have to overcome in everyday life. If I’m honest, it is something I am more than willing to do. Teaching the ESOL students at the college is extremely rewarding and has given me so much satisfaction. As a teacher that was at risk of becoming a bit jaded after ten years in the Middle East teaching the same things over and over, it has given me a new sense of enthusiasm and purpose.
