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Please post inks to useful information and resources here!

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Presentation slides from Christine Tudor-Jones' Ideas Swap 3 presentation

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The Cultural Atlas is an educational resource providing comprehensive information on the cultural background of migrant populations. The aim is to improve social cohesion and promote inclusion.

All published content in the Cultural Atlas is the result of a collective effort between researchers, editors and members of the Australian community who have cross-cultural identities or familiarities but much of the information is relevant to the migrant populations of the UK

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The Cultural Atlas team acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands throughout Australia on whose country we have the privilege to live and work. We pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander custodians past, present and emerging.

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The Cultural Atlas aims to inform and educate the public in cross-cultural attitudes, practices, norms, behaviours, communications and business skills

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Resources from NATECLA teachmeet Midlands on teaching British values

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Resources from NATECLA teachmeet Midlands on teaching British values

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A series of resources and presentations to support teaching British Values from NATECLA teachmeet October 2024.

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National Association of Teaching English and Community Languages to Adults

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Access to pedlets with resources to support Emotional Academic Practice.

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To navigate the Padlets below, you can scroll up and down, and also left and right. ​ You can also click on the arrow in the top right corner which will open the Padlet in a new tab.

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Using story pictures for listening and speaking activities

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Using story pictures for listening and speaking activities

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Christine recommended a good source of stories and pictures for language teaching at all levels at the Ideas Swap on 24th October - Using Folk Tales, by Eric Taylor. It's still in print but more affordable from World of Books.

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Using Folktales provides over 40 ready-to-use activities for use with English language learners. The paperback edition shows teachers how to take advantage of the unique literary characteristics of folk tales to facilitate language learning. It provides over forty ready-to-use activities and dozens of stories. Activiti

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Links to 17 free Padlets of resources and link

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Needs Analysis Survey for ESOL in the Voluntary Sector

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Needs Analysis Survey for ESOL in the Voluntary Sector

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To access the Needs Analysis Survey, which will take just a few minutes of your time to complete, click HERE

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CPD Needs Analysis Survey for ESOL in the Voluntary Sector

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Introduction to teaching ESOL literacy learners

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Introduction to teaching ESOL literacy learners

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A video-based, flexible, self-access online course which is suitable for ESOL teachers and volunteers, particularly those new to working with learners who have no, or very little literacy (in any language).

For more information click HERE

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A Cambridge course exploring how to identify and respond to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers.

Access the course or register your interest HERE

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Working Supportively With Refugees: Principles, Skills and Perspectives

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Working Supportively With Refugees: Principles, Skills and Perspectives

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Free University of Glasgow course exploring interdisciplinary approaches to working with refugees

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JAMIE SPURWAY: There have been mass movements of refugees many times before. The World Wars saw tens of millions fleeing their homes. The partition of India and Pakistan, the independence of Bangladesh, the Rwandan genocide, and civil conflicts around the world have all created refugees and there are millions. They are a massively diverse group, speaking many languages, of age, religions, and ethnicities, men and women, young and old, rich and poor. In many ways, they may have nothing in common except the fact that they have had to leave their home, a decision that nobody takes lightly and one that impacts on every aspect of their lives.

Many flee war, while others flee a risk of violence that is specific to them, their families, or the group they're perceived to belong to. Critical to understanding this group of people is a recognition that they are not unusual. Refugees are ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. In recent years, we've been inundated with images of refugees fleeing conflict and persecution in countries like Syria, Afghanistan, and Eritrea. There is a situation of humanitarian crisis in many of the countries that refugees currently flee to. DR.

MARTA MOSKAL: In the current massive increase of refugees flows that have been perceived as a refugee crisis. Skill needs are changing rapidly, calling for updated training within a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach, combining the principles of psychological well-being, intercultural communication, and interpretation, conflict and crisis management in the reality of and in the work with refugees. DR.

GIOVANNA FASSETTA: Cultural mediators hold a central role in addressing the needs of refugees and asylum seekers in the context of the current humanitarian crisis in Europe. Cultural mediators are directly involved in the facilitation of relations between newcomers under civil society, working towards the mutual exchange of knowledge and towards establishing positive relations between individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and ethnic origins. This course aims to address the needs of interpreters, NGO practitioners, volunteers, refugees, researchers, and students. It will develop a set of skills needed to respond to this humanitarian crisis, which will include group management, intercultural communication, conflict resolution, counselling, and negotiation. DR.

MARTA MOSKAL: The course is informed by a variety of resources developed by the Erasmus+ Reculm project consortium based in four European countries, the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy, and Spain. The course develops over three weeks. But attendance is flexible and self-paced. We look forward to working with you online.

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Working Supportively With Refugees - Online Course

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JAMIE SPURWAY: There have been mass movements of refugees many times before. The World Wars saw tens of millions fleeing their homes. The partition of India and Pakistan, the independence of Bangladesh, the Rwandan genocide, and civil conflicts around the world have all created refugees and there are millions.

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Free, online short course designed to support those who are new to teaching English as a second or foreign language. It provides approx. 3 hours of online structured material and activities

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Teach with Trinity: Getting Started | Trinity College London

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British Council Teaching English Training

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British Council Teaching English Training

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Details on British Council run training courses running from April 2025–March 2026

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Take part in a variety of free training courses on our teacher development platform. Explore a range of topics, from assessing learners to planning a great lesson. Study at your own pace and communicate with other teachers from all over the world.

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The Bell Foundation Blog: ESOL Training for Volunteers – Online and In-Person

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The Bell Foundation Blog: ESOL Training for Volunteers – Online and In-Person

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This blog includes guseful information for volunteers who teach English to young people and adults and aims to provide support on how to identify and access suitable training.

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ESOL training for volunteers – online and in-person

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Our guidance for volunteers who teach English to young people and adults aims to provide support on how to identify and access suitable training.

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Do you have a suggestion of a topic we should include in an Ideas Swap? If so, please leave your suggestion in the comments below

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Jenny Roden's presentation slides from Ideas Swap 2

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Jenny Roden's presentation slides from Ideas Swap 2

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Jenny's powerpoint on ideas for information gaps that she presented at the Ideas Swap on Fri 24th October

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Anne Mills' presentation slides from Ideas Swap 2

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Anne Mills' presentation slides from Ideas Swap 2

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Anne's powerpoint on online dictation that she presented at the Ideas Swap on Fri October 24th 2025.

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Kathryn Sideways hosts the ESOL Research community which holds regular online meetings you can register for where people present their research.

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Shipley College Bridging the Gap - Teaching Resources

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Includes a very detailed, week by week course for beginners/Pre-entry

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This is an educational website for those wanting to develop their English language and learn about different subject specific topics. For tutors by tutors is the aim of ESOL UK, to bring you language learning mediated by video, audio and the internet; the internet for independent learner access but with conventional worksheets for classroom use as well. These materials are suitable for both language and literacy learners. Many of these materials were developed in collaboration with ESOL tutors at Leeds City College.

You need JavaScipt and Cookies enabled. If you can see a red failed below, click here.

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This is an educational website for those wanting to develop their English language and learn about different subject specific topics. For tutors by tutors is the aim of ESOL UK, to bring you language learning mediated by video, audio and the internet; the internet for independent learner access but with conventional worksheets for classroom use as well.

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The app Robin mentioned which can be used to make exercises.

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The Hot Potatoes suite includes six applications, enabling you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web. Hot Potatoes is freeware, and you may use it for any purpose or project you like. It is n…

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Free online readers aimed at adult ESOL learners from NATECLA Scotland.

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NATECLA Scotland ESOL Literacies Readers

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NATECLA Scotland ESOL Literacies Readers - Click to view this library, made with Book Creator

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A very exhaustive set of flashcards from St Chad's women's group that can be found on Quizlet, the website Alice mentioned.

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A hub of resources from ESOL practitioners in Yorkshire and the Humber.

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ESOL Resources Archive - Learning English Plus

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The Resource Hub is a collection of website links, documents, videos and audios for ESOL teachers. Whilst many are specifically ESOL resources, we've also included those that may be useful in a general ESOL context.

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ESOL Toolkits & a Health Literacy Course

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ESOL Toolkits & a Health Literacy Course

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Courses created for Sandwell Consortium by Linguatrust

Four complete ESOL courses - Pre-Entry to Entry 3:

Schemes of Work & all materials downloadable

Materials embedded include English My Way, Skills for Life & some SQA resources

Downloadable videos & sound files

ESOL Literacy for Healthcare Course:

Covers wide-range of essential healthcare related situations

Accessibe for learners approaching Entry 1 & above

NHS links & content embedded

Downloadable videos & soundfiles

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NATECLA's webpage of information & resources for Voluntary ESOL teachers

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NATECLA's webpage of information & resources for Voluntary ESOL teachers

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A webpage vetted and curated by one of our members! There are resources for activities, raising cultural awareness, trauma related practice, and links to other training bodies and organisations.

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ELATT and partners.
ELATT together with three European partners, funded by Erasmus + produced a toolkit to support the involvement of volunteers in migrant language education.

The Toolkit consists of the VIME Framework and Model of working together, Guides, Materials and Training Modules for organisations to use to train volunteers, guidance and information for teaching professionals working with volunteers, and guidance and information for policy-makers looking for good practice in involving volunteers in migrant language education.

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Resources for volunteer ESOL teachers - NATECLA

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ELATT and partners. ELATT together with three European partners, funded by Erasmus + produced a toolkit to support the involvement of volunteers in migrant language education.

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Keep up to date with the Voluntary Sector ESOL Community!

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Keep up to date with the Voluntary Sector ESOL Community!

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To subscribe, email

VOLUNTEERSINESOLFORUM-REQUEST@JISCMAIL.AC.UK

and request to be added to the mailing list

We very much welcome volunteers and coordinators to join the group.

This is a free email-based forum where you can get in touch with other volunteers teaching ESOL and hear about resources training and other opportunities delivered right to your inbox! In this forum you can:

discuss issues in the voluntary ESOL sector

share information across the UK

review new resources

network locally and nationally

organise CPD events and webinars

exchange trainers

advertise for staff

The forum is more than just a way of talking to each other. You will also have a voice with policymakers at local and national level. Concerns you raise about voluntary ESOL can be brought by the moderator to the NATECLA Management Council and issues can be brought back to you, via the forum.

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Email discussion lists for the UK Education and Research communities

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Minecraft Cambridge Adventures in English worksheets

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Minecraft Cambridge Adventures in English worksheets

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Minecraft Cambridge Adventures in English

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Minecraft Cambridge Adventures in English

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Follow this link to download Cambridge adventures in English map pack for Minecraft - great for Young Learners and 1-1 students. Mentioned at our first Ideas Swap in April 2025.

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Check out the Minecraft Marketplace. Get Minecoins and discover new games and exclusive DLC like new maps, skins, mods and modpacks, and even more from our creator community.

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Voluntary Sector ESOL Needs Analysis Survey

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Voluntary Sector ESOL Needs Analysis Survey

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Help us to help you! Please complete the short survey below to give us an idea of what training needs you and your organisation have.

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ESOL Ideas Swap 23rd January - Shared Links

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ESOL Ideas Swap 23rd January - Shared Links

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Thank you to everyone who attended the Ideas Swap, for sharing such useful information and contributing to such excellent discussions.

Here are the many links that were shared:

St Chad’s resource padlets

https://stchadssanctuary.padlet.org/esol6/resources-for-learning-english-9zcq5wyhdold5yqq

https://stchadssanctuary.padlet.org/esol6/activities-and-videos-for-esol-topics-7jjnfpzpsvaat4ye

Training videos on creating and using padlets from Russell Stannard

www.russellstannard.com/Padlet

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS4S8aBS_4E

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC69Sr-OQik

CPD Needs Analysis Survey for ESOL in the Voluntary Sector

Help the Voluntary Sector ESOL Working Group to help you! Please complete the short survey below to give us an idea of what training needs you and your organisation have. It will take just minutes to complete.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScQ11VJ6yYDw-BYcywh0TLzDrYZF4iAG1mFJvk1bzckHvxzFg/viewform

Government Public Consultation on Earned Settlement (deadline 12th Feb)

Please consider responding to the government’s public consultation, the proposals of which are likely to have a significant impact on many ESOL learners, in terms of language acquisition and more generally.

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/earned-settlement

Praxis’ explanation of how the proposals seek to alter the current situation will be helpful for understanding the proposals and formulating several responses in the consultation:

www.praxis.org.uk/news/explainer-earned-settlement

NATECLA’s response to the government proposals will be helpful for responding to questions linked to language acquisition:

www.natecla.org.uk/news/nateclas-response-to-the-immigration-white-paper

Rachel Oner’s ESOL padlets

https://padlet.com/rachel_oner/esol-learner-materials-e7p1bve8pt9dzqkb

https://padlet.com/rachel_oner/a-rachel-ner-s-esol-padlets-links-to-17-free-padlets-of-reso-xmi7n2mk1iepjjv9

https://padlet.com/rachel_oner/enrichment-activities-for-esol-classes-ukbzuimtr1aqgljt

https://padlet.com/rachel_oner/esol-remember-the-talent-website-t5zkn3wzr5htltq2

Cultural exchange and building trust

The Cultural Atlas is an educational resource providing comprehensive information on the cultural background of migrant populations. The aim is to improve social cohesion and promote inclusion.

https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/countries

The IOM (International Organisation of Migration) run courses on behalf of groups, organisations and councils and which may be free to volunteers.

www.ecampus.iom.int/

Recommendations from participants

www.thelanguagehouse.net/employees/chris-westergaard/

https://gamelygames.com/products/a-little-more-conversation

Accreditation

Qualification designed to provide the basic skills required to support teaching and learning of English for Speakers of Other Languages in a wide range of contexts and settings. The NATECLA guidance for volunteers was used as a basis for the development.

www.ascentis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Ascentis-Level-1-Award-in-Volunteering-to-Support-English-Language-Teaching-and-Learning-Spec-September-2025.pdf

www.ascentis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Ascentis-Level-2-Award-in-Volunteering-to-Support-English-Language-Teaching-and-Learning-Spec-October-2025.pdf

For more information contact Hadeel.alalusi@ascentis.co.uk. Hadeel also invites the working group to ‘reach out if you would like to share any topics or resources for ESOL assessments in the future’.

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ESOL resources for teachers, supporters and managers 

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ESOL resources for teachers, supporters and managers 

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Lots of links below to great ESOL resources - teaching materials, CPD and framework documents

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We are committed to supporting others working in the Sector. Our aims include:

identifying issues affecting Voluntary Sector ESOL

organising CPD events and webinars

creating a platform for sharing information across the UK

reporting issues affecting the sector to NATECLA.

We hold meetings twice a term and would welcome more members so, if you also work in Voluntary Sector ESOL and are interested in joining the Working Group, please contact Sharon at linguatrust@outlook.com