• 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

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’.

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.

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

Access the course or register your interest HERE

For more information click HERE

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

Come along to an ideas swap for supporting people learning English. Learn about and share tips, activities and resources, and join in discussions.

Comments from our last ESOL Ideas Swap:

• Thank you so very much.  Really useful.

• Thanks for a really interesting and useful session.

• Thank you for the session.  I really enjoyed the breakout room discussion and found it very useful, also the feedback from the other discussions.

• Thanks to all, very helpful. Very interesting and useful.

• Thank you for the lovely conversations and ideas.

For more information and to book, please contact Sharon at:

linguatrust@outlook.com

1. An introductory segment which summarizes the main topics of second language teaching and shows classroom examples of the topics.

2. Ten 5-minute video episodes based on the units of Women Teaching Women English. Each of these episodes provides a model of communicative language teaching through simulated language classroom interaction.

3. Updated digital downloads of the Women Teaching Women English student book, teacher’s manual, and audio files.

Predominantly pre entry for recent arrivals - some higher level worksheets. !2 topics ( 1 more still to come) with digital skills embedded, if wanted. Many resources for low level learners. All free