This week I have been running our Making an ESOL Musical taster course and it has been severely affected by the snow! Student numbers have been down due to the fact that many come from different parts of London and transportation has been extremely difficult.
However, we have run the course with the students who have been able to make it with great results. We transformed the classroom into a winter wonderland with fairy lights, tinsel and posters - creating a warm and inviting environment.
During the course we have discussed the topics and issues raised in The Sound of Music, and have replaced the song lyrics with students’ own ideas. We've had an endless supply of popcorn to keep our energy levels up!
At the moment
we are between terms so we are running taster classes which are little bite-sized courses to give students a 'taste' of different subjects. The ESOL Through Music course that I am teaching is an example of this.There are many other taster classes too, including Knitting, Romanian, Spanish, IT, Hat Making and Italian. These classes are run by staff, volunteers or students. Allowing the students to run classes is extremely positive and beneficial to all. It allows them to share their knowledge and skills, and also to build their CVs and confidence.
I've found that a major part of the work we do at Crisis is empowering our clients (everyone who accesses our services) with confidence and the motivation to continue. I have quite a few students who volunteer at Crisis and other charities around London. I've see the positive influence this has on their well-being: it means they generally have more motivation to apply themselves to their studies.
We have a members’ Christmas party next week which I’m looking forward to as it’ll be a great opportunity to relax and socialise with the students. We will also sing a song from The Sound of Music which will be a lot of fun.
Jagtar Behal
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