ESOL students develop literacy skills with reading challenge

Level 1 ESOL students at Burton and South Derbyshire College (BSDC) have been busy completing the Reading Ahead Challenge as part of their City and Guilds ESOL course.

Each week the learners have been coming to the College’s Learning Resource Centre to select a range of items to read, from fiction to non-fiction, articles, blogs and poems, with the aim of improving their literacy skills.

ESOL student, Anna Tynkiewicz commented: “This is a perfect way to get to read more and improve my English.”  Fellow student, Mariana Ciubotaru said: “I really enjoyed this challenge. Every week I chose different kinds of books such as fiction, novels, biographies, articles and travel books. We socialised with each other and shared our ideas and thoughts about the books we read.”

ESOL courses are designed for speakers of other languages wishing to develop or improve their English skills, whether it’s for everyday life, to enhance their CV or to apply to become a British citizen.

Baljinder Bains, Librarian Team Leader said:

“It has been fantastic to see how the learners have engaged with the programme this year and gained confidence in their reading skills and discovered more about improving their wellbeing through reading, which is a theme we are exploring in more detail in a new Outstanding Teaching, Learning and Assessment project.”

Lily Staunton Howe, Programme Manager: Adult Reading at The Reading Agency added:

“A huge congratulations from the whole team at The Reading Agency to everyone at Burton and South Derbyshire College who took part in Reading Ahead this year! I hope the challenge has inspired you all to find the joy in reading and that you continue to benefit from this vital and rewarding skill.”