What sets REP’s ‘Conversation Clubs’ apart from a typical college ESOL class?

The Refugee Employability Programme (REP) Yorkshire and the Humber deliver non-accredited ESOL support, now known as ‘Conversation Clubs’, taught online and in person by our dedicated ESOL tutors. 

Recently, we decided to take a new approach to our sessions, with a vision to increase attendee numbers. Our sessions are non-accredited; therefore, we can be flexible and adapt them to fit service users' needs and learning style, making them more engaging and tailored to compliment what they may already be learning. The sessions now focus on two main areas, employability and communication, with a third, integration, to be introduced very soon. 
Furthermore, we also recently implemented our female only Conversation Clubs, giving female service users a chance to practice comfortably with attendees who have similar backgrounds and experiences.  

Of the sessions, service users have commented on how different they are to college classes, with many mentioning that there is more talking in our sessions, in comparison to the college ESOL sessions, which helps them to learn quicker. The number of service users attending has doubled since the re-brand 3 months ago, with numbers steadily continuing to increase. 
We spoke to one attendee, Gulan, who has grown massively in confidence since attending our Rotherham Conversation Clubs. When asked what she first thought about the conversation clubs, Gulan said:

 “At first, I thought class would be difficult, but now I am attending I think it’s very good, I am learning more about new words and rules”.  

When she started attending the sessions, Gulan described herself as shy, but after attending the sessions and with regular practice, her English speaking has massively improved. She explains:  

'‘I can use it outside, for example, when I go shopping, my children’s school. I learn words that can help with my children’s homework too”.  

When asked if the programme exceeded her expectations, Gulan quoted: 

“Yes, it gives me more help. They are different from college ESOL because I learn how to talk to people, there is lots of time to talk in the sessions and it helps you learn about different topics”.  

Finally, when asked if she would recommend the sessions to other refugees, Gulan said:

“Yes, because it’s learning more practical English. I can use this English everywhere I go!” 

We also spoke to Saeed, a service user who came to the UK in 2021. Originally from Eritrea, Saeed was granted refugee status in 2023. Saeed worked as a farmer in his home country, however, hopes to one day do a plumbing course at his local college once his English has improved. 

He currently attends our Doncaster Conversation Clubs and told us of how helpful the sessions have been in improving his confidence in speaking English in public, as well as his vocabulary. When asked what he enjoyed most about the Conversation Clubs, Saeed said: 

“I like how the focus is a lot of conversation. In college, we don’t get the opportunity to practice the English learned, this class provides us with a space to practice speaking with other ESOL learners.  

“This has improved my confidence a lot, and I feel much better when speaking to people outside.” 

Saeed goes on to talk what specific session topics he finds useful: 

“There are two types of content I really like. Firstly, the general topics which we can have conversations about, such as daily routines, booking appointments etc. 

“Secondly, I like how I get to learn about the rules, laws and culture of the UK, which is very useful as well as very interesting.” 

Finally, Saeed recommended the ESOL class to his friend who was not already on the programme. His friend attended along with Saeed and really enjoyed it; shortly after he signed himself up to the programme.  

Our programme has successfully re-invented our non-accredited ESOL Support into engaging and practical ‘Conversation Clubs’. This new approach has significantly enhanced engagement by addressing the specific needs of our service users and tailoring sessions to their needs. The positive feedback from service users such as Gulan and Saeed highlights the sessions’ effectiveness in boosting confidence in practical English skills. 

For more information about our conversation clubs, you can visit our website.