ESOL Learner Zuhal Uses English Skills To Volunteer In The Community

I came to England from Turkey in June 2022 as my husband accepted a job at GE in Stafford. I live here with my 5-year old son.

I am a graduate of Psychology, Turkish Language and Literature.

In order to make new friends, you need to have a certain level of English and when I moved to the UK, I knew that I was further behind in English than I thought. The English accent is very difficult and I soon realised I had to start again. Socialising is my motivation and learning the language was important to me.

I had a hard time communicating on a simple level and in everyday life. I struggled to speak fluently with my son's teachers at school and even things like shopping, public transport and having a quick chat with my next door neighbour or someone in the street was difficult and upsetting for me,

The classes are varied and diverse. Thanks to these classes, I have met many people from different parts of the world and I have enjoyed learning about their cultures. I am also very happy that the classes are not sure about boring curriculum information. We learn topics that are quite tricky for me like grammar but my teachers make this fun with games like Kahoot.

Learning general culture specific to England has been useful in my daily life. 

I can understand people I meet better. When I talk to someone, I understand almost everything they say or what they are talking about. I can have simple conversations about different topics, although not very deep. I feel that I can speak to school better and do daily tasks without anyone's help.

I also attend a reading group away from college which has helped a lot.

I am currently working as a volunteer at BEAM in Stafford helping adults with learning disabilities. I have an interest in art therapy and we do simple arts and crafts.I help the person who runs the class and I give ideas about the activities we choose to do. I enjoy supporting the group - this can be physical or sometimes verbal. It's really helped me to grow in confidence.

My tutor actually informed me of the chance to get involved. If my English was the same as when I first arrived, I would never had accepted this volunteer opportunity as I wasn't very confident. When I realised that I could communicate well, I chose to take up the role.

I enjoy helping people to feel good when they create something. This is indescribable for me and even just being an assistant has had a positive impact on me personally.

My priority is to continue my English courses and also volunteer. In the future, I would like to organise and run art therapy workshops so the future is very exciting.

Yes, for sure! My advice would be not to feel worried about making mistakes and chat to different people. Practice, practice, practice!