“Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savour their songs.”
Nelson Mandela
Working with partners from across Europe, BRIDGE is funded through the Erasmus+ programme and will help to establish ESOL language clubs across Wandsworth.
The objective of the project is to promote integration, social inclusion and civic participation of long-settled migrants by establishing new language clubs that will provide an informal learning space for participants. Classes will be brought to life through language teachers and volunteers, celebrating different cultures living and working in London.
Wandsworth Council Lifelong Learning (WCLL) is currently working with several community groups to establish the clubs, and is engaging with tutors and volunteers who are interested in working as part of the project to develop this important community-based programme.
The clubs are aimed at migrants and refugees who have very little or no command of their host country languages. BRIDGE’s aims are to improve their language skills to enable them to progress to formal language education and employment. The project is very ambitious and aims at building the capacity of tutors and volunteers to connect with the hardest-to-reach and most vulnerable migrant target groups living in European communities. WCLL is working with partner organisations in Spain, Italy, Romania and Turkey to share best practice.
If you would:
- like to find out more about the project
- be interested in developing a language club or working as a tutor or volunteer
- like to involve your community group in this exciting initiative,
please contact: Phil Michael (Phil.Michael@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk) or Fauzia Ahmad (Fauzia.Ahmad@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk) for further details.
For details of language clubs and ESOL courses in general: https://www.wandsworthlifelonglearning.org.uk/guide/esol/
