Volunteering in Bradford

Shahida Hamid is a volunteer from Bradford, West Yorkshire. She told us about her involvement with the Talk English Project: “I wanted to acquire experience in ESOL teaching to see if this is something I might be able to do in the long run and possibly as a career. I used to work in managerial […]

Shahida Hamid is a volunteer from Bradford, West Yorkshire. She told us about her involvement with the Talk English Project:

“I wanted to acquire experience in ESOL teaching to see if this is something I might be able to do in the long run and possibly as a career. I used to work in managerial capacity at a local community centre. I attended a five week teacher training at Shipley College. I have been volunteering with Talk English for 7 months now and I have come across some amazing people whom I would have never met if I did not teach ESOL. I get a chance to engage with people from different parts of the world and from all walks of life. I have also made some wonderful acquaintances with other volunteering teachers.

When I started volunteering, it was very daunting, because I was not sure what kind of learners I would be assigned and how to overcome the challenge of communicating with the learners who have little or no English! I have gained vital experience in teaching and the challenges that come with teaching such basic levels. I think ESOL is very difficult to teach and not everyone can handle the pressure, because it is so different from normal teaching. You have to be very patient to work with the learners at their individual abilities, then gradually increase the level of difficulty while monitoring their progress.

My biggest achievement has been seeing the transformation in my learners and watch them communicate in English. When I started this journey 7 months ago, some of the learners did not have basic knowledge of how to put a sentence together and today they are able to communicate with me and tell me how their week was. The project has been so rewarding for myself, I have met outstanding people, gained valuable knowledge in teaching. I would like to become a teacher at a college or do outreach community teaching.”