Moving house can be a stressful experience for anyone and relocating comes with additional challenges of navigating a brand-new area and starting from scratch. Doing all of that in another country and another language, is almost unimaginable. Yet it is these exact challenges that refugees face when arriving in the UK.
Currently supporting more than 1200 refugees to learn English, Newcastle College recognised the need for extra resource to help them navigate the challenges of starting a new life in the UK. Now, as part of a wider project to support refugees in its local community, it has introduced dedicated support for this very reason.
Our Community is Your Community Project Coordinator, Shivan Mirzer, explained: “Our teaching staff want to help their learners with personal problems, but don’t always have the time to dedicate to this support. So, as part of the “Our Community is Your Community” project, we have appointed two new ESOL advisors to help with just that. Their sole aim is to support our ESOL learners to settle into their new lives in Newcastle.”
Emily Varley and Mohammed Mahali (pictured, above) have been in their positions for a few weeks now and are starting to see the difference their roles are making to their learners.
Emily said: “I lived in China as part of my Chinese Studies course, and I would have loved having support like this. The culture shock was massive, and I could have really done with someone just talking me through some of it, but there was nothing like this out there.”
Mohammed came to the UK as a refugee in 2019. He explains: “When I first arrived here, I went straight to school, but I really struggled because of the language, so I went to college to focus on that. I really wish there had been a role like this there because I felt so isolated at times.”
“I see my main role as advocate. I’m sticking up for these students, being their voice when they can’t quite find their own. I also speak Arabic and Turkish so if any of our learners need help with translating letters they’ve had from the council for instance, I can do that.”
One student who has benefitted from the support that Emily and Mohammed can offer is Abdulbagi Bashir. He said: “I had been trying to explain a problem I’d been having with my flatmate to my teacher, but because of the language barrier I couldn’t convey my feelings. I talked to Mo and he helped me as an interpreter. I really appreciated him stepping in and getting me out of that situation.”