Community Project: UEA ESOL Reading Scheme

UEA’s ESOL Reading Scheme sees UEA student ambassadors act as reading partners for students enrolled on ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses at City College Norwich and the Norfolk Virtual School. Organised by Widening Participation Officer Liz Ferguson, the ESOL Reading Scheme has been operating since 2020.

This partnership supports increasing numbers of young asylum seekers who have arrived in the UK without a parent or legal guardian, many of whom are in local authority care in Norfolk. These students often have good levels of spoken English but report frustration with slow progress on reading and writing. UEA student ambassadors visit participating ESOL students weekly for one-to-one reading sessions throughout spring and summer.

Previous evaluation indicates that participating ESOL students displayed improvements in comprehension and pronunciation over the course of the scheme, while UEA student ambassadors reported improvements to their own skills including problem solving and communication.

To find out more about UEA’s ESOL Reading Scheme, please email includingme@uea.ac.uk.