Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Last year A Fresh Start, the report of the working group on adult basic skills chaired by Sir Claus Moser, recommended that further work should be undertaken on the needs of adults who do not speak English as their first language. A group of experts and practitioners in the area of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) was set up. This report is the result of their work.

The report addresses the needs of adults who, because it is not their first language, need to develop skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing in English. It is estimated that there are between a half and one million such adults. They are not a homogeneous or static group but a diverse and dynamic one which encompasses both long settled minority ethnic communities and groups of refugees who have arrived in this country more recently.

Potential learners range from those who may lack basic literacy and numeracy skills in their first language to those with a high level of education and qualifications in their home country, and from those who are not keen to re-enter formal education to those who are highly motivated to learn.

In all cases, their principal need is to improve their command of English. All the evidence suggests that lack of fluency in English is a very significant factor in poverty and under-achievement in many minority ethnic communities, and a major barrier to employment and workplace opportunities and further and higher education.

Current provision for this group of learners has many of the same limitations as provision for basic skills. It is of mixed quality and often not easily accessible. So many of the recommendations in A Fresh Start apply equally to ESOL provision and the general thrust of the Government's strategy on adult basic skills is appropriate to this group too.

Specifically ESOL learners, in common with other basic skills learners, require:

  • a clear framework of standards;

  • a national curriculum framework which identifies the skills to be learnt;

  • sound assessment, with qualifications mapped against nationally agreed standards;

  • high quality teaching, with teacher training programmes which recognise the specific requirements of ESOL learners;

  • a range of learning opportunities including family programmes, multimedia, open and distance learning programmes;

  • provision integrated with other programmes of learning and vocational training.

But ESOL provision and assessment must also take account of:

  • the personal circumstances, educational backgrounds and specific needs of minority ethnic groups and refugees;

  • the paramount importance for ESOL learners of mastering oracy (listening and speaking) to communicate in everyday life, in addition to literacy (reading and writing) skills;

  • the needs of ESOL learners who are already highly literate and numerate in their own language;

  • the fact that in any group of ESOL learners, each individual may have very different levels of skills in the different areas of literacy, oracy (and numeracy).

It is essential that the specific needs of this group of learners are not sidelined or seen as secondary to the needs of adults with poor basic skills. The issues identified in this report should be taken forward by the new Adult Basic Skills Strategy Unit being set up in DfEE.

One of the first tasks will be to establish clearly the numbers of people nationally who might benefit from ESOL provision. This is essential to inform the work of the new Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

While recognising the hard work and dedication of ESOL teachers (and volunteers) we also believe it is important that everyone involved in teaching ESOL learners should be properly trained and qualified. They should also be offered a clear career pathway based on national standards.

We advocate specialist training in teaching ESOL both for those teaching ESOL as a discrete subject and for those who need to offer language support in other academic and vocational areas. Mainstream basic skills teachers should also be offered the opportunity to acquire ESOL teaching skills to support their current work in basic skills or their future career development.

The new funding and organisation arrangements for post-16 and adult provision offer an excellent opportunity for improved co-ordination and strengthening of ESOL provision. The Learning and Skills Council will be legally required to report on its progress on equal opportunities for gender, race and disability. Our Working Group wants to see the Learning and Skills Council set clear targets for ESOL provision both nationally and locally and provide an adequate, coherent and flexible funding regime which will permit it to meet those targets. The Adult Learning Inspectorate will need a coherent inspection process for ESOL to provide a sound basis for improving quality standards in the provision on offer.

What happens next? The Adult Basic Skills Strategy Unit will be up and running later this year when a new strategy for adult basic skills will be announced. This Group sees it as crucial to ensure that the needs of learners of ESOL are taken forward as part of that strategy through partnership working by all the key national organisations including professional ESOL bodies, the Basic Skills Agency (BSA), NIACE (the National Organisation for Adult Learning), the Further Education Development Agency (FEDA) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

The aim must be to give ESOL education and training programmes and their teachers the recognition and support they need. Only in this way can we give ESOL learners the economic and social return on their investment in education from which we will all benefit.

In this context, the Working Group makes the following recommendations:

Recommendation 1:

All developments in the national adult basic skills strategy must address ESOL needs alongside but distinct from basic literacy and numeracy and this should be a specific responsibility of the Adult Basic Skills Strategy Unit.

Recommendation 2:

The research planned for 2001 to establish both national and local baselines for literacy and numeracy should establish equivalent baselines for ESOL needs, including language support.

Recommendation 3:

The Learning and Skills Council should:

    a) set clear participation and achievement targets for ESOL nationally and locally in order to drive up the quality and effectiveness of provision; and

    b) provide an adequate, coherent and flexible funding regime for ESOL provision which will permit it to meet those targets working with employers and education and training providers.

Recommendation 4:

The DfEE/LSC should look to an expansion of ESOL provision through colleges, Local Education Authorities and the voluntary and community sector - focusing on those areas with especially high demand or with specific refugee issues.

Recommendation 5:

The DfEE should commission the production and distribution of an information and support materials pack for the tutors and support workers of organisations providing ESOL to refugees.

Recommendation 6: Standards

    a) The national standards for basic literacy should encompass ESOL standards up to Level 2 but there must be a distinct ESOL curriculum framework;

    b) The review of the national basic skills standards framework planned for 2003/4 should consider the specific factors relevant to ESOL and involve consultation with experienced ESOL practitioners.

Recommendation 7: Curriculum

There should be an independent evaluation of the ESOL curriculum in practice to link in with the proposed review of the national basic skills standards framework in 2003/4

Recommendation 8: Qualifications

ESOL (and EFL) qualifications should be mapped against the national standards. These qualifications should allow flexibility in delivery, assessment and outcomes and should assess each of the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) separately.

Recommendation 9: Teacher Training

    a) DfEE should commission FENTO (the Further Education National Training Organisation), together with ESOL specialists and other relevant organisations, to develop teaching standards and an initial training and qualifications framework for new entrants to ESOL teaching;

    b) Within the 'generic' training for all teachers, there should be a recognition that teaching should be inclusive; awareness of the needs of bilingual students, including the ability to work with students receiving language support, should be included;

    c) The links between diploma level and masters courses should be explored, so that Accreditation of Prior Experience and Learning (APEL) can be given on masters courses for relevant qualifications and/or experience at masters level;

    d) DfEE should commission the development and delivery of a program of intensive training and support materials for ESOL teachers, based on the new curriculum. This training to be delivered to all ESOL teachers who work more than 6 hours per week by the end of 2001.

    e) By 2005 all teachers on ESOL courses funded by the LSC should be appropriately trained and qualified

Recommendation 10: Inspection

Inspection arrangement being developed for the new Learning and Skills Council (LSC) should ensure that there is a coherent and consistent inspection process for ESOL provision and that inspectors have specific ESOL experience.

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