BBC Essex
Listen as Project Coordinator, Susannah Owen, talks about English for Women as part of a wider discussion on BBC Essex about support for refugees (EfW segment begins at 3’22)
Happy 5th Birthday English for Women!
The smile that brought women together to support each other out of isolation took place in Autumn 2015. To celebrate, we have launched a birthday fundraising appeal which will run throughout 2021. Can you give £5, just £1 for each year English for Women has provided amazing support to women in the community?
BBC Look East
BBC Look East visited English for Women on 31st January 2019 following the thank you to our volunteers from Vicky Ford MP and Anne Milton MP in the House of Commons on 18th December 2018.
Watch the BBC Look East clip below!
EfW Updates
July 2021
The EfW picnic has become a tradition to mark the end of the summer term and, this year, we felt incredibly fortunate that the tradition was able to continue. The picnic is a wonderful event where we get together to socialise in a relaxed environment filled with laughter, conversation, and good food. While we may not have been able to share food this year, the laughter and conversation was still very much in evidence! Not only was it lovely to see everyone who was able to attend, it was also a great opportunity to welcome some of our new learners and volunteers who will be joining us next term. In the lead up to the end of term, we also managed to hold four face-to-face sessions, two for English for Women and two for English...
June 2021
Exciting news ! It's been a long time coming but finally, after more than a year of online sessions, it looks as though we might be able to get the EfW community together again in person! We have planned for two EfW sessions to take place outside, in Chelmsford, on Thursday 1st and Thursday 8th of July. Due to the current restrictions, we have very limited places so if you are interested, please contact us as soon as possible at: admin@englishforwomen.org In your email, please state whether you would like a place on: Thursday 1st July or Thursday 8th July Places are limited to 18 learners for each session so please get in touch as soon as you can if...
May 2021
We covered a range of topics in both the Beginner-Intermediate group and the Main Sessions this month. These included: Directions, Time, Local and Community History, Vegetarian Recipes, Shopping, Family and Childhood. Before every session, we send out a resource containing suggested talking points to encourage conversation, but there is no right or wrong in an EfW session, and it is always fascinating to see where the discussions lead. During the Beginner-Intermediate session on Directions, we learned some key words such as: Opposite, Facing, Between, Continue, Right and Left; and used a map and role-play to practise using the words in context. It was agreed that retaining the given information can be challenging and we...
April 2021
It’s been another busy and hugely positive month at EfW, with plenty of long-awaited haircuts visible during our online sessions! Topics this month have been as varied as ever. The sad passing of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, seemed an appropriate time to talk about 'Royalty' (both the British royal family and royalty in other countries), and we were amazed at some of the conversations during the session, with people sharing anecdotes about seeing or meeting members of royal families during tours or working events. The Beginner-Intermediate group did a superb job of learning some rather tricky vocabulary and practised useful phrases to use when offering condolences to someone who has lost a loved one. The topic led on to...
March 2021
This month marked the anniversary of the first UK lockdown. While it has been a difficult twelve months for many reasons, we were delighted to hear many positive comments and memories during our session on ‘The year that was…’ as volunteers and learners spoke of taking the time to be kinder to themselves, to reflect, to learn, and to practise new skills. We started the month with a ‘spring in our step’! With gardens and local parks regaining their colour and evenings staying lighter for longer, there was definite cause for optimism during our session on ‘Spring’. In addition to hearing about aspects of the season which the EfW community love so much, it was also an opportunity to talk about the various ways we use the word...
February 2021
We kicked off the month by sharing stories and storytelling traditions from around the world. As we recalled tales from our childhoods, many of us were able to remember vibrant storytellers from our respective pasts, be it a teacher, a parent, a grandparent or friend. Universally, stories help us to understand the world in which we live by helping us to share observations, experiences and emotions, and the session leant itself well to discussion about various words and meanings, and ended with a beautiful description of the word ‘Imagination’ from one learner who referred to it as ‘The Magic in your Mind’. The Beginner-Intermediate group continue to look at new vocabulary which can feed into the main sessions. Chicken...
January 2021
2021 may have begun with us all experiencing less freedom than we would have liked, but it hasn’t stopped English for Women from kicking off the new term with plenty of conversation and laughter! In March last year, EfW Chelmsford was continuing to thrive, the Harwich and English for All sites were established and EfW Goodmayes had just opened. Little did we know that by the end of the month, we would be forced to close our face-to-face sessions and come up with a plan to keep the project going. As always, we are consistently inspired by the flexibility and resilience of our wonderful army of volunteers who have, yet again, stepped up to demonstrate just how committed they are to the project, and with a turnaround of just two...
November 2020
Happy 5th Birthday English for Women! The smile that brought women together to support each other out of isolation took place in Autumn 2015. To celebrate we have launched our birthday fundraising appeal. Can you give £5, just £1 for each year English for Women has provided amazing support to women in the community?