English in the Community is now taking place in The CastleGate which is on Melbourne Street. You can click on the following link to find out exactly where it is (http://www.thecastlegate.co.uk/contact.html). We are still meeting every Wednesday outside the Students Union at 12.40pm tol walk there together. Those who live closer to the place or come from somewhere else can meet us there at 12.55.

The new classes consist in helping learners struggling with their reading, speaking and writing skills on a one to one basis. Many of these people are asylum seekers from Middle East countries whose lack of English skills makes it harder for them to adapt to their new life in Newcastle.

The classes last from 1 to 3 pm, with a ten minute break in between during which volunteers will be able to get to know the learners better.

The classes in Castlegate are a lot of fun. We usually get around 16 learners, all from different kinds of background so it is very interesting to get to know them. We split up the class in a few groups according to their different needs. Last week, one of the volunteers worked with two learners that needed to improve their reading and writing skills. I worked with two people from Sudan who needed to improve their grammar and one of the volunteers who is qualified as a teacher showed me how to help them.

This project is being a very rewarding experience; the learners are really motivated and thus eager to learn and this is why we can really see a progress in their learning. We have a small break in between and we talk to most of them, they are all very nice and they have really interesting stories to tell. All the volunteers really feel they have developed some skills in order to explain things more clearly, to repeat things in different ways etc. At the end of each session the volunteers keep asking us if we are going to be back next Wednesday.