The Reflect for ESOL Resource Pack is a set of materials intended for anyone teaching or working with refugees, asylum seekers, or long-term immigrant groups in the UK.
These materials aim to enable learners to gain English language skills alongside other skills in an empowering participatory process. By linking language learning to the analysis of broader issues in learners’ lives, Reflect can help break down the walls of the classroom, helping participants to develop and strengthen their language skills through practical use.
About the pack
The pack has three sections: Section One provides an overview of Reflect; Section Two is made up of a series of themed sheets for use in the classroom; Section Three contains a selection of the participatory tools used in Reflect, including graphics such as the Tree, Matrix and River. The materials can be used to develop a specific scheme of work based on the Reflect approach, or dipped into to supplement an existing ESOL course. The tools and themes described can be adapted for use at any stage in the learning process.
Background
Reflect is an innovative approach to adult learning and social change, which fuses the theories of Paulo Freire with participatory methodologies. Originally developed through pilot projects in Bangladesh, Uganda and El Salvador, Reflect is now used in over 500 organisations in around 70 countries worldwide.
Awarded the UN International Literacy Prize in 2003 and 2005 for the way in which it has revolutionised adult learning, the approach challenges teacher or text-driven work, placing learners at the centre of their own process.
Discussion and language learning are based on rich visual materials developed by the practitioners themselves and related to their own immediate experiences. Learners analyse issues that impact them, and through this process, consider actions they can take to bring about change. Thus the systematic learning of communication skills is linked to an individual and group process of empowerment and action.
The materials were developed by the ActionAid International Education Team. ActionAid International works with poor and excluded people to eradicate poverty.
