‘Show and Tell’ is a roadshow project facilitated by Queen’s University Belfast and the Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre. Colleagues from our Centre for Language Education Research are delivering five regional training and development workshops across Northern Ireland throughout March and April, designed specifically for groups who provide non-formal English classes to migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers within community and voluntary sectors across the region.

The ‘Show and Tell’ workshops aim to: share successful approaches to non-formal language education in community contexts; discuss challenges encountered in non-formal language education in community contexts; and identify practical ways to enhance experiences of non-formal language education in community contexts. Registration for the workshops is available here.

Each workshop lasts two hours, incorporating plenary talks with experienced practitioners and interactive group discussions to build knowledge of practices and resources. After all the sessions have been completed, a summary report will be made available on the Centre for Language Education research website, to share the learning gained through the workshops, signposting and networks.

The community and voluntary sectors in Northern Ireland have long provided non-formal and informal language classes to meet the socially embedded communicative needs of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers. Yet opportunities for community groups to experience training, receive support and share good practices within their local areas are scant. Through these regional workshops our Centre for Language Education Research colleagues support and sustain non-formal language education initiatives in community contexts, which continue to empower some of the most vulnerable in our communities.