Lincoln City Foundation prides itself with working within our local community across a number of different initiatives and projects. Our local area is such a diverse and vibrant city, especially around Sincil Bank, so we want to continue to support the local people and our Conversation Club does exactly that.
In recognition that people from so many different countries come over to Lincoln and settle here with their families, Conversation Club is a free tool for local people to access if English is their second language. Language can be a very limiting barrier. In Sincil Bank it was identified that people lacking in English ability find it hard to integrate into local communities. People can feel very isolated if they cannot understand the people they live next door to, or if it prevents them from working and socialising in the community. Conversation Club is a free service we offer to try and help those who struggle with their English so they can ultimately feel more settled here and less isolated.
There has been a wide variety of people benefitting from the classes, including people from: Bulgaria, Mexico, China, Poland and Italy to mention a few. Being able to speak and understand English has given people a new lease of life. We have seen a great increase in those people getting involved with events and activities in the Sincil Bank area and we have had some fantastic stories from people who have changed their lives since attending our classes. One of those live's was that of Quenia.
Quenia’s Story
Quenia had moved to Lincoln from Brazil and had joined our English classes after settling in the city. Initially Quenia was shy and quiet, she was quite reluctant to join in openly with conversations unless asked to contribute. Whilst her knowledge of the English language was good, her confidence in speaking with others was low. Over the weeks Quenia’s belief in her communication skills has increased and she made friends with other people in the class. Quenia’s first important step was to gain a voluntary role in a local Charity shop where she could practice speaking with customers. Quenia had been attending classes for 9 months and after building up her confidence in English had been successfully accepted for a role as a Care Assistant. This was especially pleasing given that Quenia’s employment in her native country was within the nursing profession. With the help of Conversation Club, Quenia had gone from being reluctant to join in with conversations in English to continuing her career in England.
Our Conversation Club is a vital tool to so many people that want to make Lincoln their new home and that is why we want to make it as accessible as possible. As a result of the pandemic, we have all learnt to be more flexible with the way we approach delivering sessions and Conversation Club is no different, which is why we offer both in person and online sessions throughout the week. Not only this, our Conversation Clubs are also funded by the National Lottery so are completely free to attend!
You can sign up to our classes here.
"As new immigrants, we cherish very much the chance to learn English conversational skills, which help us communicate fluently and effectively in our daily life: seeking medical consultation, banking services, legal advice, job interviews, emergency situation and so forth.
We are very much grateful for the effort of our English teachers who tutor us patiently and attentively. We wish to extend our tribute to them for their instructions and encouragement for us to speak English without fear.”
John Law
English in the community participant