Lincoln City Foundation’s Conversation Club has helped Ukrainian citizen, Maryna Balamut, settle into the local community.
Balamut arrived in Lincoln nearly eight months ago to escape the war in her home country and has said the regular programme run at the LNER Stadium has provided the perfect place to help her integrate into the city.
She said: “I have been doing the classes for around five or six months now and I think my English has improved a lot in that time.
“I never studied the language in school back home and so coming to these classes was the first time I ever spoke the language. It was difficult at first because I didn’t understand people, and now I know a little bit, but for just six months of learning I think this is not too bad!”
Having studied history as a student in Ukraine, Maryna said she has enjoyed her time in Lincoln and through the conversation club, has met new friends within the community.
She added: “Lincoln is a very beautiful City. I really like history, I studied it back home, and so the country is very interesting to me. It has a very long history with lots of famous people and places.
“I have also met lots of very kind people in these classes and made new friends through it. I now know people from different countries like China and Turkey which is very interesting for me.”