The “Show and Tell” project, a partnership between Queen’s University Belfast and the Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre, was a socially driven initiative aimed at strengthening non-formal English language education for migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers across Northern Ireland. This roadshow-style project delivered five regional workshops, focussing on individuals and groups involved in voluntary and community-based English teaching.

The workshops were created to address three key social impact goals: sharing effective teaching strategies, exploring challenges in community language education, and identifying practical ways to improve learner experiences. Attended by over 50 participants across Northern Ireland, each two-hour workshop started with a short plenary talk given by a range of practitioners, researchers, and academics: In Newry, Aisling O’Boyle shared insights from a project on initial language education for refugee families. In Dungannon, Bella Robinson reported on her PhD research and professional practice on trauma-informed approaches to language learning. In Belfast, Anne McSorley shared her practices on teaching learners who have no, low, or initial levels of English language proficiency. In the North-West, Claudia Belloni gave an informative presentation on the role of community ESOL and social integration in our Derry/Londonderry Guild Hall.  With a focus on younger learners, Juanna Simpson and Anne-Sophie Cocault shared their practices and activities for teaching with younger language learners in community contexts. 

All the workshops included interactive group discussions and a hands-on opportunity to explore learning materials thanks to ‘Arthur’s suitcase’- a curation of teaching materials and resources from experienced ESOL practitioner, Arthur McKeown.  Networking in a welcoming, accessible, and comfortable local environment was important to the success of the workshops and helped local volunteers in different groups connect with each other.

One workshop participant commented:

“Great networking experience and hear from others / share knowledge. Really important that in NI we do have an ESOL network.”

Anne-Sophie Cocault, "Show and Tell" Speaker said:

“Training opportunities are predominantly reserved to formal education contexts, and volunteers in community organisations are too often left out. Considering how much of the ESOL provision in NI is delivered by volunteers, it is high time they got access to training and recognition for the work they do in the community.”

By providing professional development and community-building opportunities, “Show and Tell” contributes to the ongoing empowerment and inclusion of some of Northern Ireland’s most vulnerable populations. It is an example of education with social purpose, promoting equity, and civic engagement through supportive language learning.