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This is really interesting stuff for an organisation such as Action Language ( www.actionlanguage.org.uk ) , which I manage here in Newcastle upon Tyne. We provide free ESOL classes for over 200 currently registered students, provided by qualified volunteer teachers supported by volunteer classroom assistants. From a starting point 41/2 years ago of 2x2 hour classes per week for whoever turned up (4 students and 5 volunteers on day 1) we have gradually progressed to running 13 classes at 5 levels plus ESOL Numeracy, running Monday to Friday. We've just become registered with OCN and plan to start offering Skills for Life ESOL exam courses in the near future. As you can imagine, we have a large number of volunteers who need supporting, equipping and training; this is done by 3 part time membersof staff (Project Manager, Teacher/Administrator and ESOL Administrator) supported by some admin volunteers and overseen by a steering committee. It's been encouraging to see several of our untrained classroom assistants go on the do professional courses and also to provide an opportunity for newly qualified teachers to 'cut their teeth' in a supportive environment. We've also managed to win a Big Lottery grant which is providing some stability to the project. As well as the free classes we offer IELTS and FCE preparation courses that are fee paying and support the work done in the free classes. I'd be really interested in being involved in an organisation such as NAVTE that supported volunteer teachers and classroom assistants; please keep me posted on this. *********************************** ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds. To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html A quick guide to using Jiscmail lists can be found at: http://jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/quickuser.htm To contact the list owner, send an email to [log in to unmask]