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Hello all Coming soon to Leeds - MESH! Here in Leeds we have realised that while there are lots of highly committed people and organisations involved in the provision of English language classes for adult migrants, the insecurity over funding means that ESOL classes come and go, and the sector is fragmented and uncoordinated. Migrant English Support Hub (MESH) will provide an online 'one stop shop' for adult migrants and advisers to find up-to-date information about all ESOL classes in Leeds. You can read about the MESH project here, on the Doing Good Leeds website: http://doinggoodleeds.org.uk/news/ The project is a key outcome of research in Leeds which examined ESOL need and how it is met (or not), the Harehills ESOL Needs Neighbourhood Audit (HENNA) project, which you can read about here: http://www.education.leeds.ac.uk/research/projects/henna-project In that earlier work we concluded that: * The general picture is one of fragmented ESOL provision locally and city-wide which is in urgent need of coordination. * The erosion of the cohesive framework afforded by Skills for Life is likely to lead to a return to the fragmented picture of ESOL provision of previous times. * The pattern of multiple funders and combinations of providers and centres is likely to remain characteristic of ESOL under the post-2010 funding regime. * The complexity of provision and funding raises questions of continuity, coherence and quality of tuition for the benefit of students. For successful sustained learning, progression and progression routes need to be meaningful, clear and coordinated. However, lack of continued and stable funding streams disrupts progression routes both between ESOL courses of different levels, and from ESOL into training and work. Our recommendations noted that the diversity of provision and funding points to the desirability of a dynamic city-wide directory of ESOL provision. This has led to the development of MESH. We will keep you posted ... James Dr James Simpson Senior Lecturer (Language Education) School of Education University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT T: +44 (0)113 343 4687 E: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> W: www.education.leeds.ac.uk/people/staff/academic/simpson<http://www.education.leeds.ac.uk/people/staff/academic/simpson> *********************************** 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 To contact the list owner, send an email to [log in to unmask]