This book addresses the politically charged issue of citizenship and English language learning among adult migrants in the UK. Whilst citizenship learning is inherent in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), the book argues that top-down approaches and externally-designed curricula are not a productive or useful approach. Meaningful citizenship education in adult ESOL is possible, however, if it brings social and political content centre-stage alongside pedagogy which develops the capabilities for active, grassroots, participatory citizenship. The chapters deliver a detailed examination of citizenship and ESOL in the UK. They address a range of community and college-based settings and the needs and circumstances of different groups of ESOL students, including refugees, migrant mothers, job seekers and students with mental health needs. The book draws attention to the crucial role of ESOL teachers as ‘brokers of citizenship’ mediating between national policy and the experiences and needs of adult migrant students. The book links together language pedagogy and citizenship theory with the practical concerns of ESOL teachers and students.
Melanie Cooke is currently Lecturer in ESOL Education at King’s College, London. Her books include Brokering Britain, Educating Citizens: exploring ESOL and Citizenship (2019, with Rob Peutrell), The Routledge Handbook of Language and Superdiversity (2018, section editor with James Simpson) and ESOL: A Critical Guide (2008, with James Simpson). She has published in TESOL Quarterly, Language and Education, Linguistics and Education, Language Assessment Quarterly, Journal of Language, Identity and Education and Gender and Language. She was a co-organiser of the ESRC seminar series 'Queering ESOL' (with John Gray and Mike Baynham) and has collaborated with Dermot Bryers and Becky Winstanley on several participatory ESOL projects, the most recent being the Leverhulme funded ‘Our Languages’.
Rob Peutrell is an ESOL lecturer at Nottingham College, Nottingham, UK. He has taught both EFL and ESOL, and worked as a learning support lecturer.