By Chris Ashmore

MORE than 1,500 people in Donegal are registered on special courses to assist them in learning the English language.

The figures were revealed at this week’s meeting of the Donegal Education and Training Board (ETB).

English classes for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) are administered through Donegal ETB and are held in locations all around the county.

Such is the demand that there are waiting lists to start courses in some areas.

According to the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA), migrants and new community members in Ireland come from a wide range of cultural, linguistic, educational and social backgrounds.

It points out that many of those doing the courses are highly educated with professional and skilled backgrounds and are attending
classes to learn English or improve their English.

However, there are also a significant number of learners who are learning English who may have missed out on formal education in their country of origin and who lack the basic literacy skills to participate fully and benefit from ‘standard’ English language classes. ESOL language courses focus on English language development for students who do not have literacy difficulties in their native
language.

Many ESOL language learners may be familiar with the Roman script, that is, the alphabet we
use in English.

Other ESOL language learners may be familiar with writing systems such as Chinese, or a non-Roman alphabet such as Arabic or Cyrillic, but have limited knowledge of the Roman script and the conventions of written English.

While the majority of ESOL language learners do struggle with the fact that English is not phonetically regular, that is, it does not have a one-to-one sound letter pattern, this does not mean they have literacy difficulties.

Meanwhile, the NALA also highlights the need to distinguish between ESOL language and ESOL literacy courses.

The latter are for students who are new to English and refer to teaching and learning that focuses on both language and literacy development in English for students who have literacy difficulties in their mother tongue to an extent that creates significant, additional challenges for the
learning of English as a second language.

Generally, these learners have low levels of literacy in their native language (in some cases, they may be new to reading and writing).

Many of these learners can be new to the English language and require additional support to acquire the literacy skills essential to the acquisition of English in order to actively participate in the workplace and wider society.

If learners are unable to read or write in their own language, they may experience significant difficulties in acquiring reading and writing skills in English.

More information on ESOL courses is available on the Donegal ETB website.

Currently, registrations for English classes for speakers of other languages are being taken for Gortahork, Buncrana, Stranorlar and Donegal Town.