About
Since September 2021, ESOL Café has been run entirely by a team of experienced volunteers.
ESOL Café was started at Chesterton Community College by Sarah Adams in 2013, and it ran successfully until the start of the pandemic. Sarah developed ESOL Café over the years, and added classes depending on learners' requirements. She also arranged many social activities. Sarah was joined by a group of volunteers who helped in the classes so that learners benefitted from smaller groups, and often one-to-one tuition. Many students from around the world have passed through ESOL Café, some staying several years, others just a term, and we have enjoyed meeting them all.
Unfortunately Covid put an end to all the classes in March 2020, and it also coincided with Sarah deciding to move away from the area and focus more on her online teaching. At that point, it seemed ESOL Café had come to an end. However, once lockdown started easing, many of the former volunteers said that they would like to see ESOL Café start up again in some form, and in September 2021 ESOL Café resumed in a new venue - St Laurence's Church, Milton Road, Cambridge . It is a perfect venue for us with a large well-ventilated meeting room opening out onto a garden area with 3 double doors. We held 7 sessions during October and November 2021, then we stopped again when covid infections rose. Before Easter 2022 we met for coffee for a few weeks outside at The Locker Cafe in town. Now we are back at St Laurence's Church, and have a programme running on Tuesday mornings from 10-12. ESOL Cafe is now run entirely by volunteers - we manage all the administration and programme, and take it in turn to lead a session. It has been encouraging that the sessions have been well attended, with lots of conversation with the learners, creating a great atmosphere in the room.
The volunteers are grateful to Sarah for her help and advice in continuing with ESOL Café, including her generous donation of many resources and materials.
ESOL Café was started at Chesterton Community College by Sarah Adams in 2013, and it ran successfully until the start of the pandemic. Sarah developed ESOL Café over the years, and added classes depending on learners' requirements. She also arranged many social activities. Sarah was joined by a group of volunteers who helped in the classes so that learners benefitted from smaller groups, and often one-to-one tuition. Many students from around the world have passed through ESOL Café, some staying several years, others just a term, and we have enjoyed meeting them all.
Unfortunately Covid put an end to all the classes in March 2020, and it also coincided with Sarah deciding to move away from the area and focus more on her online teaching. At that point, it seemed ESOL Café had come to an end. However, once lockdown started easing, many of the former volunteers said that they would like to see ESOL Café start up again in some form, and in September 2021 ESOL Café resumed in a new venue - St Laurence's Church, Milton Road, Cambridge . It is a perfect venue for us with a large well-ventilated meeting room opening out onto a garden area with 3 double doors. We held 7 sessions during October and November 2021, then we stopped again when covid infections rose. Before Easter 2022 we met for coffee for a few weeks outside at The Locker Cafe in town. Now we are back at St Laurence's Church, and have a programme running on Tuesday mornings from 10-12. ESOL Cafe is now run entirely by volunteers - we manage all the administration and programme, and take it in turn to lead a session. It has been encouraging that the sessions have been well attended, with lots of conversation with the learners, creating a great atmosphere in the room.
The volunteers are grateful to Sarah for her help and advice in continuing with ESOL Café, including her generous donation of many resources and materials.
