English Unlocked

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Tell us about your organisation: If you can’t speak the other person’s language, the least you can do is unlock your English. English Unlocked is here to help you avoid being just a wall of noise when you’re speaking to a client or colleague who speaks English less well than you do. We help organisations to engage better with people who are learning English as a Foreign Language by helping them to write better content, or by training them to modify their speech when their conversation partner isn't a native English speaker. We also train people to work more effectively with interpreters and how to use Google Translate in the workplace.

 

Tell us why being a Haref Ally is important for you and your organisation

HAREF will always have my gratitude and support because Vicki Harris was the first person to give my training idea a chance. I was teacher with a long career teaching English as a Foreign Language. My students were always telling me that they could understand me much more easily than they could understand other British people, and I wanted to share my communication style with others.   It was such an unusual idea that it took me a while to persuade anyone of its merits, and Vicki was the first to recognise how helpful the training could be and give it a chance. That was in 2018 and these days HAREF is a great way for me to connect with organisations that might benefit and spread the word about what we do.  

 

Tell us about anything that you or your organisation has done to improve how you work with ethnically minoritised communities

Here are some examples of how English Unlocked has helped local organisations. We helped InformationNOW to rewrite their information page for asylum seekers and refugees, so that it was clearer for readers who speak English as a foreign language. We helped hundreds of volunteers and paid staff to ‘unlock their English’ when they’re with clients who grew up speaking another language. For example NuTH, Riverside Community Health Project, CAB Northumberland and Tyneside Welcome.We have run training for local GPs, social workers, educational psychologists and mental health workers on how to work with interpreters. Our clients learn which ‘red flags’ to look out for when working with interpreters, and how to make accurate interpretation more likely. Occasionally I offer free training opportunities hosted by HAREF, the next one will be our latest workshop entitled ‘How to support colleagues whose first language isn't English.’

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