ESOL students (English for Speakers of Other Languages) have held a special Expo event as part of the annual Harrow Expo 2016 celebrations. The event (3rd Nov) was an opportunity for the students, who all originate from outside of the UK, to explore the theme of ‘language and communication’ in society and to showcase their work.
The packed event brought together staff and students from the entire ESOL department along with a number of visitors from within the college and outside. Each of the various ESOL subject classes had spent the past few weeks planning and preparing for today’s event. Each class focussed on one particular area of the language and communication theme.
Childcare students looked at the communication of healthy eating. They displayed nutritional information using colourful posters and leaflets as well as serving some healthy breakfast and lunch food items for guests to sample.
Foundation Entry students researched the history of communication; from ancient Egyptian times to the use of smoke signals and leading up to modern day use of technology. The students also looked at how and when different forms of communication including TV, radio and telephone were invented. Creative displays, posters and videos were used by the students to communicate the research they had done.
Business Entry students looked at business ideas and how they can be advertised. They produced colourful, creative displays to show how social media and other online advertising forms work and why they are so effective. Vocational Studies students used art to create Harrow College emoji’s to do some fund raising for Children in Need. Posters were produced to help sell raffle tickets which raised well over £250 by the end of the day.
Science students expressed their ideas through print and digital media. The groups wrote articles, cartoons and puzzles and took on the role of editors and creative directors to produce two broadsheet newspapers. The finished newspapers and a digital version were proudly displayed with the teams on hand to explain their ideas.
Entry 3 Certificate in Science students showed how Street Art is used as a form of communication to convey thought provoking messages. The students produced a video clip to convert their written text about graffiti into speech. Examples of work from famous graffiti artists such Banksy and El Seed were used to quiz the audience and students even created their own graffiti messages for students at Harrow College.
Other impressive displays were by students on the Young Foundation Entry 1 course who looked at how we use colour to communicate and how different cultures from around the world communicate through dance to celebrate festivals.
Reflecting on the event, Mumtaz Van-Der-Vord, Head of ESOL at Harrow College said "students have really embraced the Expo and should be really proud. Language and communication is at the very heart of our ESOL classes which makes today all the more special. The Expo is an opportunity for students to develop their skills in team-working and communication – key skills that employers are looking for”.
Click here for more on ESOL classes at Harrow College.