What we took away from the Hampshire ESOL conference
- Stephanie Lam
- Jun 6
- 2 min read
At the end of May, we drove through the countryside to the beautiful city of Winchester. We didn't actually see much of it, because we were at the Hampshire ESOL conference all day, but the drive there and back along winding country lanes was worth it.
The best bit: meeting TERM participants in real life
Online courses are great for connecting with far-flung people, but there's nothing like meeting people face to face. The highlight of the day was meeting participants from our TERM courses in the room.
Three participants from our South-East course, which finished in April, were there. It was fab to talk to them and hear what they got from the course. But a real surprise was meeting one of our very first participants, from our inaugural course back in September, who'd travelled all the way from London to be there. We hadn't known she'd be coming. Meeting her in person was fantastic.
Trauma-informed practice and Pre-Entry learners
The conference sessions covered ground we know well, and care about deeply.
There was a session on creating a trauma-informed ESOL classroom, which resonated strongly (it's a core part of the TERM course for good reason), and a discussion on supporting Pre-Entry learners – those with little or no literacy in any language, navigating a classroom for the first time.
Both are areas where good training makes a real difference. Both are areas where many teachers feel underprepared.
If you were in Winchester on the 22nd, it was great to be there with you.
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