Teaching a Specialist Subject

Wider Professional Practice

Assignment 1

How Recent Changes to

UK Immigration Legislation

Affect ESOL Provision

in the Further Education Sector

(Level 6)

BryAnne Conley

7 January 2011

Introduction

In recent years the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) sector has been dramatically affected by top-level UK immigration legislation. Immigration changes emanating from the Home Office, as well as corresponding funding changes for ESOL through Skills for Life, have significantly impacted public-sector Further Education (FE) teaching of ESOL.

This essay will outline the recent history of national legislative changes affecting English-language teaching and identify the current operating policy and include a description of my education sector and learners. Following this description will be a detailed analysis of how the policy has been implemented in the public FE sector and especially within my own organisation. The analysis will begin by examining funding issues that affect the implementation, followed by a point-by-point discussion of positive benefits as well as negative impacts of each aspect. Both pre-existing and pending funding changes which impact ESOL provision will also be briefly mentioned.

Historical Overview

Hamilton and Hillier (forthcoming, p 1) could not have been more accurate when they stated "It is clear from the historical record that ESOL... has received uneven and often unhelpful attention from government."

In the early 2000's the UK began significantly tightening immigration controls in an effort to reduce the number of immigrants to this country, and many amendments were added to the main law controlling immigration to the UK: the Immigration Act 1971. Prior to this time, the law specified only that any immigrant desiring British citizenship should have 'a sufficient knowledge' of English (British Nationality Act 1948). In the last decade, however, an astounding 267 Statutory Instruments and 5

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