We want to give you and your learners a heads up by providing some key information about ESB’s YourMilestone Competition before you break for summer.
What better way to celebrate our own special milestone – our 70th anniversary in 2023 – than by giving our learners the opportunity to showcase their skills and talent!
Designed to hone your learners’ communication skills in a fun and competitive environment, September 2022 will see the launch of ESB’s Your Milestone Competition.
The competition is open to all Speech and ESOL learners and we encourage them to enter and to get involved! It is not necessary for learners to have completed their assessments prior to entering.
Learners will simply need to create and deliver a spoken piece (in the form of a speech/poem/rap/piece of drama/story) about an important milestone in their life. This could be a particular achievement they are proud of, a time they used their voice to make a positive impact, or starting life in a new place. The spoken piece should last no longer than 3 minutes.
Learners can submit their entry from one of the following six categories:
Speech (KS1&2)
Speech (KS3)
Speech (KS4&5)
Speech SEND
ESOL Entry Level
ESOL Level 1 & 2
The competition will be a great way to gain recognition and social media exposure for your centre as we will be featuring winners’ videos across all our media channels, including our Website, Twitter and LinkedIn.
In addition to sharing and marketing your centres’ achievements on our digital networks, we will also be awarding a £50.00 voucher for 1st prize winners and £25.00voucher for 2nd prize winners within each category. All learners who receive a Highly Commended Award will also receive a certificate highlighting their accomplishment.
Centres whose learners are awarded the first prize will also have the additional bonus of receiving a £40.00 voucher.
The winning entry will be assessed on the delivery and presentation, and will be the one that reaches the heart of the listener the most. We are looking for that little bit of magic!
All learners can put their thinking hats on over the Summer and what better way to break the ice with your new intake in September.
Full details on how to enter will be released early September. Watch this space!
Staff at ESB’s Head Office enjoyed meeting with learners on a recent visit to one of its valued ESOL Skills for Life centres in London – the Blackfriars Settlement.
Cassie Anderson, ESB’s Communications Officer and Liam Morton, ESB’s Digital Content and Learning Resources Officer went along to the centre to see first-hand learners in action! The ESOL learners at the centre were eager to talk about their experiences, highlighting the huge importance that they place on developing their English language skills. They wanted to improve their communication in their daily lives and also boost their progression and employability.
Read about what some of our Level 2 learners had to say about ESB assessments:
“It was a challenge but it helped me improve a lot. I really liked the assessments. I’m looking to do many things in the future so I must have good English (writing, reading, and speaking skills). I want to grow my business so ESB will help me to do it online and speak to people in English.”
“Before I joined this class I was a little bit scared to talk with people but after joining, I am very confident and can talk with anyone now. I can talk over the phone, which I could not do before. If anything happens in my house, I can call the correct person and talk over the phone.”
“I really liked the role play section. I like to talk so it helped to improve my English.”
ESB Entry 3 ESOL Learner
Our speaking assessments are conducted face-to-face in pairs with ESB-trained assessors encouraging authentic and meaningful communication. Other learners demonstrated how they benefitted from completing their assessment in this way by commenting:
“It helps a lot because you both have different ideas and you get to learn new things. It was easier because you know the person.”
“It was very reassuring to have someone from your class with you. It was great.”
“I liked the speaking exam because it helped give me a chance to speak and exchange ideas. I want to improve my English and learn more to socialise within the English community. I want to improve it to do what I want to do. The assessor wanted to know a lot about me and my country of origin and she taught me about London.”
“I am here to learn English very well and I like the ESB exam. I need to be able to talk with people and visit different countries.”
ESB Digital Content Officer, Liam Morton, Comms Officer – Cassie Anderson with two ESB ESOL Learners
ESB’s Communications Officer, Cassie Anderson also spoke to ESB Organiser, Kirsty Barlow – the Essential Skills Curriculum Manager at the Centre.
ESB: What do you feel are the benefits of ESB assessments to your learners?
KB: I see our students hugely benefitting all the time, They tell us this, right from Entry 1 classes all the way through to Level 2. We can see that they are making great improvements to their English language skills and the people around them notice too. In fact, just this week, someone told me that their manager at work had said just how much they’ve improved their language skills since coming to classes. We know that some ESB learners have gone onto university following their ESB assessments. We see students coming back year after year making their way through all of the ESB assessment levels (Entry 1 – Level 2).
ESB: Why did you choose ESB assessments?
KB: What really attracted me to ESB was that all the assessments are externally set and marked – therefore, we know that students are passing to a standard. I think that this is great for the students, as they have something meaningful from all their hard work.
ESB: What are the main disadvantages your learners face?
KB: Unfortunately, learners cannot use a lot of their skills because their language is limited. ESB allows them to progress their English skills and that starts moving them towards something that they really want to do and are passionate about.
ESB: What do you think is ESB’s USP?
KB: ESB Speaking and Listening assessments give a good balance between things that students can prepare and work towards, and the unknown. It really is a complete test of their whole range of language. Every assessment that I have seen is spot on for the right level – and therefore, is right for our students.
ESB Teacher, Louisa, adds:
It gives them a goal. It give them something to work towards which is always good. At Level 2, they have a vested interest because some are going on to further study but most of them are going on to work, so the learners see it as very meaningful. ESB is definitely a confidence builder and it is not too difficult to prepare for.
We had a fantastic day and we are so grateful for our warm welcome! All learners and staff had very positive things to say about ESB assessments. It was apparent that learners attach great significance to developing their English language skills – to integrate into the community, workplace, and further study.
By giving learners the ability to develop these communicative skills, ESB enables them to be well-equipped with essential life skills and confidence needed to communicate worldwide.
“Young people with SEN often have fewer opportunities in later life: by age 27 they are less likely than their peers to be in sustained employment” (DfE, 2018).
English Speaking Board is steadfast in its determination to positively impact this trend.
ESB learners at Belfast Met College with ESB’s Senior Assessor, Peter Ellis
Learners at Belfast Met College recently had the opportunity to develop essential skills for work and independence by partaking in ESB’s Inspiring Confidence in Employability (ICE) qualifications.
Says ESB’s Senior Assessor, Peter Ellis, “This group from Belfast Met showed a consistently high standard in their assessment today. Each one had a full portfolio of quality work which was full of colour, information, and photographs. The assessment required them to present themselves to the group and talk about their work experience and hobbies. There was also a telephone exercise and a one-to-one interview. Each student presented themselves smartly, coped with my questions well and were all charming and friendly.”
Juliet Meighan, teacher at Belfast Met College adds, “ It was our absolute pleasure to welcome Peter back to the College for our first face to face ICE assessments in over 2 years. The group rose to the challenge, putting any nerves to one side to complete their Oral Skills for Interview assessments.
“The learners enjoyed showing their portfolio of work to Peter– in particular their “ICE Cubes” which was the company name for their Enterprise unit. We also had many photographs on display of all the healthy lunches the group had made as part of their ‘Being healthy/Eating well’ unit. It was wonderful to see all students shine both individually and as a group.”
With the aim to embrace inclusivity and to empower all its learners to achieve their potential, ESB qualifications encourage social mobility and enable individuals to make informed choices – completing a bespoke qualification specific to their employment needs and competencies.
ESB’s ICE qualifications are endorsed by lead employers such as Costa Coffee, Asda, Morrisons and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Says ESB’s Chief Assessor, Ben Jackson, “It is fantastic to witness the immense impact that our assessments have on our learners – equipping them with skills for the future. You should all be incredibly proud of yourselves and your work!”
ESB’s 70/70 Campaign is financially supporting more centres to access its assessments!
ESB continues to promote inclusivity and equal opportunities for learners with significant learning disabilities as part of its wider 70/70 Campaign. It aims to reach out to disadvantaged learners – those facing disadvantage from socio-economic factors, migration, and special educational needs and disabilities – and will support their schools, colleges, and organisations financially to access its assessments, support, and training.
As well as its ICE qualifications, ESB has additional speech qualifications for learners with significant special needs and disabilities – Building Confidence in Communication qualifications. Find out more about these qualifications here.
If you are interested in our Speech qualifications for neurodiverse learners, we would love to hear from you. Please contact a member of our Business Development Team at business@esbuk.org for further information. Once you contact us you can also find out if your centre is eligible for financial support through our 70/70 Campaign.
