Eastbourne Language school students lead climate change talk

Students at an Eastbourne langauge school have raised nearly £200 for wildlife affected by the Australian bush fires and raised awareness of climate change in a series of events designed to help them develop their English language skills.
The students helped arrange and lead a series of cultural meetingsThe students helped arrange and lead a series of cultural meetings
The students helped arrange and lead a series of cultural meetings

The events, which were held on February 26, at the Education First building on Upper Avenue, were a marked departure from the average Wednesday at the recently renovated language school.

Usually, students come together for a weekly cultural meeting, where they watch and discuss British TV or films, in order to better understand their host culture.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

That week, however, a group of 20 students came together to lead the cultural meeting themselves.

Through a series of interactive presentations, which incorporated video, waste segregation tests and water-drinking challenges, they prompted fellow students to confront their own ideas about climate and what they can do to help preserve the environment.

Nigel Warwick, director of studies at Education First, felt the event gave students a chance to build confidence in their English language skills.

He said, “A lot of our students are quite young.

“They are 17, 18, 19 or 20, and it takes real guts to commit to speaking to upwards of 90 people in a foreign language.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Alongside the talks, other students baked cookies in the shape of koalas, kangaroos and other Australian animals to help raise money for a WWF animal hospital which is helping to save animals hurt in the Australian bushfire.

The sale, which saw the students sell nearly 170 cookies, raising almost £200, not only gave students a chance to champion a hand-picked, relevant cause, it also provided them with a chance to practice work and life skills in a foreign language setting.

Nigel Warwick said, “It was really good to see the students dealing with money.

“We didn’t have to take charge, they just did it. It was amazing. They were all really serious and conscientious.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Education First is an international organisation which offers language courses in different locations throughout the world. To find out more about its Eastbourne location, visit the website at ef.co.uk/