People in Sandwell can sign up to new classes to learn English in West Bromwich.

The programme, which is being run by Fircroft College, provides free beginner classes to provide English lessons for speakers of other languages.

The course, which is running over a period of eight weeks with a certificate of achievement for successful attendees, covers English speaking, reading, writing and listening development.

The Talk English Programme is a volunteer-powered and community-based project which has been run successfully in Smethwick and Birmingham for some time. Councillor Jackie Taylor, who initiated the project in the Greets Green & Lyng ward and has been closely involved in setting up the English classes, said:

“I would urge people who know others who would benefit from this project to encourage them to make contact with the team.

“It is something that can completely change people’s lives and enable them to engage with the local community and service providers far easier.”

Since 2017, Fircroft have run over 30 courses, with more than 50 volunteers, which include teachers and classroom support assistants, and have engaged with over 400 learners from 49 different countries.

The new classes in West Bromwich are running at Oak House Museum on Tuesdays, between 10am and 1pm. Anyone interested in the classes should contact Neena on neena.chauhan@fircroft.ac.uk or on 07719 257319.

More information about the programme, and a free teacher training programme, can be found at fircroft.ac.uk.