The creds

Creative English was featured in a case study for Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham, which highlights the impact of community and connection on mental health and wellbeing. The Creative English team run sessions for people with little or no English to build their confidence and language skills for everyday situations like talking to neighbours, doctors, teachers, shop assistants and landlords. The isolation which can occur when you move away from familiar support networks, combined with the feelings of disempowerment when you can’t do the things you need to look after yourself and your family can have a very negative effect on

Dr Anne Smith as published a new Open Access article in the Scenario journal, entitled “You are contagious”: The Role of the Facilitator in Fostering Self-Efficacy in Learners. The article identifies kinaesthetic approaches to facilitating a learner in role, which help to lower the affective filter, and support learner progression in a mixed ability group. It examines the role the body plays in accelerating the creation of a supportive group dynamic, and where it can support and interfere with the likelihood of applying the language and confidence developed in real life.

Dr Anne Smith has published an OpenAccess article in the ArtsPraxis journal, entitled “They have become my family”: Reciprocity and responsiveness in a volunteer-led program for refugees and migrants. Creative English is an applied theatre program that supports English language learning for adult refugees and migrants in the UK. The program is shaped by an ethic of care, focused on responsiveness, reciprocal relationships and empowering individuals to take action. This article identifies challenges and opportunities highlighted by the rapid expansion of a project governed by these values and delivered by volunteers.

Dr. Anne Smith has published an Open Access article in the latest issue of the SCENARIO journal of language, culture, and literature. This article argues that play and creativity are cornerstones of a person-centred approach to adult second language education. However, when learners are refugees, asylum seekers or migrants already living in the country where the language is spoken, it is important that language learning also addresses their functional needs. Creative English is an applied theatre programme for adults in the UK that balances these functional and creative needs while developing confidence in English language communication skills. Drawing on participant-led,

Subscribers to the journal RaPAL (Research and Practice in Adult Literacies) can read about Anne’s journey to develop Creative English in her article, ‘‘Laugh your way to confident English’: A volunteer-led approach to meeting the needs of migrants’ in their summer edition. The article describes the impact of learning through fun and laughter for participants and volunteers, helping learners build their confidence to become the next generation of volunteers on the project.

The paper, “What’s in a name? Shifts in identity, delivery and impact in a national volunteer-led programme using applied drama to learn English” by FaithAction’s Dr Anne Smith and Bobby Smith was published in ‘Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance’, Volume 20, Issue 4.

The paper, ‘Maximizing empowerment in applied theatre with refugees and migrants in the United Kingdom: Facilitation shaped by an ethic of care’ by FaithAction’s Dr. Anne Smith was published in The Journal of Arts & Communities, Volume 6, Issue 2-3. The paper draws on evidence from Creative English to argue for “the value of fostering an ethic of care within an arts project, which emphasizes the importance of facilitating a culture of agency rather than dependency for participants”.