 | | Mike Wheeler |
Mike Wheeler is the Head teacher at Salisbury Primary School in Darlaston. "None of the children spoke any English before coming to school," he explains. But after a few months they now speak and understand the language very well.’" Seven year old Wiktoria is one example of a child who's excelled at learning English. She and her parents came to live in Walsall two years ago. Initially she spoke no English, but can now communicate perfectly with the other children.  | | Wiktoria |
In fact she acts as the unofficial Polish-English translator for her classmates! "She's like a little celebrity now!" laughs Mike. "If any of the other children are having problems communicating, they all go to her." Wiktoria's English teacher Ruth Halliwell says: ‘"We are all amazed how quickly these children pick up English. Their parents do not have very good language skills so they only speak English when they are at school." Second language | | In the classroom |
Approximately 75% of Darlaston’s student base is comprised of children who speak English as a second language. Children from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan help create a diverse cultural atmosphere which, as Mike explains, benefits all of the school. "Just by being here they learn so much about each other’s countries, culture and traditions," he says. "On the 6th December for example, in accordance with Polish tradition, St. Nicholas paid a visit to the school to meet all the pupils. Then just before the Christmas break Asian pupils showed their Polish friends how to make Eid cards."  | | Ruth Halliwell |
English teacher Ruth has made many trips to Poland in recent years. She hopes that Polish children educated in England will have much broader view of the world. Culture shockEthnic minority groups are very rare in Poland – 96% of the population is Polish. Migrating Poles therefore tend to experience a real culture shock when leaving home to start a new life abroad. "It's fantastic that they get to understand and respect each others views and values in such an early stage of life," says Ruth. "The most difficult situation arises when a child is distressed. For whatever reason, language then becomes challenging. We find that a smiling face though generally does the trick!"  | | Looking for Poland |
Ruth though, along with Mike, is now having Polish lessons to break the language barrier down even more!
While Mike attends evening classes at the Polish Club in Stafford, Ruth studies Polish at home. The two of them hope that once they've mastered the language they'll be able to help and identify with their students even more. "It still takes us too long to find out just how good the kids with different ethnic backgrounds are in other subjects, such as maths for example," says Ruth. "But hopefully this will help even more." Parents learningPolish parents too can follow in their children’s footsteps and improve their English as Salisbury Primary is now the biggest language centre in Walsall.  | | Geography lesson |
Walsall College of Continuing Education supports English classes for mums and dads. If things carry on like this, hopefully it won't be long before the parents and teachers have caught up with their children! To find out more about English classes in Walsall, call Salisbury Primary on 0121 568 6779. | 
