Learning English

ESOL courses are for people whose first language is not English. ESOL stands for 'English for Speakers of Other Languages'.

An ESOL course can improve your English fluency, confidence in English speaking, reading and writing, and help increase your employability.

Local courses

Northamptonshire Adult Learning 

Courses take place online using Google Classroom. They are taught by specialist language tutors. Each course is delivered through two 2 hour sessions per week. They typically last 15 weeks.

ESOL courses are free for learners that are:

• unemployed 
• in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance, Employment Support Allowance or Universal Credit 

They are also free if you are employed and earn below £18,525 per year.

Find out more and register at Northamptonshire Adult Learning.

Transparent Language Online

Transparent Language Online can help learners looking to:

• build their vocabulary 
• practice their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills 
• maintain what they learn 

There are English courses for speakers of over 30 languages.

Transparent Language Online can be accessed through the website or on the app.

To use Transparent Language Online, you must have a library membership.

You then need to register for free to use Transparent Language Online.

Click on Sign Up and enter your library card (type D before the number) in the 'library card number' box.

Visit the Transparent Language Online website for more information.

Other courses across West Northamptonshire 

There are more ESOL courses across West Northamptonshire:

• Dostiyo and Adult Learning - a charity for women and girls that run a conversation class
• Everyday English - ESOL courses and a conversation class 
• Mount Pleasant Baptist Church - conversation class 
• Northampton College - various ESOL courses 
• Northampton Town of Sanctuary - weekly English classes 
• Speak Up School of English - free Functional Skills English and Maths Entry Level 1-3

National courses

The Open University

The Open University offer free online resources. These are for Ukrainians settling into the UK and Ireland.

Find out more about The Open University's free English language courses.  

Preply 

Preply is an online platform where you can find private online language teachers in many languages. They match Ukrainian refugees with private tutors who are offering free online English classes.

Find an English language tutor.

Duolingo 

Duolingo offers free app and website based English language learning for those who speak Ukrainian and Russian. You need to make a free account to use Duolingo.

The English Hub for Refugees 

The English Hub for Refugees has online learning resources. This ranges from level A1 to level B1.

The Skills Workshop 

The Skills Workshop provides a large range of free online resources to help people learn English.

One Stop English 

You can find free and paid-for resources on the One Stop English website.

The British Council's ESOL programme 

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is an international programme, run by the British Council, that enables people to learn English. Their website has a large range of learning materials for students and teachers, for example:

• learning about UK life 
• skills (listening, reading, writing, pronunciation and speaking) 
• grammar and vocabulary 
• English for work 

Last updated 28 November 2024