I was interested in one of the values and principles of CLD which is self-determination.  

Self-determination -  respecting the individual and valuing the right of people to make their own choices.

The majority of my learners come to classes as they want to learn to speak English for a variety of reasons, such as:  so that they can interact in the community, with their neighbours, other parents at the school gate; to find a job; to socialise, to extend their visas or apply for citizenship; to find a job.  

Learning a language is much easier if a learner is motivated to learn and chooses to learn.  However, we sometimes get referrals from another organisation saying that they want someone to improve their English.  Often, these referrals are not interested in coming to classes and as they don't want to learn they have much poorer engagement than those that actively seek us out to join classes.  The other organisation will often re-refer people - sometimes they have come along to a few classes but have stopped as they didn't really want to learn and other times, they haven't come along to the initial assessment as it wasn't their choice to join classes.   We respect their right not to come to classes or engage as forcing people to come to language classes is not going to be of benefit to anyone. 

As the other organisation is keen to re-refer people, I have been reflecting on this situation and the way forward. 

reflecting on Unit one, I have noticed that there is a gap between theory and practice, for example,  around empowerment and capacity building. I’m learning about the CLD competences for the first time, and while the themes are familiar to me through experience and other short courses I have completed, I have not not explored them in an academic context before.

I’ve worked with communities that were keen to engage and improve their circumstances/greenspace/setting up new groups etc and through this I have developed strong skills in empowering others. However, in my current role, I’ve found that this approach is less effective. Some of the community members I work with don’t believe  or  have the confidence that they can make change happen. Some of their struggles mean they don’t have the capacity, time or even health needed to engage. Structural issues beyond my control have affected cohesion and created barriers that make progress more difficult.

This has made me revisit the values and ethics of CLD and ask myself how do we remain competent and reflective practitioners when the reality on the ground challenges and is very different to the theory we’re learning.

In Unit 1, I highlighted that one of the values I resonated with the most at the moment was empowerment and how I am working closely with young people to create changes that I think they are telling me they want. I guess my area for discussion and refection is how do we ensure that the value placed on empowerment in our practice is real and based on the needs of participants and not what we think is needed?