Student Profile

I have used a collection of video and participant obervations to create a summary of the students who have been a part of the 4 Steps to Citizen project.

All names have been changed to protect the identities of the students

Abdu

Abdu is from the Middle East/Asia area. He suffers from a mental health condition, due to events which happened in his home country. He also has a visual impairment. He has no family here and lives with a foster family. He does not get EMA, but a learning allowance from Social Services.
He rarely comes to the voluntary sessions. When he does, he does not engage with any task. He tries to use a computer at one point, then gives up after two weeks. He tells me that he has problems with his head, and that he needs to see a doctor. I attend meetings with social services to encourage him to attend. He tells me that he only wants to go to the classroom. I find out that he is not literate in his own language.
He is currently studying at Entry 2, and has problems focussing on any text.

Namir

Namir is a young man from North West Africa. He lives with a foster family, has no true family here and has a social worker. He has continuing problems with the home office and is a sporadic attender at the voluntary sessions. He has personal struggles around his life here and relationships with people in general.
He is always in front of the camera with his sunglasses and cool clothes. He loves a bit of attention and enjoys talking to the camera. He always asks me to join him for camera shots and interviews. He helps his colleagues take camera shots if they have trouble using the equipment. He tells me that the best time he has here is when we go outside on activities such as orienteering and woodland management. He asks if I will take him into my home. He wants me to be his foster carer. I feel I need to keep my professional boundaries.
He comes to some of the editing sessions. He does not take part in the sessions but observes. He tells me he has bigger problems and goes into detail about problems in a recent relationship with a girl. He gets on well with many members of the group.
One day he no longer comes to the editing sessions. I find out that he has gone missing. The police ask for information of his whereabouts. I cannot help.

Azzam

Azzam has attended the voluntary sessions, although not consistently. He is from the Middle East, lives in supported housing and has a social worker. He has no family in UK. He does not receive EMA.
Azzam loves to be filmed and likes watching his image played back. He is not so interested in using the equipment. He is a natural actor and likes to pretend he is Tony Montana from Scarface (played by Al Pacino). He tries to mimic him when he is talking. He is extremely interested in all areas of UK culture and on visits to places of interest (local historical buildings) he always asks questions to find out information. He also asks questions in English for his colleagues, who share his first language but are not confident enough in English.
He arrives at the boat house for the kayaking session. He has his gang with him. He encourages them to take part in activities. When he gets into the kayak he tries to show everyone his skills. He makes his classmates get into their kayaks too. He tells his peers what to do on the water.
In the woods he asks more questions about the tasks he needs to carry out. He shows his colleagues the technique for removing invasive plants. He is happy to be in the woods and thanks me for taking him. He uses a fluent but inaccurate language when helping to decide which clips to include in the film. He and I are satisfied by his use of language. He is a low level learner and making quick progress.
He is currently looking for paid employment. He tells me that he misses college and our class.

Ibrahim

Ibrahim is from the Middle East. His English level is very low. He has a stable home life, and lives with his sister and both parents. He comes to some of the voluntary sessions. He tells me that he does not like people who talk too much (in English). He loves being outside in nature and enjoys the field trips and camping. During the camping trip he starts to work with the other students to convey English messages. He discusses how to erect the tents. This is the first time I have seen him communicate clearly. He also brings some homemade food for everyone to share. He likes to talk about this food and wants everyone to eat it. He uses English to persuade his colleagues.
He is nowhere to be seen when it comes to the editing. He refuses to turn up to IT sessions. He says again that the people talk too much and too loudly. I cannot convince him to return to these sessions. He wants to get work experience and I organise a new project for him. He is a painter and decorator in his homeland. He becomes the director of a decoration project in a local community centre. He is happy to control his workers. He is very abrupt in his direction and instructions. He has gentle guidance in how to assign roles politely. He starts to use these new phrases in his new context. His team respond more positively.
He is studying on a part time ESOL programme at Entry 3.

Anicka

Anicka is an Eastern European girl who lives with her family. She struggles with communication in English, although has had a formal education in her home country. She attends every voluntary session. She loves to be a part of the group and participates fully in all areas (rock climbing, outdoor activities, woodland and coastal management, sports). When she started the voluntary class she was not very confident discussing how to solve tasks (except in her own language). In the project she has been a pivotal player. She films her class mates without upsetting them. She carefully asks for their permission before taking a shot. She also shows and tells her classmates how to use the equipment.
She is a willing participant in the talking heads shot with the media crew, and discusses what questions she would like to answer. She is also able to assign herself as the second interviewee through negotiation. During the editing stage she discusses which clips may be suitable. She does this in English with her colleagues. She tells me that she finds the editing process boring. Although she learns many of the basic commands in the new software she consistently whinges “not again!”, when arranging to meet to hone the film and add commentary.
She also attends the public performance. She finds it amusing seeing herself on a big screen, and laughs along with her peers during the performance.
She currently attends a Level 1 IT course at City College Plymouth

Duman

Duman lives here in supported housing. He has no family here and has a social worker. He turns up to class with irregularity. He class teachers continuously complain to me about his attendance. I speak to his social worker and he tells me that Duman has told him that he is attending full time.
I see Duman about three times in the voluntary session. The first session is a team building session. He tries to escape from taking part. He does not want to find out any sort of information from anyone who does not speak his first language. He stays close to those who speak his first language (Sorani). He has no understanding of what the project is about. He keeps telling me that he does not understand. I try to get a more proficient English speaker from his language group to explain. He nods his head and I feel he only half understands.
He attends for two more sessions on local excursions to places of interest. He refuses to speak English when I ask him politely to do so. I do not see him anymore. I tell his social worker of the language problems that he may face if he does not attend the extra voluntary sessions.
His social worker tells me that Rzgar does not find the sessions interesting.
He has no further part to play in the project. I attends meetings and find out that he has experienced lots of racism. He wants to move to another city.
He is currently studying ESOL part time at Entry 2.