More than 100 learners with Lancashire Adult Learning enjoyed a trip to the People’s History Museum in Manchester to discover the history of British democracy and the country’s modern day values.

The learners are all on ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses with LAL, and prior to the visit, some of the learners studied vocabulary related to towns, cities and tourist attractions while others read and discussed human rights violations and The Suffragette Movement.

All learners on the trip had discussed British values and then compared and contrasted these with the values of other countries. This also helped to prepare learners for speaking and writing tasks centring on travel, towns cities and tourist attractions.

Nicola Gerrard-Russell, visit organiser and ESOL teacher, said: “Through the trip, learners gained a deeper understanding of what it means to be British and it helped them understand their position in society and their own contribution, representation and level of integration.”

One of the learners on the trip, Nipa Foster, 58, said: “I enjoyed learning about the government and democracy in the UK and it helps for the ‘Life in the UK’ test.”

Another learner Jasmin Begum, 43, added: “I learned the rules on human rights and where they came from. It didn’t happen by itself, and the story behind it was interesting.”

Since the visit, learners have produced a piece of work illustrating and describing how they feel they are represented in society and whether they feel their voice is heard. This has been featured in the museum’s ‘Represent’ exhibition this month and learners have been invited back to contribute to activities at the exhibition.

Learners have also produced reports and reviews of their visit with some writing a formal letter to the museum providing feedback.

Tom Gee, Curriculum Leader for English, Maths and ESOL at Lancashire Adult Learning, said: “The visit to the People's History Museum in Salford has been a huge success, and the feedback from learners has been extremely positive.

“The success of it is also testament to the extra mile that Lancashire Adult Learning staff go to towards planning and preparing important trips such as these, ensuring that our learners benefit from the holistic approach we have to language learning.”