Lusine (Armenian)Lusine

Richmond EAL was so much more than an English class. It became a place where I felt welcomed, supported and understood. I improved my English, but I also learned how life in the UK works, where to find help, what opportunities were available, and, most importantly, I met wonderful people who made a new country feel much less lonely.

I will always be especially grateful to Ruth. She is one of those rare people who changes lives without making a big fuss about it. Her kindness, patience and genuine care for every student are truly inspiring. She doesn’t just teach English—she helps people gain confidence, settle into a new country and believe in themselves.

Thanks to Richmond EAL, I found the confidence to continue my studies and improve my English.

Now my family has moved on to a new chapter in Cyprus, but I will always remember Richmond with warmth and gratitude. The friendships I made, the support I received and everything I learned will stay with me for many years.

Thank you to Ruth and to everyone involved in Richmond EAL for the incredible work you do. You are changing lives every single day, and I hope your programme continues to grow and help many more newcomers feel at home.

BINTA (French)

'Margrit is super patient and makes you want to learn. I am with people who also want to learn.'

CAROLINA (Spanish)

'I like the topics covered in each class and the dynamism of the teacher.'

CATHY (Cantonese)

'The topic is useful, the learning environment makes us feel comfortable and Rebecca is so nice.'

ISABELE (Portuguese)

‘This group can clean your heart from bad pre-conceptions about other cultures. It can improve us as humans because when we receive something for free from an inspiring teacher, we want to give something back. We are foreigners and in this class we can learn to behave properly in this culture. We can never learn these things in college.’ 

JOHAN (Mandarin/English)

‘During my work experience assisting in an English as an Additional Language classroom at Richmond EAL Friendship Group, I had the opportunity to observe a skilled teacher guiding a diverse group of learners. My role involved observing the teacher, supporting a learner by helping with activities, and offering encouragement to them as they practiced speaking and writing. I had not experienced such diversity of languages in an adult group before this
experience and it was eye-opening.

I found it inspiring to witness the students' confidence in speaking that developed in the classroom environment I liked how relaxed and informal the teacher Mrs Durant was. One positive thing I saw is how even small moments of correction, like helping to correctly use a new word in a sentence, made genuine changes. A potential improvement to the routine would be more paired tasks, like pairing more confident English speakers with those still gaining it but not sharing a language. This peer-learning approach could ease anxiety and reinforce understanding through conversation with each other and create friendships over time. It is also used a lot in other places including my secondary school and Chinese language school.'

MARTINA (Bulgarian)

'It is fun to learn English, we laugh a lot in class.'

OLGA (Russian)

'I had great time during my learning time which I spent with you and all the other students! Hope I will see you soon again! The classes was warm and friendly! It was very educational and funny!'

SERPIL (Turkish)

'This group has helped me improve my English in a fun way and the atmosphere is always friendly and warm. Cornelia and our other teachers are great and so patient. Thanks for everything!'

SOLMAZ (Farsi / Iran)

'Becoming familiar with people, learning English and learning about other countries.'

SVETLANA (Ukrainian)

'Richmond EAL honoured staff, volunteers and our tutors make enormous efforts and contributions to our socialisation.  They help us to improve our English skills in a smooth manner and support us with useful tips on how to struggle through language and communication difficulties.

I have impressive multicultural classmates who motivate me not to give up and move my life further.'

VEFA (Azeri)

‘I have improved my English. Coming to these sessions stops depression. You get more confidence and learn about college, education and voluntary work.’