{"id":7567,"date":"2020-09-23T16:29:55","date_gmt":"2020-09-23T16:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/?p=7567"},"modified":"2021-05-17T10:06:34","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T10:06:34","slug":"the-healing-power-of-language-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/the-healing-power-of-language-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"The Healing Power of Language Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2119\" height=\"1414\" src=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-614127998.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7568\" srcset=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-614127998.jpg 2119w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-614127998-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-614127998-700x467.jpg 700w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-614127998-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-614127998-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-614127998-2048x1367.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-614127998-120x80.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2119px) 100vw, 2119px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<style>\n\n\n.bulletPoint {\nlist-style-type: circle;\nfont-size: 14pt;\n}\n\n\n.head2 {\nmargin: 3% 0 2% 1%;\n}\n\n<\/style>\n\n\n\n<p>More than 5,000 modern slavery offences are recorded by police in the UK every year but experts believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. Modern slavery typically involves labour exploitation or sexual exploitation and sometimes both. Around three-quarters of victims who are brought to the attention of UK authorities are not UK nationals and many speak little English. Hestia is one of the largest UK charities helping survivors get their lives back together again. We have been supporting Hestia\u2019s work since 2018 by giving 500 survivors free access to the uTalk language learning app. Here are the heartbreaking and uplifting stories of how the app has helped two of those survivors. (Names have been changed.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"head2\"><strong>Ajola\u2019s\nStory<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Nineteen-year-old Ajola was\nthrilled when her boyfriend suggested taking her home to meet his family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They had only met four weeks\nearlier in her homeland of Albania but their relationship was progressing at\nlightning speed. First, he\u2019d taken her on holiday to Italy and then to France \u2013\nall at his own expense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, when he said he wanted to\ntake her to Birmingham, England to meet his family, she was excited and thought\ntheir relationship might be heading towards marriage. Instead, he forced her\ninto prostitution saying: \u2018I paid all this money and now you have to pay me\nback and this is how you are going to pay me back\u2019. He also threatened to kill\nher family if she refused. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ajola was in a strange country\nwhere she couldn\u2019t speak the language. She was also weighed down with a heavy\nburden of shame. Her family followed a very strict religious code; if anyone\nbrought dishonour to the family name, they were no longer a member of the\nfamily. &nbsp;And she was scared for their\nsafety. Frightened and alone, she was forced into a life of prostitution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She stayed there for a year until\nshe got pregnant and was abandoned by the people exploiting her because she had\nno further value to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She has since been referred\nto Hestia who are helping her rebuild her life. Her little boy is now two years\nold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hestia Manager Jenny Harrison\nsays: \u201cWhen Ajola first came to us she would answer most questions with \u2018I\u2019m\nfine\u2019, she was very closed. But gradually she\u2019s started to blossom because she\nnow feels safe and has been able to learn English and make friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s always a struggle for\nwomen with children to learn English at evening classes because of the lack of\ncreche facilities and when lockdown happened she was really low. But she\u2019s used\nlockdown to learn more on the app and has improved enormously! Now, if she\ncan\u2019t find strawberries or other food in a supermarket, she can ask for them by\nname.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd she\u2019s learned to tell\nthe time which is so useful for GP appointments and vaccinations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cShe is very caring and goes out of her way to peer support other women at Hestia. In the future, she\u2019d like to be a social worker so she can help people who have been through the same experience as she has. And she knows she is going to have to work on her English to go to college and achieve that goal so the uTalk app is invaluable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDespite everything that\u2019s\nhappened, she has never resented her baby and, although he was born out of terrible\ncircumstances, he\u2019s been a light to keep her going.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"head2\"><strong>Jakub\u2019s Story<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Jakub\nis a stocky man in his 40s who is frightened of men wearing black clothes and baseball\ncaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Polish national was brought to the UK by men fitting that description on the promise of paid employment. Instead, they forced him into manual labour with long hours and no pay. He was also given drugs and alcohol to keep him under their control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nfirst time he tried to run away he was caught and brutally beaten but, after\nseveral years, he tried again and succeeded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although\nnow physically free, his experience has left him with severe post-traumatic\nstress syndrome: flashbacks, anxiety, problems sleeping and fear that he is\nbeing followed. Men who remind him of his captors also trigger feelings of panic.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Jakub was first referred to Hestia, he would look down at the floor rather than meet people\u2019s gaze. And he was so on edge when Hestia caseworkers first met him in a town caf\u00e9 that they switched venues to a quiet library room instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In\nthe beginning, he spoke in a mixture of broken English and Polish and tended to\npitch his voice too loud, almost like shouting. Hestia think this might have\nbeen down to the frustration of not being able to express himself in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now,\nafter many months of support, his confidence has improved. He makes eye\ncontact, is learning to talk more softly, has better English and has made\nfriends. He also has a long-term goal \u2013 he wants to train to become a plumber. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jenny from Hestia says: \u201cThere\nis a massive difference in Jakub\u2019s confidence now and uTalk has really helped\nwith his English skills. &nbsp;I think a lot\nof his earlier loudness was frustration because he could not tell us what he\nwanted to tell us. And, because he\u2019s learning English, he is now able to\nexpress things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe topics he enjoyed the\nmost were the travel and transport ones because he wanted to feel confident\ngetting around. &nbsp;He also likes learning\nthe names of food and drink and enjoys practising when he goes to the shops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut the lockdown was really difficult. The library closed, evening classes at college stopped and it was really isolating. It hit Jakub particularly badly because not only was he isolated from his support network, but being told to \u2018stay home\u2019 made him feel like he was being controlled again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe app was brilliant and a\nbit of a lifesaver because it gave him a purpose to each day so he could keep\nbusy and keep learning. &nbsp;He\u2019s also really\ninterested in learning Italian on the app as well. One of his friends who he\nmet on his course is from Italy and he\u2019s now got a passion to go and see Italy.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s got a great sense of\nhumour and is a real cheeky chappie. He\u2019s always smiling now and his favourite\nwords are \u2018good people\u2019 and \u2018no problem!\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Hestia is appealing for old, unlocked smartphones to give to their clients because not everyone has a phone to use the uTalk app on. All phones should be clear of all personal data, in working condition with a charger and be unlocked with no passcode. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>If you can help, please\npop one in an envelope addressed to: <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Hestia, Maya House,\n134-138 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>For Freepost within the\nUK, add \u201cFreepost HESTIA\u201d on the front of the envelope and post it from a\nletterbox or your local post office.&nbsp; <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>uTalk CEO Richard Howeson\nsays: \u201cBig thanks to all our customers for supporting us so that we can play\nthis very small role in helping survivors like Jakub and Ajola. We are humbled\nby the work done by Hestia and are continually in awe of how language learning\ncan be such a force for good.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li class=\"bulletPoint\">For more information about Hestia, go to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hestia.org\/\">their website<\/a>.<\/li><li class=\"bulletPoint\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.modernslaveryhelpline.org\/\">The Modern Slavery Helpline<\/a>&nbsp;can be called on 08000 121 700 or contacted via an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.modernslaveryhelpline.org\/report\">online form.<\/a><\/li><li class=\"bulletPoint\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salvationarmy.org.uk\/modern-slavery\">The Salvation Army<\/a>&nbsp;have a 24\/7 confidential referral helpline, which can be called on 0800 808 3733<\/li><li class=\"bulletPoint\">For the latest data on modern-day slavery in the UK <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/peoplepopulationandcommunity\/crimeandjustice\/articles\/modernslaveryintheuk\/march2020\ufeff\">go here<\/a>. <\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than 5,000 modern slavery offences are recorded by police in the UK every year but experts believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. Modern slavery typically involves labour exploitation or sexual exploitation and sometimes both. Around three-quarters of victims who are brought to the attention of UK authorities are not UK nationals &#8230; <a title=\"The Healing Power of Language Learning\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/the-healing-power-of-language-learning\/\" aria-label=\"More on The Healing Power of Language Learning\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,51],"tags":[1844,333],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7567"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7567"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9590,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7567\/revisions\/9590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}