Found here.
Gives new meaning to that TESOL acronym "ESP"
By Katie | Permalink | No Comments | July 30th, 2007 | Trackback
Get ready for a new type of English for very special purposes in London: according to the Guardian Education section, there is now class which offers sex workers, many of whom are immigrants, the opportunity to learn a range functional language useful in their profession. (TESall.com spotted this gem of an article before I did.) Not unsurprisingly, many sex workers face exploitation by bosses and clients and may be at a disadvantage in various negotiations.
The Guardian interviewed “Alice”, who is an ad hoc English teacher, a sex worker and also a post-graduate student (in post-colonial theory no less!). The idea to organize classes occurred to her when she herself was selling sex and realized that “some of the migrant women she worked alongside, both those in debt bondage and those working independently, were unable to talk their way out of sex acts they did not want to perform” or to insist that, for example, the client use a condom. She sometimes ended up giving impromptu English lessons as they all waited for bookings.
I have to say I find this extremely bizarre. There is something undeniably humorous about imaging an EFL class to improve the negotiating skills of sex workers, but I do think there is a serious side to it which should not be ignored.
Of course, the idea that your language skills improve your negotiating ability is a topic I’ve posted about here and here. And while the dynamics of the sex work industry (and why people remain in it) do boggle the mind, lack of English language skills may be one very real factor preventing some sex workers from moving into different work, or in fact leading to their exploitation. I feel certain that learning English will help in some sense…but I wonder if providing such classes plays a role in legitimizing not sex work itself but an industry build on something like human trafficking?
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6 comments:
And I always thought that ESP meant English for Specific Purposes...
Or perhaps it should be EXP..
VS
You got outta the industry at the wrong time, VS!
Actually in my first ever ESL class in the US... adult education in Northern Virginia as a volunteer... one of the students was a Vietnamese hooker. She actually spoke perfect colloquial American English, but was illiterate in her own language and wanted to learn to read in English.
She was a character!!
VS
Hey, thanks for featuring this. So odd! Really though - what do you think about it? I think we just take it for granted that English ability helps, but do you think it will make that difference for these people?
Another question might be: what would you do if you found this class on your schedule?
Welcome, Katie! Oddly enough, I think it might help the sex workers on a 'professional' level. I have mixed feelings about it-she comes to your class seeking help w/ her language skills for professional purposes, though am I contributing to her exploitation or simply helping her make the best of a bad situation? I'd be interested in seeing the syllabus before accepting that class...I can only imagine what that looks like.
Oh I see what you mean - and yes, I think language skills will help any negotiation, and maybe even give those who are there more against their will a chance to get out of it. I guess I'm looking at it though as - classes may give the impression that the issue of exploitation is being addressed, when really there is a lot more going on. If people who may actually be victims of human trafficking or exploitation are receiving free classes, others in the community have an easier time feeling like the problem is being addressed (when the root of it is not). I guess that has to be balanced with the very real benefit to the women of gaining language skills.
And I agree about the syllabus! Doesn't Onestopenglish.com publish lesson plans? Maybe they've got a couple from that class in the part of the site you have to pay to view!
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