Everybody’s Talk(ing) English - but can they understand a word we’re saying?!

Before comedy became PC there used to be regular “an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walked into a bar“ style jokes, but on this mission it was no joke as a Welsh and a Scot were going to Talk English, but no bar in sight!

Talk English is run by Swindon Borough Council's Adult Community Learning Service and provides courses and activities that help people in Swindon learn English, so they can access services and get involved in the community. It provides an opportunity for people to practise speaking the language, to meet other people and learn other things. These courses are held at a number of libraries around Swindon, with our talk being held at the Central Library in Swindon.

The dynamic duo of Tracey – Welsh, and Charles – Scottish, were looking forward to talking all about GoodGym ahead of their regular weekly meeting that starts at 5.30pm.

This was a new type of task for us and we weren’t sure what to expect but after a very efficient meeting earlier that day, a plan was hatched and all was done without any PowerPoint slides - hurrah! We had an hour - would we have enough material? Nerves began to set in, but fear not! Of course we love GoodGym so it was easy to fill 45 minutes and the remainder was free for any questions they may have.

We talked about the history of GoodGym, the various types of run (and walks) we provide, listed some of the many projects we had worked on, how we were about to celebrate our first birthday and how running and doing-good is good for your health and mental well-being. Of course it helped that we spoke that little bit s-l-o-w-e-r and then…. paused…. before we said… pause… the next sentence. There were a few laughs and plenty of questions from the six students so we’re hopeful that our accents didn’t let us down and everyone learned all about GoodGym. And what a lovely bunch they were – thanks Talk English for making us feel so welcome!

Charles had brought some GoodGym postcards along and they were handed out with some spare ones to be placed at their work places. Hopefully we may have even encouraged one or two to join us? Who knows? Watch this space…?