Tribute to one of ESOL's most dedicated practitioners
A tribute to Chris Taylor by NATECLA
It is with immense sadness that friends and colleagues of Chris Taylor have learned that Chris died on January 2nd 2014.
As we all know, Chris had worked in ESOL for many years. Chris’s passion for teaching started during her voluntary work in Nigeria, and following this, and a few years in Moscow and Malta, Chris qualified as an ESOL teacher and began her ESOL career at the Hackney Adult Education Institute. This was followed by her pioneering work heading up the Open Learning Centre at Tower Hamlets College – and our brief but very memorable trip to Bangladesh together. After this, Chris continued to make a significant impact through her work first as Director of Project 2000 and then at the Refugee Council. Most recently Chris’s role as Programme Director at NIACE included leading on the development of the ESOL Citizenship materials in partnership with LLU+ and more recently editing the NIACE study guide for the new citizenship test.
Chris played a key role in both shaping and responding to policy changes and proposals relating to ESOL and adult learning. During 2009/10 Chris supported many providers and local authorities across the UK in their responses to the 'New approach to ESOL'. She also provided typically thoughtful and measured ideas and suggestions as part of the Action for ESOL campaign. Chris organised a very successful parliamentary meeting, through NIACE and the Refugee Council, which brought the consequences of the revised eligibility proposals to the attention of MPs and peers. In 2012 Chris also addressed the implications of the Home Office's Statement of Intent on Family Migration.
Throughout her career, Chris contributed to and ran many inspiring workshops and conferences, including many sessions for NATECLA (National Association for the Teaching of English and Other Community Languages).
In July 2013, following her retirement, Chris was a most deserving recipient of an
‘Outstanding Contribution to ESOL Award’ from NATECLA. As Judy Kirsh, co-chair of NATECLA, said at the time of the award:
"
Through her work at NIACE, Chris was an untiring and passionate advocate of ESOL. She always kept the learners and their needs as her main focus and was positive and supportive to work with. NATECLA would like to formally thank her for all she has done for ESOL.”
Chris’ response to receiving the award reflected the commitment and dedication which had underpinned all of her outstanding work in ESOL:
"
I'm really thrilled to receive this NATECLA award, what an honour. I've loved working in ESOL - it's been a passion, not a job. I've met wonderful students, worked with brilliant colleagues who have become friends and learnt so much along the way. It's been a privilege to get up in the morning to do a job that's so worthwhile."
A service of thanksgiving to celebrate Chris’s life was held on 20th January in the beautiful little church of Stoke Golding – the Leicestershire village where Chris and her family had moved to just a few years ago. It was a very special, memorable and moving occasion with contributions from Chris's partner, daughter, brother, friends and colleagues. These tributes all added to what we each personally knew of Chris – and built up a striking testimony of what a truly amazing and very special person she was, her sense of fun and humour, her unstinting and passionate commitment to her work and the difference she had made to so many people's lives. Unsurprisingly, the church was packed with family, friends and colleagues from across the country and from different periods of her life, as well as new friends and neighbours from Stoke Golding. It was no surprise to learn that within a very short time of moving to the village Chris had set up a thriving book group and the first ever Stoke Golding Adult Learners’ Week!
For those of us who knew Chris, it was a privilege to have her as a friend and colleague. She will be greatly missed - but she has left a lasting legacy for which, I am sure, we are all immensely thankful.
Karen Dudley
If you would like to make a donation in Chris’s memory,
contributions can be made to Amnesty International:
References: