Involving Volunteers Who Speak English as an Additional Language – It’s Easier Than You Might Think
Volunteering can be an excellent way for people to join the local community, meet people and practise English. Sometimes, organisations worry that language skills could be a barrier.
In this article, Helen from North East Museums gives an overview of the North East Museums Multaka project, which ended in 2024 and aimed to help Asylum seekers and refugees into volunteering. She explains what happens after a funded project ends, and how to make small changes to build the legacy into the day-to-day volunteering programme, helping all volunteers who have English as an additional language. This can increase your volunteer pool, support equality and diversity, and bring new ideas and perspectives.
About North East Museums and the Multaka Project
North East Museums is a regional museum, art gallery and archives service. They manage twelve museums and galleries across North East England and the Archives for Tyne and Wear, and have 900 volunteers across 12 museums and galleries, plus an Archives service, plus coordination of the Late Shows across Newcastle and Gateshead in May each year. North East Museums also hosts the Newcastle City Guides – Walking Tours | North East Museums.
Multaka North East was a funded project, working with Asylum Seekers and Refugees, to help them into volunteering, and ended in September 2024, when the funding ended. The project worked with local community groups to recruit volunteers and focused work in certain venues, such as the Discovery Museum, Great North Museum Hancock, Laing Art Gallery, and Segedunum.
Project successes included translated videos showcasing particular objects and collections.
What Happened When the Funding Ended?
Once the project ended, there was unfortunately no dedicated staff member to run the project, and staff had to find manageable and meaningful ways to continue the legacy while running a large-scale, multi-site volunteer programme. This was managed in three main ways:-
- Some activities that were started during Multaka continued and inspired new activities.
- Some resources created while the project was active can continue to be used.
- Staff who undertook training during the project can continue to use their knowledge.
Ongoing Activities
Translation Group
A group of volunteers continues to create translated resources for museum sites, helping improve accessibility for the wider community.
Creative Conversation Group
At Shipley Art Gallery, a volunteer-led Creative Conversation Group provides opportunities for people to practise English while getting to know the gallery’s collections.
Chat Time at Woodhorn Museum
This staff-led group brings local communities together through informal conversation and social interaction.
Community Partnerships
Relationships built between museum venues and local community organisations have led to ongoing collaborative work. For example, Segedunum hosted a summer picnic event with Walking With North Tyneside during Refugee Week.
Resources That Continue to Support Inclusion
A lasting legacy of the project is the range of resources that continue to support volunteers.
These include:
- Volunteer induction packs translated into four languages.
- Translated photo consent forms.
- Easy Read guides commissioned through another funded project, which have also proved useful for people who speak English as an Additional Language.
- Volunteer Inclusion Plans, which help identify and record the support volunteers may need.
Volunteer Inclusion Plans are available for organisations to use:
- Volunteer Centre Newcastle Volunteer Inclusion Plan
- Volunteer Centre North Tyneside Volunteer Inclusion Plan
Inclusive Role Descriptions
One simple change that North East Museums continues to use is including the level of English language required within volunteer role descriptions.
This helps potential volunteers understand whether a role is suitable for them and also signals that people who speak English as an Additional Language are welcome to apply.
Staff Training
During the funded programme, staff completed training on working with refugees, delivered by West End Refugee Service, as well as trauma-informed practice training.
The learning gained through this training continues to benefit other areas of the volunteering programme and supports a more inclusive approach to volunteer management.
Volunteers as Advocates
A significant number of Multaka volunteers moved into other volunteering roles within North East Museums, demonstrating the long-term value of creating accessible volunteering opportunities.
Volunteers from particular language communities have also become informal ambassadors for the museums. If volunteers have a good experience, they can become your best advocates and encourage others to get involved.
Tips for Your Organisation
Role Descriptions
Including information about the ‘level of English language needed. helps potential volunteers understand whether a role is suitable for them and demonstrates that people who speak English as an Additional Language are welcome.
Expenses
Be aware that some volunteers, including people seeking sanctuary, may be living on very low incomes. The ability to reimburse travel expenses in cash on the same day as volunteering can be vital in enabling participation.
Trauma-Informed Practice
Consider your premises, activities and volunteer experience. Could anything cause distress or trigger difficult experiences for volunteers or visitors?
Training
Free training on supporting people who speak English as an Additional Language, working with refugees, and trauma-informed practice is often available through local refugee support organisations, volunteer centres and local networks.
Useful resources include:
Final Thoughts
The experience of North East Museums shows that supporting volunteers who speak English as an Additional Language does not always require major changes or dedicated funding. Small adjustments to recruitment processes, volunteer support and organisational practices can make volunteering more accessible, helping organisations build more diverse, inclusive and resilient volunteer teams.
