By Sophie Swain
A man from Southport is giving up his time to help teach Ukrainian adults and children English.
Mars Brook works from The Engine Room inside Wayfarers Shopping Arcade and is volunteering to teach around 30 people who have fled from the war in Ukraine.
He and his team teach people from the age of six years old, all the way to 70, who have had to leave their homes.
They set up the classes only four weeks ago, and they are expanding day by day.
Mars said: “It all happened on the off-chance, they were desperate for an English teacher and I have teaching experience.
“There are so many skilled workers who have come from Ukraine. In the group, there are surgeons and a nuclear physicist but they’re stuck in cleaning jobs because they can’t speak English sufficiently well yet.
“Many Ukrainians say they are struggling to fit in and are suffering with social anxiety because of the language barrier.
“It’s been a rewarding experience to watch them progress.
“The children are fantastic, because they are using English at school, but some of the adults find it harder.
“They didn’t have a choice to come here and they need English to pass their exams and stay. We just want to help.”
There are professional language teachers who speak everything from French and Spanish and who hold paid-for classes at The Engine Room.
However, Mars has experience teaching Korean, young people with speech impediments and even guitar but does not speak Ukrainian.
He said the people who attend his classes have been teaching him the language but he encourages them to speak as little Ukrainian as possible.
He said: “I’ve always been into teaching. I was a personal tutor throughout school and then I taught guitar whilst studying at university.
“I don’t think teaching is just about teaching people a specific subject, it’s using teaching as a method of helping people come out of their shell and gain more social security.”
Taking on board his beliefs about teaching, Mars also runs The Spectrum Alliance Movement, a space for autistic people to come together to ‘just have fun’.
The judgement-free zone is also based at the new creative co-working and digital hub, The Engine Room at Wayfarers Shopping Arcade on Lord Street in Southport town centre which he said is ‘an absolute godsend’.
In March, the movement is planning to expand into Manchester.
Mars said: “It’s been a huge victory for us. We wanted to have an autism group run by people who are autistic.
“It’s incredible to see how people are gaining more confidence. We get people referred to us from the NHS so they really believe in our methods as well.
“One person came and he was about to be sectioned. Six months later he was getting married to one of our other clients and I was best man at his wedding!
“We also have one lad who was struggling with his mental health. Now, he’s going into schools to say that there’s a place for people to talk if they feel like they’re alone.”
Mars’ passion for helping people shines through. You can find out more about The Spectrum Alliance Movement here: https://samsociety.com/
For more about The Engine Room visit: www.arcade-project.com
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