22nd June 2009

An English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) student at Coleg Glan Hafren, Cardiff's College, is one of the few students studying an European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) via Learndirect to also obtain the British Computer Society's (BCS) IT User Level 2 Certificate by gaining 100% in one module. The student, Idil Adan, 35, who is originally from Somalia but lives in Llanedeyrn, is one of 21 learndirect learners who have taken the extra module at Coleg Glan Hafren since January 2006, but is the only one to have passed it with 100% to earn the certificate, even though she is still learning English.

Idil Adan is 36 this month and was born in Somalia but came to this country in April 2004. Idil joined Coleg Glan Hafren in September 2006, starting on the ESOL Entry Level 3 course, before moving onto the ESOL Level 1 course in the summer of 2008 and the Level 2 course this academic year.

Coleg Glan Hafren offers eight ESOL courses over four levels, at the college's Parade campus. ESOL are English courses for students from other countries of 16 years old and above, who are resident in this country as refugees, asylum seekers, or as home residents, but who do not have good written or spoken English. 140 students, from 16 to 77 years old, are currently studying ESOL courses, ranging from Entry Level 2 ESOL Skills for Life to Level 2 ESOL Skills for Life, a level which then allows the students to move onto mainstream courses, such as vocational courses or A Levels.

While studying ESOL Idil also found the time to study the New CLAIT (Computer Literacy and Information Technology) also known as the Level 1 Certificate for IT Users. Idil passed this course in the Spring of 2008, which helped her to join the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) course earlier than expected in January via Learndirect. Idil has been studying the ECDL online by dropping into the college's Open Access IT suite during the daytime, as she is a single mother and takes care of her son in the evenings.

There are seven modules to be passed in order to gain the ECDL qualification: Basic Concepts of IT; Using Computers & Managing Files; Word Processing; Spreadsheets; Databases; Presentations and Electronic Communication.  This is a European-wide qualification that does not quite fit the British Qualifications Framework, being just under a Level 2 qualification - equivalent to around GCSE standard.  To offer a full Level 2 qualification, the British Computer Society (BCS) has added an optional eighth module, called Unit E, which candidates have to gain at least 80% in this module, in order to pass.  If successful, they gain the BCS IT User Level 2 Certificate, in addition to the ECDL.  

Isabelle George, Coleg Glan Hafren's Learndirect co-ordinator said, "Since February 2006, 21 Learndirect learners at Coleg Glan Hafren have attempted the Unit E exam, and 14 have passed (66.6%).  Idil has not only gained the ECDL qualification, but also the British Computer Society's Level 2 IT User Certificate, with 100% in the Unit E exam - a very good accomplishment for anyone, but a remarkable one for someone whose first language is not English."

Idil Adan, who is also studying the GCSE Maths intensive re-sit course said, "I had only used a typewriter and never touched a computer before I came to this country. I knew that the only way I would complete all the units was if I took two tests a month, so I set a target of working at home for at least one hour a day, seven days a week, which meant I could achieve a unit a fortnight. It was always my dream to get an Accounting job and now I have been offered a provisional place on an AAT (Accounting) course. The ECDL will help me a lot with my Accounting. I won't think about the future until I finish the Accounting course."

John Morgan, Idil's ESOL IT tutor at Coleg Glan Hafren said, "Idil has been in my ESOL IT class for several years.  Last year, while in an ESOL Level 1 class, she passed seven units of the New CLAiT, so that she is able to move onto ESOL Level 2.  ESOL students are allowed to take their IT qualifications over a three year period, so for Idil to pass the ECDL and gain the IT User Level 2 Certificate in six months, when each unit can take up to 15 hours to complete, is a great measure of her achievement and shows that she is a real high flyer."