We are a registered not for profit Community Interest Company. Our approach is based on fun, social, learning. We make use of interesting spaces in the community, from museums to libraries. Speak Street is place where people can improve their spoken English in a fun and flexible way interacting with their native English-speaking neighbours. Everyone is welcome at the sessions and mistakes are embraced and encouraged, it’s the only way we learn and improve! You get more of an idea of what we get up to here.
What’s Permaculture?
We use permaculture to design Speak Street. Permaculture design is a closed loop system based on nature, no-one needs to water the forest it has evolved to have mutually beneficial relationships. Permaculture design uses these principles hidden in nature to create sustainable landscapes and projects. The three underpinning values are earth care, people care and fair share.
Permaculture design is at the heart of Speak Street and is a living breathing example of People Permaculture in action.
Our Founder
Joanna Bevan is a dreamer and a doer, living in North London. She is a global citizen having lived and worked abroad, she’s been the foreigner many times and knows the value of interacting with native speakers to improve your language skills and more importantly to feel part of the community. She is qualified to teach English as a second Language as well as speaking French, German, Spanish and Catalan. Joanna has researched community resilience in the City University, and Speak Street is a direct outcome of that. Joanna is a Winston Churchill Fellow as well as fellow of the School for Social Entrepreneurs.
Volunteer
The Speak Street volunteers share their language skills and in return gain informal teaching and facilitation skills. This means it’s a win win situation for both learners and speakers, and that’s permaculture part.
Speak street is about more than increasing individuals skills and experience, it’s about creating more integrated resilient communities, un tapping the opportunities that lie on our doorstep.
Social