ESOL Trip to the National Museum in Cardiff

by Souleymane Ouedraogo

On Tuesday 12th September Amgueddfa Cymru kindly hosted our ESOL class on an ESOL trip-out to the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. Welsh Refugee Council volunteer Souleymane Ouedraogo submitted the following report on the special outing.  

As part of an outing organized by Welsh Refugee Council ESOL tutors Marie and Chris; ESOL learners from different cities in Wales gathered at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. We were warmly welcomed to Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum of Wales) by museum staff recalling that Wales has several museums including that of Cardiff created more than a century ago. 

We then went to visit the Clore Discovery Centre. In this learning centre, there are multiple carefully preserved objects from geological, paleontological, archaeological and natural history research. Each object has its origin story. After the tour of the centre, there was time for a practical exercise that combined theory and practice seen during previous ESOL lessons. We practiced brilliantly with the support of our guide and the WRC delegation. It was both fun and educational at the same time. 

We then proceeded to visit the Art Gallery. Pictures and paintings are often tinged with landscapes and varied reliefs. Everyone can analyse and appreciate the artwork in their own way. Some paintings are very old (over 500 years), others more recent. You often have to get closer to better understand the artistic work. You need eyes to see, but even better, you need to have ingenious eyes to understand the messages conveyed by these beautiful paintings. Thanks to the great work of painters of other times, each new generation has elements of research to better understand history. 

I would like to thank the Welsh Refugee Council for organizing the outing but even more so the National Museum for having offered this invitation. It has allowed us to not only learn a little more about the culture of Wales but to also create contacts for possible opportunities in the future. 

 “I would like to reiterate our thanks to Amgueddfa Cymru, for an excellent day for our students.  I thought that there was a really nice balance of activities, excellent use of relevant artifacts and pictures – not to mention your enthusiastic and motivating presentation.” said Martin Smidman Volunteer & Partnership Manager at the Welsh Refugee Council.

Diolch yn fawr Amgueddfa Cymru