By Dermot Bryers, EFA teacher-organiser and Pedagogy lead
We’ve been discussing and learning about climate change in class lately.
As part of this theme, we wanted to reach out to the Mayor of London to advocate for changes in our community that would have a positive impact on our neighbourhoods. We have sent the Mayor’s office this message, which students drafted together:
“Dear Mayor Sadiq Khan,
We are ESOL students of English for Action, which is an organisation for teaching English to migrants in London. It helps people participate in life in the UK.
We are a group of over 600 students, teachers and volunteers. We work with around 50 schools, universities and community organisations across London who host our classes and support our work.
We appreciate that you have done a lot of things for us since you became our mayor. We have some advice on improving our environment.
Would you please consider doing something for our public transport? It’s very important to improve our underground conditions:
1) add air conditioning to our underground
2) set up the safety barriers and doors on the platforms
3) reduce the price for public transport tickets
Also, we would like you to set up more locations for shared public bicycles.
If our public transport is safer and more comfortable, a greater number of people will love to use it and then fewer people will drive their own cars. This will reduce our air pollution and encourage people to use public transport and cycle more.
It will help prevent climate change and global warming. Everyone has the right to breathe clean air!!!
We hope that our ideas help our environment and our ideas will be put into practice soon!
Please respond to tell us about your action in response to our suggestions.
Is there an opportunity to meet with you or your officers to discuss further?
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Best regards,
[List of Signatures]”
After sending our letter to the Mayor of London in class recently, we discussed how to make these letters or emails more effective. Our list included:
Strategies for writing to politicians
1 – Many signatures
2 – Promise to vote for them
3 – Introduce ourselves
4 – Show our power (numbers, groups, diversity)
5 – Ask for solid feedback, or reaction
6 – Recognise their work (gives them energy to read!)
7 – Point out the problems
8 – Clear demands
9 – Use formal, ‘correct’ language
Which do you agree with and disagree with from our list? Is there anything missing?
What are your tips for writing to politicians?
English for Action 