Seventeen members of staff from four departments at Gonville & Caius College have taken part in a series of English lessons to support them in the workplace and at home.

The lessons for non-native speakers of English focused on language common in the workplace and to develop stronger understanding of connections to develop in their job roles.

The eight-lesson series was taught by Cambridge-based language teacher Arina Zinoveva, and participants received a certificate of attendance.

“It’s made a tangible difference in the way staff have been able to communicate and enabled them to form friendships with people from other departments,” said Charlotte Hasler, Caius’ Head of HR.

Housekeeper Sandra Cascalho, who is Portuguese, said: “It was a good idea to have these lessons and I’m grateful to the College for this opportunity.”

Yannes Yang, who works in Housekeeping, added: “The English course was very helpful to me because it taught me how to use the past tense and the present tense. I hope College will continue to offer this course.”