Making it happen: trauma-informed ESOL teaching in Scottish FE

Abstract The article explores trauma and its psychological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioural impact in the language classroom and considers the trauma-informed guiding principles of safety, choice, empowerment, belonging, and connection that can mitigate the effects of trauma in a Scottish further education setting. Examining the practical implementation of classroom-level use of trauma-informed strategies in a Scottish Further Education ESOL context draws attention to the wider institutional and societal constraints that determine teachers’ practice. By focussing on the potential affordances of Scottish ESOL lecturers when it comes to engaging in trauma-informed practice, the article problematises the concept of self-care for practitioners and argues that advocacy for practitioner well-being and student well-being is a vital element of practitioners’ ability to engage in trauma-informed practice.