About us

About PJ Lingo

PJ Lingo creates ESOL readers for beginner adult learners, with a particular focus on those at early stages of English.

Our materials are designed for adult ESOL learners and the teachers, volunteers, and organisations who support them.

Our Approach

Our work has been shaped by our experience in community ESOL settings, where we have supported learners with a wide range of language and literacy levels. Many of the learners we work with are at early stages of English and benefit from materials that are clear, accessible, and relevant to their everyday lives.

We focus on clarity, real-life relevance, and accessibility at early stages of language learning.

Our approach is rooted in a social practice understanding of language, where reading and writing are connected to real-life use. We focus on contexts that are meaningful for adult ESOL learners, particularly those navigating new systems and communities, including refugees and people seeking asylum.

Our Materials

Our ESOL literacy readers are designed to be simple, visual, and practical. The stories are based on familiar, everyday situations such as appointments, work, and daily routines, helping learners build confidence with language they can use beyond the classroom.

The layout and structure are carefully designed to support accessibility, particularly for those developing reading skills in English.

Our materials can be used in class, in small groups, or for independent reading at home.

We aim to move beyond narrow or idealised representations of English-speaking life. Instead, our materials reflect a wider range of everyday experiences.  Our stories depict situations that learners are more likely to recognise, relate to, and use in their own lives.

Why We Created PJ Lingo

Through our work, we identified a gap in suitable resources. Many existing materials are either too complex, not designed with accessibility in mind, or lack connection to real-life contexts.

We also found that too few resources reflect the everyday experiences of the learners we work with, particularly refugees and people seeking asylum. Many materials present a narrow or idealised version of English-speaking life that doesn’t match the realities learners are navigating.

As a result, we began developing our own materials to better meet these needs.

Our Experience

PJ Lingo is developed by a small independent team of qualified ESOL practitioners with extensive experience teaching English abroad in Europe, as well as in Scotland in community and further education contexts.

Our materials are shaped by our experience across a range of ESOL contexts, particularly in community settings, as well as the knowledge and relationships we have developed working with learners from a wide range of cultural backgrounds.

Looking Ahead

We are continuing to develop new titles and expand our range of resources.

We welcome feedback from ESOL practitioners and organisations working with adult learners. If you’d like to share feedback or get in touch, please contact us at pjteam@pjlingo.com.

Our aim is to support accessible, relevant language learning at early stages, while continuing to grow and develop new materials.