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NATIONAL 'ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES' (ESOL) STRATEGY
MAPPING EXERCISE AND SCOPING STUDY

CHAPTER FIVE ASSESSMENT AND PROGRESSION

INTRODUCTION

5.1 This chapter describes data on achievement and progression provided by the Survey questionnaires and discusses issues relating to these topics which were raised in interviews with stakeholders and ESOL practitioners. Also described are initiatives and projects which have recently been undertaken to improve methods of assessment and progression to employment or mainstream courses.

5.2 Student achievement can be measured by success in external assessment and progression to employment or "mainstream" courses. Achievement is not always objectively measurable: confidence in everyday encounters, independence, and feeling comfortable in the second language community all mark successful language learning. It was noticeable that all the students who took part in the 5 focus groups made a point of describing the increase in self-confidence that their classes had given them - being able to talk to their children's teachers, going to the doctor on their own, even feeling able to confront teenage hooligans in the street.

ASSESSMENT

5.3 Assessment instruments discussed here include initial assessment and screening of new students, tools for reviewing and tracking progress, internal end of term or end of unit tests as well as external examinations such as Trinity ESOL, the Cambridge suite of examinations, IELTS and SQA NQ ESOL Units.

5.4 Screening and assessment on admission is regarded as essential for placing students in the correct class, even where there are mixed-level classes. Table 5.1 shows how 48 institutions assess new students on admission. The most popular assessment of new students on admission is by interview (51%), followed by a written test (22 %).

Table 5.1 Assessment of new Students on admission

Note: multiple answers

5.5 FE Colleges are more likely to administer both written tests and interviews to new students while Community Education centres tend to make more use of interviews alone. Without a face-to-face interview it is difficult to draw up a meaningful Individual Learning Plan for a student, particularly a beginner or near-beginner who may not be literate in English. On the other hand, 13 CE Centres and 5 FE Colleges stated that they only used interviews at admission but as it is impossible to predict reading and writing ability from oral proficiency, these centres are not assessing important skills before placing students.

5.6 Thirty-eight institutions (17 FE, 20 CE, 1 Voluntary) stated that they employed Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) or similar tools with students. ILPs, sometimes termed Personal Learning Plans, were largely developed in the context of adult literacy. FE Colleges use them and ALN partnerships require them and the forms used are often the same as or very similar to those used in literacy groups. Adult literacy "worked with smaller groups, often in mixed level classes, and has a tradition of planning much more on an individual basis. In contrast, especially in the urban areas, which have had to work with huge numbers of students, ESOL has had a tradition of group teaching and group negotiation resulting in a group syllabus, scheme of work and goals." (Findings of the ILP Working Party Planning learning: setting individual learning goals in ESOL - Draft 6 October 2002 - LLLU).

5.7 ILPs require regular tutorials with learners, which is time-consuming especially with large classes of students who are struggling to communicate. Several informants expressed criticism of their use with ESOL learners, and although it can be conceded that ESOL teachers may not be familiar with ILPs as such from their previous teaching experience, some teachers argued that they do not allow sufficiently for the demands of a common language syllabus. This may account for some of the more sceptical comments given by teachers in the teachers' questionnaire:

• "ILPs are "superficial - have to fit into the rest of the College."
• "students were confused - they'd never been asked to evaluate anything before - conceptually it wasn't something they could cope with."
• "not great for lower level students - can take a whole class at a time."

One co-ordinator also felt that ILPs were required by the Council without sufficient consideration of their appropriateness.

5.8 It may be more meaningful to negotiate some targets with groups, rather than individuals, in recognition of the differences between second language acquisition and first language literacy training. In fact, some centres have started to do this.

5.9 While there is a growing number of international examinations in General English, English for study and for business, most ESOL students (in the traditional, non-EFL meaning) have not, until very recently, been encouraged to enter for them. Examinations such as the Cambridge ESOL suite (recently renamed from "Cambridge EFL") or those offered by Trinity College are in any case targeted mainly at students learning English in their own countries or to students on relatively short courses in the UK.

5.10 From the learners' questionnaire we found that 50% had never passed an English examination in the UK (56% of migrants, 54% of students and 49% of refugees). Many ESOL learners at FE colleges thus still complete a year of study without any externally assessed outcome, although they may take internally-set class tests. There are nevertheless 6 FE Colleges which apparently entered no students for ESOL examinations in 2003-04. Thus students may not be entering for examinations because they are not offered the opportunity. However, students may also feel that their level of English is too low to contemplate an examination. Chinese students in an Aberdeen CE class (beginners to intermediate) believed that employers would not be interested in a certificate "from here" where the level is so low and had no plans to take English examinations, which they saw as something you do at College. This is now changing, largely due to the advent of the revised SQA ESOL NQ Units (successor to the ESOL modules), which can offer an exit award even to ESOL literacy students.

5.11 In the Glasgow ESOL Survey (2000) only 24% of "ESOL" learners (as opposed to "EFL" learners) stated that they intended to take an English language examination in the year of the survey. When asked whether they expected to take an English examination in the current year, 53% of the whole sample said they did and 30% said "no". Table 5.2 shows that 61% of students and 58% or refugees said they expected to take an English examination compared to 48% of migrants.

Table 5.2 Do you intend to take an English examination?

Note: 76 respondents were excluded from categories or did not answer

5.12 According to the data provided by the online questionnaire, 21 institutions entered students for external examinations in 2003-04 - 15 in FE, 6 in CE. The total number of students entered for examinations was 2471, or 30% of all ESOL students. Table 5.3 shows numbers entered for different types of exams:

Table 5.3 Candidates for ESOL examinations by Examination Board

Table 5.4 shows numbers entered at different Common European Framework (CEF) ²² levels, for Cambridge ESOL only ²³ in two sectors.

Table 5.4 Candidates entered for Cambridge ESOL Examinations

Table 5.5, below, shows how the 962 ²⁴ students entered for the new SQA ESOL NQ Units in 2003-04 were distributed between the two non-voluntary sectors.

Table 5.5 Candidates entered for SQA ESOL NQ Units

5.13 Exit awards are increasingly valued by educational institutions, employers and by learners themselves. Entrance to mainstream College courses or to university requires formal proof of proficiency, and standards established for international students are normally applied to all non-native residents without Higher English, or an equivalent, for example IELTS or Cambridge CAE or CPE.

5.14 From the learners' questionnaire, however, it appears that large numbers of students have not taken examinations in English, even those who have been attending classes for over two years, as Figure 5.1 shows

Figure 5.1 Students studying in the UK who have passed English examinations.

5.15 Furthermore, somewhat surprisingly, only around half to two-thirds of the students who stated they were learning English for work or study expected to take an examination at the end of their current course, as Table 5.6 shows. Just over two-thirds of those who wanted to take an English examination expected to take one in the current academic year.

Table 5.6 Students learning English for work or study who expected to take an English examination

5.16 The SQA NQ ESOL Unit specifications, written by leading ESOL practitioners in Scotland, became available in August 2003 after a period of consultation. Exemplars of assessment materials were produced for piloting in 2003-04 and the feedback from practitioners is now being used to revise the exemplar material with the additional help of ESF funding (until December 2004). The intention, according to Alan Wilson, Qualifications Manager (Modern languages) for the SQA, was to develop assessment units that were more relevant and more attractive than the old modules to the kind of ESOL students now enrolled on College, Community education and voluntary sector classes. As part of the SQA suite of qualifications they can also be more readily recognised both by employers and by educational institutions as matching NQs in other subjects.

5.17 Within Scotland, the ESOL NQs can thus be viewed as more user-friendly than international ESOL examinations. They allow students to start and finish at any time, which distinguishes them from IELTS, Cambridge or Trinity College examinations which have fixed dates. Another distinguishing feature is that units are classified according to language functions: Personal and Social English or English Language Study "helps them communicate with others about themselves and their lives", while English Language Skills "develops candidates' English …. in order to obtain and provide information, goods and services" (i.e. transactional English).

5.18 Students can take Units at Access 2, Access 3, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2 and Higher level. Identifying the Units within the SCQF levels means that students can present easily-recognised qualifications for entry onto mainstream subject courses (NC and HN courses), but also for HE, although universities have not yet been brought on board (according to Alan Wilson) and are unlikely to be interested until benchmarking to CEF, IELTS and Cambridge examinations is completed.

5.19 In interviews with teachers, the SQA NC ESOL Units were one of the most keenly discussed issues. Many teachers recognised the value of this kind of assessment - listed in the SQA catalogue alongside other NQs, meaningful to Colleges and to employers, accessible to many students for whom existing examinations may seem too "academic". However, the new Units have met with often severe criticism, much from teachers who are strongly in favour of this kind of assessment. A teacher who had used them with all her classes felt "they need a lot of improvement", had been "done on the cheap" and that the piloting had so far been insufficient. Another had come across "too many errors" in the answers provided for some exemplar assessments. This teacher also regarded Access 2 as "meaningless" and questioned the validity of a writing task which involved copying, even at this level. Other teachers who knew about the units were equally unimpressed by what they had seen, in both the Unit Specifications and the exemplar assessment materials: "too much text and bullet point summaries", "completely confusing to teachers", "based on learning outcomes, but no syllabus, materials or context". Interestingly, the view of Alan Wilson was that being context-free (i.e. no literature or cultural content) made the new units more useful and accessible to students.

5.20 The most frequent criticism was that assessment criteria were unclear - "great disparity between tasks allegedly at the same level". Access 3 listening was considered very difficult, but other skills at this level much easier. This view was shared by a teacher who had not yet used the units but who had attended the FENTO training workshop (in the summer of 2004) - the units were a great improvement on the "terrible" modules, but in her College there was a certain trepidation about the responsibility placed on the internal assessors, and the absence of clear guidelines, as she perceived it. In fact centre co-ordinators exist in all colleges - their role is to give clear guidelines to internal assessors. Unit length also gave cause for concern: a Glasgow College manager argued that his students, most of whom were asylum-seekers or refugees, needed twice the number of hours recommended (80 rather than 40), partly at least because of attendance problem (see Chapter 3).

5.21 One reason for reservations about internal assessment may be that ESOL teachers are mostly new to the internal assessment regime of SQA qualifications. No current teacher training courses include internal assessment either. However, the frequency of these negative comments, from teachers with long and varied experience, should alert the SQA to the need for more training. EFL and ESOL teachers after all live their professional lives, more than most teachers, changing and adapting to widely differing settings, students, syllabuses and contexts.

5.22 Some teachers who had been more closely involved in the piloting were much more enthusiastic, perhaps partly because their close involvement in this stage enabled them to view the exemplar assessments as still "work-in-progress". An outreach teacher in Edinburgh praised the units as a great improvement on the old modules - more focussed and targeted with fewer assessments; clearer tasks and clearer performance criteria.

5.23 A teacher about to use the units with outreach classes had previously used the modules and had found them too easy, and demotivating, although "great for students who hadn't had much education" Outside the piloting area, it seems the SQA still has some marketing to do (which it is aware of - a budget has been earmarked for marketing) : teachers in Aberdeen and Dumfries and Galloway Community Education seemed unaware of the units although in early May, Aberdeen Adult Learning managers were discussing offering the new SQA ESOL NQ Units. In Aberdeen, one teacher said of her mixed level class (beginners to pre-intermediate) "they definitely don't want anything to do with exams". In Dumfries and Galloway, classes are still using the old modules and expected to continue with them (levels 2 and 3).

5.24 Students who have been entered have been enthusiastic both about the units themselves and, for some of them, the chance to take a formal assessment for the first time. Students in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Falkirk and Aberdeen were entered in 2003-04. 300 students in Stevenson College Community-based ESOL classes in Edinburgh were entered, and participants in the Duncan Place Resource Centre Focus group clearly appreciated this opportunity: "I am happy for exams - when you give exam your ability is measured". They were looking forward to taking more, including the Higher ESOL Units, the following year.

5.25 Some teachers have reported some resistance amongst their students, who preferred to take more established and better-known examinations.

5.26 Unlike most other SQA awards, the ESOL NQs are being developed and promoted in a market crowded with international competitors. While it seems clear that they are filling a gap - offering a qualification to students who hope eventually to enter mainstream education or the labour force in Scotland (or the UK), at the same time both teachers and many students will expect a product that matches Cambridge and Trinity examinations in quality and reputation. Benchmarking to CEF levels and so to established examinations is essential for the near future, support materials and guidance need to be produced, and benchmarking to published coursebooks achieved.

5.27 Future development of the units, following SQA policy, will depend on their popularity, the supply of markers and exam writers and whether they can either pay for themselves or justify themselves as meeting critical student need. Their popularity with students in the piloting stage together with the low take-up of other examinations suggests that they do meet a need. The most obvious next step, the production of a Higher course externally assessed examination to complement the three existing units at Higher level, which could be used for entry into HE, will need to meet these conditions.

PROGRESSION

5.28 College managers are keenly aware of the importance of enabling ESOL students to progress to work, mainstream college courses or to university and of their responsibility in ensuring that progression works. Anniesland College Principal Linda McTavish, was one of the first in Glasgow to take action to ensure that adult refugees and asylum-seekers arriving via dispersal in 2000 would be able to learn English at College level. Anniesland argued from the start for access to mainstream courses for these students, (interview 26/8/04). Linda McTavish lobbied early on for students to be able to enrol on part-time HN courses free (with fee-waivers) following their full-time English courses, or on ESOL+ courses (see also Hodgart, 2003)

5.29 Both ESOL and non-ESOL informants criticised the practice (clearly not a deliberate policy) of allowing ESOL learners in FE Colleges to enrol in General English classes for two, three or more years without progressing to mainstream courses, or to English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classes such as English for Business, for Computing etc. ESOL classes are usually very enjoyable and often fun. A good ESOL teacher will work hard to ensure students get to know each other, so the group may become very close-knit and offer opportunities for learners to make friends, which is especially important for those who may feel isolated by language and cultural barriers, with no job or immediate prospect of a job, far from family and friends. Not only refugees and asylum seekers suffer from this kind of isolation and the lack of confidence it engenders. It is understandable that students in this situation cling to their place in a familiar class with a known, friendly and supportive teacher, rather than risk a new and more challenging class.

5.30 A very experienced Glasgow-based teacher identified the main issues for ESOL as the need to make sure students are enrolled on appropriate programmes and the need to place students in the classes that will help them to achieve their ultimate aims. She spoke strongly about the tendency to put students into English classes and forget them: too many students are spending up to 3 years at the same level, perhaps quite happily, but not moving on to courses that will get them into work or into further training or education and, where there are waiting lists, blocking places for other students.

5.31 Progression rates are perceived as a key indicator of the success of an institution. One of the criteria used by HMIE teams in evaluating programme design at FE Colleges is how well courses provide progression routes - to HE, mainstream College courses or employment. HMIE reports of Community Education (Council-run) provision do not mention this however. On the other hand, where ESOL departments are isolated from the rest of the College, a not unusual situation, it may be more difficult to arrange progression and to ensure students are tracked and supported

5.32 The rather belated recognition that amongst the thousands of asylum-seekers and refugees who have been arriving in Glasgow since 2000, there are large numbers of highly qualified and experienced professionals has galvanised employers and some professional associations and universities into agitating for fast-track English tuition together with professional orientation and updating. In fact, Rhona Hodgart (2003) comments that refugees and asylum-seekers are "much more pressing [than traditional ESOL learners] in the demand to achieve [progression to mainstream] and this has been a force for change" (p17).

5.33 The West of Scotland Refugee Doctors Project, GOPiP (Glasgow Overseas Professionals into Practice for nurses), Refugee teachers, the Bridges Project, the New Glaswegians project together with schemes for skilled workers like OTAR have all been set up specifically to speed up the process of getting into work, as well as to encourage refugees to stay in Scotland. Some colleges have also responded by starting ESOL + courses, such as ESOL + car mechanics at Anniesland, ESOL + Beauty at Langside. Outwith Glasgow, prompted by Scottish Executive initiatives such as New Futures Scotland, there is evidence of a new readiness to view ESOL learners as a resource and an opportunity, rather than only as either a source of income (fee-paying international students) or as a responsibility.

5.34 Some of the findings from the learners' questionnaire seem to reveal a lack of interest and perhaps confidence in progressing to work or to study. 918 (613%) learners expected to re-enrol on an English class in 2004-05. Moreover, 68% of those who had already been attending English classes for two or more years expected to return to the same English class in 2004-05.

5.35 Of those who did not intend to continue with English classes, 88 expected to enrol on another course (not English), 21 were getting a job and 16 considered their English good enough not to require more English tuition. 19 learners wrote that they would be returning to their own country.

5.36 Even some advanced level learners (although not all), interviewed in focus groups, did not expect to be able to improve their English sufficiently to be able to work in their old occupations, or train for new ones - hence no interest in English for work. A priority for ESOL in Scotland should be to raise learners' expectations, and so stimulate a stronger demand for language tuition that will help in job-seeking.

5.37 The wider use of assessment instruments, in particular the SQA ESOL NQ Units (which include English for Work and Study from Access 3 level) should, by encouraging the expectation of an exit award, also encourage students to expect to move out of ESOL classes and into the mainstream.

5.38 A fundamental difficulty for students progressing to higher level classes is that free local authority provision in most areas is targeted at lower proficiency levels. A recent success story in Glasgow is the closure of outreach classes in Castlemilk because all the students have enrolled in (higher-level) College classes. More often, progression from community-based to college classes is problematic. In Aberdeen CE students who could have enrolled in College classes were put off by the cost. In Dumfries there are no College classes, and teaching and learning in community-based classes is seriously hampered by the numbers of advanced students joining classes and stretching the range of levels to such an extent that neither they nor the lowest level students can really benefit. College classes can also seem intimidating, especially to learners who have recently arrived in the UK, even those already at higher levels: an Aberdeen teacher described a highly educated and motivated student in her CE class who had joined a College course but found the class too big, felt "put on the spot" and did not want to return; other students she felt were put off by the examinations. College classes are almost always larger than Community-based classes. Comments from both teachers and students suggest they are sometimes experienced as more impersonal and more formal. On the other hand, students with more educational experience often lose patience with the slower pace and less academic atmosphere of the community-based classes which may be the only tuition on offer.

5.39 The issue of progression prompted some of the most serious concerns amongst College staff too, especially those teaching intermediate to advanced students. One Glasgow senior lecturer considered that her college was less successful in motivating and challenging higherlevel students, and that intermediate students were often demotivated by unemployment, delays in decisions on status (asylum-seekers) and also by having spent two years in General English classes.

5.40 Some practitioners felt that their centres were allowing students to re-enrol in ESOL classes when they might make faster progress by moving on to mainstream college classes, where English support could replace full-time ESOL. However, while many students may cope with spoken communication in mainstream courses (e.g. NCs), their written proficiency is often too low for exam-oriented courses.

5.41 Some practitioners felt that their centres were allowing students to re-enrol in ESOL classes when they might make faster progress by moving on to mainstream college classes, where English support could replace full-time ESOL. However, while many students may cope with spoken communication in mainstream courses (e.g. NCs), their written proficiency is often too low for exam-oriented courses. At Anniesland, progression onto "language-light" courses such as mathematics or computing was regarded as "very successful", as was progression to courses where Departments were rigorous in implementing entry requirements (eg IELTS 4.5 for NC courses), while ESOL learners often dropped out of courses which demanded more language proficiency. One Glasgow College lecturer complained that students were pressured to move on to mainstream courses, but once there could find they had continuing difficulties with written work, and no, or insufficient, in-class support. While they could theoretically continue with ESOL, their timetables might not allow this, and flexible, drop-in facilities were not available. The lack of advice and guidance for ESOL students enrolled on other courses was noted in the recent HMIE subject review at Langside and this is now being addressed both at Langside and at Anniesland.

5.42 At the Glasgow College of Food Technology (with the largest number of ESOL students in Glasgow), language support for students on mainstream courses is limited to a single evening class once a week for all students.

5.43 In contrast, Stevenson College has recently been able to start a daytime class specifically for students enrolled on Business HN courses, replacing tutorial-based support for these students - although this service is still available for other students.

5.44 The new SQA ESOL Communications unit for HN as well as the ESOL NQ qualifications may help to spread this practice to other colleges, and should enable them to ensure that ESOL learners continue to have access to English language tuition within their mainstream courses, and that the tuition is tailored to their needs. The ESOL Communications Unit was piloted by Anniesland College in 2004, and the first students to pass it as part of their HNC and HND awards graduated in October 2004 (in business, engineering, computing and other subjects).

5.45 One College lecturer, with many years of experience of teaching HN Communications units, was critical of the levelling of the ESOL Communications unit at Intermediate 2, which in his College was the minimum level for entry onto an HN course. His preference was for advising ESOL students who had reached this minimum to take courses which do not have Communications as core (E.g. Accounting) - in fact he believed Communications should generally be electives, for all students and all courses.

5.46 Courses such as Computing and ESOL (with 50 students) and the NC Beauty and ESOL courses, delivered by both ESOL and subject specialists at Langside, or the Car Mechanics course at Anniesland show what can be done to offer a "halfway house" between discrete ESOL and mainstream courses. Such courses are expensive to run, and therefore limited. The danger is that learners with little interest in the subject are obliged to enrol because it is all that's on offer. Another difficulty is often integrating the language and the subject teaching effectively within the constraints of timetables and staff availability.

5.47 While there are many success stories of students progressing from low-level ESOL to university, refugees and asylum-seekers with less than 3 years' residence in the UK are charged overseas student fees at university, so many are forced into vocational classes at NC or HNC level, where fees can be waived or are lower. This is particularly the case for young asylum-seekers and refugees who are too old to start Higher courses at school (and whose level of English may not be appropriate) but whose educational achievements in their countries of origin would make them ideally suited to a university degree.

5.48 For international fee-paying students, more and more colleges are starting courses for university entrance, or expanding this type of provision. Edinburgh's Telford College is seeing a "slow increase in EAP" demand, and is running IELTS preparation courses to meet it. At Stevenson, a new agreement with Edinburgh University offers guaranteed places to students on the College Foundation course.

5.49 Learners at all levels want to progress, and to make use of their improving English. They usually have definite ideas of what they want to achieve, and realistic (sometimes pessimistic) thoughts about how to achieve their goals. Chinese students in the low mixed-level community-based class in Aberdeen were pessimistic about their chances of ever getting jobs commensurate with training and education in China:

• A former nurse said: "I think impossible - English [for nursing] is very higher - I want to do my job - I think I can't."
• A former accountant described how she tried to study with an accountancy book at home: "everyday I try to read book - the numbers are ok but not the sentences."

5.50 In quite sharp contrast to the Aberdeen students, students from Stevenson College Edinburgh's Community-based provision were expecting either to continue studies started in their own countries (economics, medicine) or to be able to train for a better job than they had had before (a former hotel and catering worker). Another was keen for a part-time job, or even an opportunity to "work free, for my language practice, because I'm just stay at home." They had a clear idea of how long they would need to continue to attend English classes, and the kind of classes and job-search skills they would need, before attempting to find a job or study further (1 or 2 years). They were also quite aware of how to find out about mainstream courses at the main campus for example.

5.51 In Dumfries students in the focus group were looking forward to improving their English sufficiently to be able to find a job (including one who wanted to join the Police), enter college or university, play a fuller part in a family business or return to their own countries better equipped to find jobs in the tourist industry. These more advanced students foresaw little difficulty in attaining their goals, eventually, although every student was insistent that they needed more hours of classes.

5.52 Undoubtedly there are ESOL students who go to classes because it is somewhere to go and/or because the College pays their bus fare. However, it is important to stress the role of the English class in helping migrants of all kinds, whether long-term or short-term, to integrate and to feel at home in Britain, to practise English by speaking to class-mates as well as to be taught, to find out about how things work from other students, as well as to learn about British life and culture. One student in Dumfries described very eloquently how the English class had filled a gap in his life in Scotland: "half of my social life here in Scotland is here in the school. Before I came here, I was in the university and I lived in the big city and I used to go to opera, to cinema, to theatre, to concerts - and here I can't afford it. I just don't have time and I don't have the money. I don't meet so many people….so for me, this is my second family". It also provided a rare opportunity to speak English, as well as to learn it, as the hotel where he worked had so many Eastern European employees that - in his view - interactions amongst the staff in English were rapidly diminishing.

ROUTES TO EMPLOYMENT OR MAINSTREAM TRAINING AND EDUCATION

5.53 Fresh Talent, the Scottish Executive's initiative in inviting foreign workers and professionals to come to work in Scotland, in response to its changing demographic profile, may help to develop a more favourable climate for migrants and refugees ²⁵.

5.54 Jim Gaffney of Laing O'Rourke Construction (Scotland) Ltd spoke at the STUC's Conference on Refugees and Asylum Seekers (4/6/04), of his "very very positive" experience of working with refugees and asylum-seekers. However he noted that they are vulnerable to exploitation because of ignorance of UK legislation relating to employment, limited English and perhaps also because their skills and working practices may be more traditional and not completely appropriate for modern sites and factories. He also spoke of the large "grey" labour market where refugees may earn no more than £20 or £30 per day and pay no tax.

5.55 There are many students who already have skills and professions who are mainly prevented from finding a job by their lack of English, including occupational English. The skills audit conducted by the Scottish Refugee Council (published April 2004) established that well over half of the 523 refugees and asylum-seekers they spoke to had college or university qualifications, while others had trades skills and management and IT experience. Yet only 16% considered they spoke English "fluently". In this context, ESOL classes focussing on preparation for work or training, or for job-seeking can be seen as a priority.

5.56 Responses from the online questionnaire give only 725 English for Work classes across Scotland, as against 20,862 General English and 1,720 English for Study classes. It is now fairly common for General English classes, including Community-based classes, to teach English for work and for job-seeking. Nevertheless, Table 5.7 shows not only how few students are currently learning English for Work, but also the low priority apparently accorded this kind of English by learners, especially amongst asylum-seekers. As mentioned above, these figures may be explained by low expectations amongst learners: they do not expect to be able to work, so they do not prioritise learning the language they need for job-seeking. Nevertheless, this figure is in striking contrast to the views of informants, both in ESOL and in work spheres, that refugees and asylum-seekers are especially keen to find jobs, especially jobs for which they are already trained.

Table 5.7 English for work currently taken and needed by employment status

* In this question, learners were asked to choose only 3 from a list of 10 skills and topics - although most chose more than 3

5.57 For many, the route to a job will be via a College or University course, for which the entry qualification will be a particular level of proficiency in general English. English for specific purposes (ESP) support for students in HN courses is likely to be more beneficial than generic English for work.

5.58 There are also learners of English who are blocked from employment opportunities in spite of adequate English and updated skills by what one worker has described as the "impossible" attitude of some professional bodies: their professional fees are prohibitively high, they do not offer preparation courses for their examinations and they seem uninterested in helping refugees into jobs even where there are shortages. This contrasts markedly with the philosophy of the GMC and the GTC.

5.59 Two major concerns of skilled and professional workers are the length of time it takes to develop adequate language proficiency and the time it then takes to gain accreditation for foreign qualifications. One informant spoke of how refugee doctors and other professionals were discouraged by having to wait 2-3 years from initial referral to English classes to work. Such a delay can lead to deskilling too, in spite of shadowing and other schemes.

Jobcentre Plus

5.60 Jobcentre Plus plays an important role in helping ethnic minority and refugee jobseekers ²⁶ into work. The Ethnic Minority Development Officer for Scotland, Irfan Arif, has organised events to bring ethnic minority jobseekers together with employers who can offer real jobs. Information days at mosques and gurdwaras have also been held in an effort to increase the number of ethnic minority jobseekers, who may be deterred from using jobcentres through lack of awareness or mistrust of government bodies. Through New Deal, Jobcentre Plus has formed partnerships with colleges, notably Anniesland in Glasgow and Stevenson in Edinburgh, where 18-24 year-olds can attend ESOL and vocational classes (with English language support). Personal advisers in some Jobcentreplus offices, like Bill Anderson (see below), work mainly or exclusively with refugees and help with a wide range of queries. At present, over 25 year-olds have no recourse to 'free' classes, which frustrates the personal advisers. Changes to New Deal, however, will mean that older clients will be included in free provision.

5.61 There are no bilingual personal advisers in Glasgow. Many staff do speak other languages - e.g. there are Punjabi speakers in Partick - but there appears to be no policy to ensure jobcentres are staffed with bilingual speakers of relevant languages.

5.62 Jobs available for migrant workers with limited English tend to be low-skilled and low-paid, and often in the black market. Irfan Arif said that employers were fixated with standard application forms which usually require a high level of English to complete ²⁷ and would not consider other ways of finding out skills and experience which would be more appropriate for ESOL learners. Mr Arif believed that most employers have not "quite come to grips" with a labour market which is being transformed in many ways by the arrival of migrant, refugee and settled ethnic minority workers with a wide variety of skills, and that racial prejudice is still a factor in keeping unemployment rates among ethnic minority communities higher than among whites. These attitudes, in particular the use of language as a means of excluding migrant workers, are also found elsewhere in Europe ²⁸

5.63 Bill Anderson of Springburn Jobcentreplus Office was the first "named representative" in Glasgow Jobcentreplus Offices, whose responsibility is to work with refugees and asylum seekers. He took on this role in July 2000 when an asylum-seeker came into the Springburn Jobcentreplus looking for help, and he has been helping clients ever since with a host of functions, including applications for maternity support, jobseeker allowance, NI numbers etc. ever since. Now Offices throughout the city have dedicated officials performing this role. Mr Anderson works closely with SRC and attends monthly meetings with them (he describes their relationship as "symbiotic").

5.64 In his experience, employers are now concerned with English language proficiency where a job involves either dealing with the public or professional qualifications. For low-skilled catering or factory jobs employers especially outside Glasgow are now keen to recruit refugees because of their willingness to work long hours and their reliability. Employers are prepared to take on refugees if a group with the same first language includes at least one individual with adequate spoken English. Initially such employers were wary of doing this, but experience has apparently taught them otherwise. Employers have also, he noted, learned to grade their language when communicating with non-native speakers. There are of course clear risks involved in such strategies, not least with health and safety. Bill Anderson maintained that English language was not, therefore, "vital" for entering the labour market but it was for getting a good job. He does try to get all his clients to attend English classes and is involved at present in developing English for work courses with Anniesland and Stow Colleges. However, he is fully aware of the shortage of places at Colleges (and is unsure of the quality of non-College ESOL), so can only encourage. He has come to realise that working - i.e. interacting with English speakers all day - is the most effective way of making progress in English, so he also encourages clients to take on voluntary work - "until they use it, they won't learn it".

5.65 Jai Dhillon, the Minority Ethnic Outreach Worker with Jobcentre Plus in Glasgow, in post for around a year, has a remit to work with unemployed minority ethnic clients - mainly New Deal clients. He helps clients find non-college ESOL courses while they wait for a College place and also works on their CVs with them. He explained that more educated clients don't like having to take training or classes in less-skilled vocations, which may be offered largely because of their English proficiency, but, as New Deal clients, they cannot refuse "I feel more could be done, more classes, more [vocational] training, more hands-on".

5.66 New Deal partners Anniesland College have free ESOL places for New Deal clients aged 18-24 in the Glasgow Employment Zone and these clients do not need to wait for 6 months before taking up a place (they can also jump the queue and join a class within 2 weeks) but older jobseekers (25+) have no free English language provision at present. In the summer of 2004 Anniesland had 25 New Deal students (classes run for 51 weeks of the year) - numbers peaked at 55 in January 2004. Students have a minimum of 30 hours of classes per week including 15 hours of ESOL, together with vocational classes in catering, IT, computing, motor vehicle maintenance or accountancy: the choice of vocational class largely depends on level of English.

5.67 New Deal clients are now eligible for only 6 months' free English tuition. If - as is sometimes the case - they are at beginner level when referred, they are extremely unlikely to be ready for employment after 6 months. In addition, one teacher respondent noted how the roll-on-roll-off system of enrolment applied to New Deal students discriminates against beginner level students - their level of English means that they are unlikely to benefit from joining a class in the middle of a course, so they are obliged to wait until a new course starts.

Into work projects

5.68 Exclusion from the legitimate labour market, skills in need of upgrading and language limitations have been addressed by a number of innovative and successful projects, notably with refugees and asylum-seekers in the West of Scotland. Some of these are described below.

5.69 The NHS Refugee Doctors Programme, currently active in the West of Scotland (although in principle available to refugee doctors throughout Scotland), takes asylum-seekers as well as refugees referred by the SRC, on the grounds that around 75% of asylum-seekers in Scotland are granted refugee status.

5.70 In order to register with the GMC, all overseas doctors need to pass IELTS at Band 7.0, and the PLAB test. The Programme sponsors refugee and asylum-seeker doctors by providing English language tuition at Anniesland College, and bus passes followed by a postgraduate attachment at Glasgow University. Of 93 who have been enrolled since the start of the Programme 28 now (November 2004)have GMC registration and 18 are currently working within the NHS (more than half in the West of Scotland). 43 are now working towards registration, including 33 who are still preparing for the IELTS examination.

5.71 The main problems faced by doctors on the programme, according to the Associate Postgraduate Dean leading the programme, are the limited number of places in English classes and the difficulty of reaching IELTS Band 7.0 (which in some people's view was set at too high a level). Once they achieve this there is usually fairly rapid progress passing the PLAB exams required for registration with the GMC ²⁹.

5.72 The Upward Steps (Grampian Race Equality Council) is a small-scale 5-year project, funded by Scottish Enterprise, under "New Futures" and aiming to help long-term unemployed amongst (originally) the settled ethnic minority communities (Chinese and Bengali) into work. Now, it has been extended to new arrivals - 20 different nationalities have been involved in the last year - although GREC is not permitted to assist people on temporary visas or anyone covered by immigration legislation. This means that the majority of non-native speakers in the Aberdeen area are not entitled to take part in this, or similar, projects.

5.73 Criteria for eligibility include long-term unemployment and age below 35 (which does exclude many who would benefit). The programme lasts for 6 months and includes literacy and numeracy and CV and interview skills. Some clients have also attended ESOL classes (sometimes with bilingual assistants), run by Adult Learning. A special feature of this programme is that mentoring and interpreting help continues after clients have found a job: they can contact the project workers while at work to seek help with for example understanding health and safety instructions.

5.74 The 2002-03 report states that in the second year of the project 118 clients were recruited, but that 30% had to be referred to other agencies as they were either too old, or had no education at all. However, 35% of those who undertook the 6-month course were subsequently helped into jobs. One year later, all were still working in the same jobs. 10% moved on to FE or HE mainstream courses). Aberdeen City Council took on 17 as cleaners. In 2003-04, 25 took the course and 16 got jobs - 13 as cleaners with the City Council, others in a chicken factory and an IT company. Most of these clients had previously worked in hotels and restaurants in Hong Kong, but the group included some with professional qualifications. The project also refers clients to local charities such as Oxfam shops and the CAB both for work experience and for the opportunity for greater exposure to English.

5.75 Although the project can claim success in finding jobs for many of its clients, GREC highlights a number of issues:

• drop-out rate: lack of confidence and family commitments contributed to this: 44% of those enrolled did not complete the course(s) in 2002-03.
• language barriers: with mentoring and client networking even jobseekers with limited English are keen and able to enter the labour market. However, the Report complains that the Jobcentre Plus office shows little interest in helping such people.
• race discrimination: it appears that some employers deny the existence of jobs when faced with an ethnic minority applicant.
• the need to maintain funding so that this project can continue.

5.76 The Bridges Project, run by the institute of Contemporary Scotland and funded by Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, the European Social Fund and the Scottish Executive, helps professionally qualified refugees and asylum seekers into work by offering them opportunities to shadow "opposite numbers" one day per week for 12 weeks. Asylum-seekers are now barred from entering the job market and may be offered inappropriate courses in FE colleges and are treated as overseas students (therefore liable for overseas fees) by universities.

5.77 The project began in January 2003 and 105 clients have taken part, in Glasgow, Edinburgh and South Lanarkshire, although the organisers say "we now have more clients wanting placements and more companies offering placements than we can … monitor and organise". 5 have been offered permanent employment by their placement company, and 6 were accepted onto a CITEC training and work scheme. More than 2/3 of clients are asylum-seekers, who do not have permission to work, and so would not be able to take on jobs that might be available. The project is even more successful in helping people to develop confidence in using English, and providing exposure to English: both clients and employers report that their language skills improve enormously. In addition, clients find out how their job is carried out in the UK, meet like-minded colleagues and are able to get references. Kate Davidson of the Institute concluded that shadowing schemes were successful when carried out in partnership with training schemes, including English language tuition.

5.78 The Institute for Contemporary Scotland, in partnership with Glasgow City Council, Laing O'Rourke Construction (Scotland) Ltd, CITEC, and Anniesland and Stow Colleges, is also running a training scheme, OTAR (Overseas Trade Assessment and Reskilling) for skilled workers in the construction industry such as electricians and welders. Clients are tested in English and then in their vocational skills, at SVQ3/City and Guilds levels. They are then given appropriate tailored courses in their trade skills, in technical English and in Health and Safety so that they can obtain their trades papers. According to Kate Davidson, 15 applicants have just successfully taken the preliminary English test and are about to start on core modules in health and safety, technical ESOL, team building and first aid before having their technical skills assessed. The role of employers in the partnership is commonly to offer work placements rather than funding. As a result of work shadowing through The Bridges Project, Laing O'Rourke have now (June 2004) offered "real" jobs to two engineers.

5.79 The New Glaswegians Project run by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce provides refugees with additional help for job seeking via two programmes - one for professionals, the other for semi-skilled workers. This project too works with College ESOL providers.

5.80 Glasgow Overseas Professionals into Practice (GOPiP) aims to provide pre-registration and pre-adaptation support and training for Refugee nurses. The pre-adaptation programme (for nurses with low English proficiency or whose circumstances do not allow them to work as nurses) first ran in 2003, with English language tuition (English for nursing) provided by Anniesland College ESOL Department. The programme also includes work shadowing - 8 hours per week for four weeks.

5.81 Nurses' language skills are tested by the College, which accepts them at a minimum level of IELTS 4.5 (at this level they may work as auxiliary nurses). In 2003, 14 completed the pre-adaptation programme and some of these are now en route for registration. Others are not yet ready due to low level of English, their refugee status or personal difficulties, and are likely to repeat the course.

5.82 In this case, the professional body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council has been very supportive, according to the co-ordinator at Glasgow Caledonian, Ima Jackson: it has waived the requirement for certificates and other documents where they are missing (not uncommon for many refugees) and interviews nurses to establish their experience and qualifications instead. It has also (in principle at least) waived the registration fee.

5.83 Ms Jackson's view of the IELTS test for nurses (adopted a few years ago by the NMC) is that it fails to assess the kind of speaking and writing skills nurses need. Anniesland College has developed its own test, focussing on report-writing and understanding and giving instructions. In spite of the high quality of the support given by Anniesland College, Ms Jackson felt that GOPiP had underestimated the complexity of the language skills required by nurses, which may help to explain why not all the nurses who took the pre-adaptation programme were able to proceed to registration.

5.84 GOPiP provides 16 hours per week over 15 weeks of language development in a professional context, together with work shadowing (8 hours per week for 4 weeks). In the future, it hopes to offer integrated courses for both refugee and non-refugee nurses: although the latter need more support at the beginning, outcomes need to be the same for both groups. Prospective funders have accepted this logic and in this respect GOPiP is anticipating a significant change in nursing education to be implemented in 2005: all overseas nurses will have to undergo an adaptation programme validated by the NMC in a UK HEI. Oral and written communicative skills will feature prominently in these programmes.

DISCUSSION

5.85 Initial assessment or screening is variable across Scotland. Some institutions use only interviews, others a bigger battery of tests. Reliable initial assessment is important for placing students in the right level of class. When all four communicative skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) are not assessed, students have been known to be placed in higher level classes on the basis of their spoken proficiency, and only later found to be unable to read or write in English.

5.81 Individual learning plans, although widely used, attract some criticism from teachers. There is a view that they are not always appropriate for ESOL learners, although there is agreement that learners' progress does need to be tracked and regularly reviewed with the learners. A recent DfES draft report (2003) on the use of ILPs with ESOL learners in England and Wales identified several concerns of teachers, notably the difficulty of using them effectively with lower level students (who might, without the help of interpreters, be unable to understand them), with large classes particularly with roll-on/roll-off enrolment.

5.86 There is a relatively low level of entry to external awards amongst ESOL learners in Scotland and evidence of an apparent reluctance to move out of ESOL classes and into mainstream or work. This, combined with the sparseness of language support for ESOL learners in many mainstream courses, suggests that progression out of ESOL is both perceived and experienced as challenging.

5.87 Established examinations such as IELTS and the Cambridge suite are still gaining ground in Scottish ESOL. Although they may not be so well-adapted to the needs and circumstances of resident students (settled ethnic minorities, refugees and asylum-seekers), they are well-known to HE, have long-established international currency and a large amount of published resources is tied to them. Many students, not only international fee-paying students are keen to take these examinations.

5.88 The primary purpose of the SQA ESOL NQ Units is to allow progression onto NQ and HN courses, at FE level. They should therefore make articulation from ESOL easier, and their flexibility and function-based syllabus make them more attractive to students without a strong educational background and encourage them into mainstream FE courses.

5.89 It is clear that the SQA still has work to do to sell the units to teachers, especially to those with long experience of older examinations. Teachers are concerned about the design of units, including the descriptors, very uneven levels across skills within Units, and the matching of Unit levels to published materials. They are also concerned about their roles as internal moderators, and the adequacy of training and guidelines.

5.90 The development of the externally-assessed Higher course to complement the existing three units is also seen as essential, if the SQA award is to gain recognition by universities, and many employers. ESOL staff involved need training in internal assessment in order to successfully implement the SQA ESOL NQ Units.

5.91 For many professions and skilled trades, an advanced level of English proficiency is vital. Doctors and nurses who cannot communicate with patients or colleagues put lives at risk. Construction workers who misunderstand site notices or spoken instructions may do the same. The kind of English language training required by such workers is both highly specialised and may often be highly culturally specific (e.g. communicating with patients, understanding regulations and practices). General English courses therefore can contribute only to a limited extent, and work-shadowing programmes like the Bridges and New Glaswegians Project, "into work" programmes like OTAR (Overseas Trade Assessment and Reskilling), PEPE (Pathways to Employment for Professional Engineers) and GOPiP (Glasgow Overseas Professionals into Practice) can demonstrate the value of providing specialised language training and "immersion" - not only for refugees and asylum-seekers but also for other migrant workers. New ventures such as work-based ESOL classes need to be developed.

5.92 What appears to work best is a well-thought-out blend of language improvement and tailored English for work provided by ESOL staff and a specific training or updating, with work shadowing or work placement.

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