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NATIONAL 'ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES' (ESOL) STRATEGY
MAPPING EXERCISE AND SCOPING STUDY
ANNEX 3: THE INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE OF SECOND LANGUAGE PROVISION
The purpose of this Annex is to give a sketch of the kind of second language provision available in three other countries: Ireland, Australia and Sweden. Ireland is another small country developing in some parallel and some divergent directions. Australia has built up over the last 30 years one of the most admired and carefully thought out migrant ESOL schemes in the world. Sweden has a long-establish migrant language programme.
Ireland
In recent years, private language schools in Ireland have boomed, and there is now a state-sponsored recognition scheme (ACELS) and a Test of Interactive English recognized by the Department of Education and Science and benchmarked to CEF levels.
Since 2001, Integrate Ireland Language and Training (IILT) has been responsible for providing English language training to adult refugees and migrants. Local Vocation and Education Committees (VECs) provide English language and literacy training for asylum-seekers. IILT is funded by the Department of Education and Science. The Department of Education and Science stated in its White Paper on Adult Education (2000) that asylum seekers would have "free access to adult literacy, English language, and mother culture supports". The White Paper also proposed that asylum-seekers over 21 and registered unemployed for six months should have free access to active labour market programmes such as Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) or Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) as well as part-time Back to Education programmes. It proposes that fees should not be charged but that as non EU citizens asylum seekers should not receive maintenance grants. For higher education, fees should be payable and there would be no entitlement to maintenance grants for non-EU citizens.
A network of voluntary groups, Integrating Ireland, works to integrate refugees, asylum-seekers and immigrants and many of the 100 support groups offer English language courses to asylum-seekers is an important, independent alliance of community and voluntary group working.
Australia
The Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs provides 510 hours of free English tuition under the Australian Migrant English Program (AMEP) to adults over 18. Permanent and some temporary migrants are eligible, but applicants have to register with an AMEP service provider within 3 months of arrival or of gaining permanent residence, and are expected to start classes within 1 year. It is possible to arrange deferral if an applicant is working, has small children or there are health problems in the family.
The purpose of the program is to enable students to reach "functional" English - a level of proficiency that will allow them to "settle satisfactorily" in Australia. The curriculum is designed to prepare students ("clients") for the nationally accredited Certificates in Spoken and Written. Courses in Literacy, Reading & Writing, Speaking Practice and Pronunciation are available . Information on the Australian way of life and advice on accessing essential services is included in the curriculum. Refugees and asylum-seekers may also qualify for a 100 hours preparatory program.
AMEP service providers include universities, private language schools, local colleges and community centres. Students can choose full-time or part-time College courses, part-time Community classes, distance learning, home tuition or a mixture of these. Fee-paying students can attend the same classes. A single national accreditation scheme covers all providers, requiring annual reports which cover teacher qualifications, the quality of support staff, the variety of locations where classes are held and promotional strategies.
Sweden
Since 1985, local authorities in partnership with local employment offices have been tasked by the Swedish Migration Board with the responsibility of running integration programmes for refugees. This programme is for people or employable age or for people who already possess professional skills. Programmes are tailored to the needs of each client and generally run for one year (but can be extended to two years). By the end of the programme, the refugee (occasionally other migrants) is expected to be familiar with the country, be proficient in Swedish for everyday purposes and in Swedish for work or profession. The programme also includes orientation to work, via placement schemes, and support in the search for work.
For all migrants there is the free Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) programme, which has in recent years been revised to accommodate individual needs, for example placing students in classes according to their educational background. The programme lasts for a year and students are expected to take a national proficiency test. The aim of the SFI is to enable all students to reach this "SFI Standard", which is compulsory for Higher Education, and which is regarded as perhaps unnecessarily high (Bron 2003). The "significant number" of refugees do not attain this standard (RESOURCE Project 2004), and many also have to wait before beginning a language course. Failure to reach the standard excludes them from Higher Education, and can exclude them from work as some employers, according to the RESOURCE Project use a requirement for a Swedish degree as a means of excluding migrant applicants. Consequently, graduate refugees may be forced to take less skilled jobs and so exclude themselves from government training schemes. The SFI has also been criticized for offering only 3 hours per day of tuition and for the lack of a teacher training course for teaching adults (Bron 2003). Nevertheless, according to the Swedish National Board of Education, 80% of immigrants who came to Sweden between 1998 and 2003 participated in the SFI programme and "the most common reason for non-participation was good level of Swedish in the opinion of non-participants themselves" (Bron 2003).
References
Australian English for Migrants Program Learning English http://www.immi.gov.au/amep/ accessed 31/10/2004
Bron, A (2003) From an immigrant to a citizen: language as a hindrance or a key to citizenship. International Journal of Lifelong Education 22:6
Lofgren, A (2004) Country Report: Sweden. RESOURCE Project Refugees' contribution to Europe. CARITAS, Stockholm
O'Brien, N (2004) Country Report: Ireland. RESOURCE Project Refugees' contribution to Europe. SPIRASI, Dublin
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