TeachingEnglish
Advice for teaching English to refugees, please
Submitted by Bex on 30 October, 2008 - 20:57
I have recently started work at the Refugee Council and am working with beginners. Does anyone have any advice for topics and lessons which would work well with my new students?
Thanks! Bex
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Hi Bex,
Dependant on the host country. I speak as a teacher in England having taught refugees/asylum seekers. I think that they most welcome practical information; for example reading/understanding signage Way In/Way Out/No Entry/keep left/Toilets etc.
Other practical examples include opening and operating bank accounts. Enrolment in education facilities, social security issues, taxation, benefit claiming etc.
As for classroom activity, all of my students were from many different backgrounds and countries. Try to split them up into seperate groups; Don't bunch all the Somalis together on one table and all the Afghans on another table. Mix them up into multilinguistic groups and this encourages them to speak English among their group and not lapse into their native tongue. Hope this may help a little.
Siggie
Hello,
In addition to helping them learn about the host country (as suggested here ) it helps to make them talk about their home country, in mixed groups, so that talking becomes more natural.
I have asked them to bring photographs of familiies or their own countries and explain events, places or people to each other. This is a variation of self-introduction and easier as they are being helped to get over their present feeling of alienness.
Though I did not teach refugees as such I did identify with foreign students and tried to keep their memories of home alive! It is therapeutic too.
One student brought me pictures of his grandfather's funeral and since his customs were so different from those here we asked a lot of questions and he explained very well using a dictionary at times! But the participation was fun to watch and the effect on the student was positive.
Iris
Try having students speak and write their life stories. Not only will this build trust between students, but it will also help build trust between you and your students. It is also a great ice-breaker and by teaching students to write about their experiences in the form of "meaningful writing," they can also write about their dreams, wishes, hopes and desires - an appropriate subject for immigrants and refugees.
Hope this helps!
Dorit Sasson
The Teachers' Diversity Coach
I found a new website that you might want to visit - www.teachingrefugees.com . Although it is Canadian made (not necessarily a bad thing), it has links and materials that should be useful for both K-12 teachers and post-secondary professors. It is aimed at providing both schools and teachers information on the characteristics of refugee children who have had limited formal schooling as well as how to organize the school and classroom to accomodate them.
Cheers,
The Goldenbulldog