Juliet Wilson from Cambridge English opened by highlighting the enthusiasm in the language teaching profession for wanting to help. She said: ‘As an industry we have a great bank of skills and support to offer. We’re seeing lots of really good initiatives but there is much more we can do through voluntary teaching, free language and teaching resources and other language learning programmes. Technology will obviously play a huge role in helping migrants and refugees to learn English. At Cambridge English we are creating more and more digital content, lots of which can be offered for free. We could reach many more people if we can work out how to get this content to them.’
Gillian Ragsdale spoke of her experiences teaching in Calais and the recent demolition of the ‘Jungle’. Fiona Pape (British Council) and Tony Capstick (University of Reading), delivered a discussion on the recent report, ‘Language for Resilience’, and facilitated a Skype call with former refugees now living in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Ahmad Al- Rashid, a Syrian refugee currently studying for an MSc in Violence, Conflict and Development at the University of London, spoke about his experiences of fleeing Aleppo, studying English online, and winning scholarships at four universities. His story embodied the resilience and determination of so many Syrian people who have fled their country. Ahmad offered valuable insights into the language learning needs of refugees and asylum seekers.
Afternoon workshops, each with their own specific challenges, involved all guests in problem solving that was geared towards presenting a ‘lightning pitch’ at the end of the day. Challenges included innovative approaches to teacher training, offline digital content, and establishing vital learner needs. Guests were offered the opportunity to pledge their time, resources, contacts or investment to the projects that they deemed most viable.
Reflecting on the event, Tom Hayton from Techfugees said, ‘We were delighted to work with Cambridge English on this high quality event. Education is one of our core areas of focus at Techfugees, and the English language is vital to help refugees integrate and find jobs, wherever they are. We will continue to move forward with Cambridge English to deliver language solutions on the ground, at scale.’
About Techfugees
Techfugees is a social enterprise coordinating the international tech community’s response to the needs of refugees. Techfugees organises conferences, workshops, hackathons and meet-ups around the world in an effort to generate tech solutions that can help refugees. It also curates and promotes the best projects it finds for implementation in the field.
About Cambridge English Language Assessment
Cambridge English Language Assessment is part of the University of Cambridge. We develop and produce the most valuable range of qualifications for learners and teachers of English in the world. Over 5 million people in 130 countries take our exams every year. Around the world over 20,000 universities, employers, government ministries and other organisations rely on our exams and qualifications as proof of English language ability. Cambridge English exams are backed by the work of the largest dedicated research team of any English language test provider.
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Contact
For more information contact Oscar Gillespie
07851 820 806