Language Training for Adult Migrants

11. Invest in teacher preparation and recruitment

WHAT and WHY?

Improving access to language training is not enough by itself. Course quality is equally important, both regarding retention and with respect to improving outcomes for adult migrants. In addition to mobilising the right tools, this requires well-qualified teachers. Student-teacher relationships can be essential to fostering motivation to continue in a language course. Teachers are also in the best position to differentiate according to the needs demonstrated by students in the classroom. They provide important feedback to learners and are capable of filling gaps, for example by explaining nuance in the meaning of words and expressions. Well-prepared teachers can make the difference for better language outcomes.

Language training in the adult migrant context is different from traditional foreign language education. Even within ability groups, teachers will encounter students with a wide range of backgrounds. Exposure outside the classroom to the host-country language will differ according to the socio‑economic situation of the migrant, leading learning needs to vary significantly. Some migrants will, depending on their language contacts, need to dedicate more practice to speaking, listening, or reading. Others may be exposed to specific dialects in their social context and need to understand how those differ from standard language. Second, adult migrants have specific linguistic needs tied their status as migrants in a potentially unfamiliar country with its particular systems. In some cases, legal concerns regarding the status of residence or psychological effects of past trauma may add pressure to the learning situation. Such migrants may require more psychosocial support during their attendance in language courses to be successful (Krumm and Plutzar, 2008). Language teachers may be confronted with questions and problems resulting from these conditions that educators are not usually prepared to handle. Third, unlike with much traditional foreign language teaching, teachers of migrants are often addressing a multilingual audience. While some migrants may have little to no language learning experience, others may have two or even three family languages. Responding to these heterogeneous experiences in planning a curriculum is an essential part of the role of the teacher (Cooke and Simpson, 2008).

The integration of CALL into a classroom setting raises additional teacher preparation issues. New technologies entail new ‘literacy’ requirements, not only for language learners. Numerous qualitative case studies have revealed a negative attitude among teachers toward the use of ICT, which largely reflects insufficient experience in this domain. Their own ICT literacy and educational philosophy can be significant barriers for teachers to fully engage in use of new technologies,1 which can mean a loss of investment for those countries who have invested in development of these tools.

The need to be qualified in these specific areas has, in some countries, led to a shortage of available educators. There is substantial competition for well-qualified teachers. Furthermore, private sector salaries may be more attractive. To ensure that eligible migrants have access to language courses needed to fulfil integration obligations or entitlements, countries should consider what incentives are necessary to recruit teachers in sufficient numbers.

WHO?

Teachers, both experienced and recent graduates, will require different preparation programmes to engage with migrants and to use various media effectively. Public authorities charged with integration management should, in co‑ordination with educational institutions and ministries and/or teaching organisations, develop course standards and certification processes to ensure teachers enter the classroom with the tools they need. The authorities conducting these programmes, which in some cases may be language centres themselves, should also be involved.

HOW?

The dynamic between the teacher and migrant learner can greatly influence the chance for a successful outcome. To ensure that language teachers are placed in the best position to support migrant learners, countries should consider how to:

• Strengthen awareness of the specific needs and challenges of migrants through teacher preparation courses

• Adequately prepare teachers to engage with new ICT tools and teaching techniques

• Ensure that qualifications systems are tailored to meet course needs

• Create incentives to attract and retain teachers

Language teachers must be prepared to deal with specific cultural and linguistic issues of migrant classrooms in order to build up the language learning skills of their students. This requires a flexible and interactive approach. They must be trained to facilitate learning without relying on a common linguistic background in the student group. For teachers who will be leading specific courses on working life, it is essential they receive information on the realities that many migrants will face in the workplace (Pöyhönen and Tarnanen, 2015). Many teachers, even those who are otherwise highly trained, have received no training in responding to interculturalism2 or plurilingualism. Recognising these gaps, several OECD countries have recently introduced or strengthened intercultural training as part of their teacher preparation programmes (see Box 11.1). It is important that pressure to reduce costs not result in inadequate time spent on teacher preparation, especially where teacher preparation is decentralised at the language centre level.

As stated, teaching adult migrants increasingly requires an understanding of new ways of teaching language through ICT. To harness the significant benefits of technology, such as universal access and increased differentiation, countries need to invest in specific teacher preparation. Teachers may have to use online tools, and in order to trust them as a reliable supplement to in-person lessons, they must have relevant digital competence. In ICT-integrated classrooms, teachers play both the role of teacher and also of facilitator in the learning process, encouraging self-direction in use of ICT tools. When teachers who are used to being in front of a class transition to distance or online learning, they will require support. Countries such as Germany and Sweden have recognised the need to train teachers to navigate digital literacy issues and apply new pedagogies, and, thus, have explicitly incorporated training on the use of ICT tools into the teacher certification process (see Box 11.2). The creation of open resource banks from which all teachers may draw, like in Germany and Austria, can enhance teaching. Such resources may also reduce teacher workloads, which may motivate teachers to make use of these tools in the classroom and outside of class.

Integration agencies should bring second-language specialists on to evaluate effectiveness of classroom methods and ensure teachers have been exposed to innovative techniques. In 2016, to improve the pedagogical orientation of its sfi (Swedish for Immigrants) programme, Sweden transitioned courses into the Municipal Adult Education System and called upon the National Agency for Education to create a syllabus and national models. More targeted interventions are also possible. Denmark has taken the approach of professionalising teachers of Danish as a second language, requiring completion of a 60 ECTS3 programme “Education for Teachers of Danish as a Second Language for Adults” that contains modules on intercultural communication, language description theories, second language acquisition, and second language pedagogy. A Master in Danish as a Second Language is also offered at Copenhagen University. Educational institutions are uniquely positioned to inform course designers which approaches lead to durable language acquisition in the shortest time. For example, certain groups of low-literacy students may achieve greater outcomes with continuous feedback loops (Abrams and Gerber, 2013) or through introduction of participatory didactic methods that are less instruction-centred (Freire, 1994). Policies that can make use of this knowledge include investment in teacher training on provision of in-class opportunities for self-reflection and assessment as well as the creation of game‑like courses on digital platforms. Germany is exploring methods for providing continuous feedback in its digital offerings through a “Learning Management System” (LMS) (see Box 10.1, Lesson 10). Courses designed to bring together groups with similar backgrounds and interests, such as specific, interactive courses for women, also provide comfortable spaces for the use of the participatory method (Nieuwboer and van’t Rood, 2016). For instance, Belgium’s language policy, approved in July 2018, acknowledges that language learning requires an active role for the learner, a safe learning environment, and a meaningful context.

Box 11.1. Preparation for Host Language Teachers within an Intercultural Context

Sweden provides SEK 100 million (EUR 9.3 million) per year for the education of teachers who will teach Swedish to immigrants, allowing teachers to receive 80% of their salary during leave of absence for studies related to Swedish as a second language (OECD, 2019).

To receive teacher certification in Switzerland within the Swiss “fide” framework, language teachers in the field of integration must demonstrate defined social competencies. Fide certified teachers in Switzerland should be qualified to offer assessment and guidance to migrants on their specific goals as well as to adapt courses to the specific needs of migrants in Switzerland (such as focusing on language usage in everyday life, teaching Swiss norms, and considering linguistic peculiarities of the Swiss national languages). These skills are described within a framework developed under the direction of the Swiss Federation for Adult Learning (SVEB). Since 2015, the fide Secretariat has issued more than 1 000 certificates in German, French and Italian. In the year 2018, more than 250 course trainers received this award.

Other countries have made recent strides to improve teacher preparation. Poland has provided intercultural training for language teachers since 2018. Since 2000, in the White Paper on Adult Education, interculturalism has been noted as one of the three pillars for the Irish adult education policy and practice, and in its Migrant Integration Strategy (2017‑20), Ireland acknowledged the need for training for teachers on managing diversity.

Recruiting qualified teachers remains a challenge, as there is still significant scarcity. Low teacher salaries, coupled with strict certification requirements, may turn potential teachers toward traditional classrooms or the private sector. In some regions, there is a general shortage of teachers at all levels. Some countries have attempted to tackle the difficulty of employing teachers in regional and remote areas by broadening the qualifications to become a teacher (in the case of Australia’s AMEP programme) or by engaging translators or interpreters to fill these gaps (in Belgium, a pilot programme was launched in 2018). Another option is to make use of “study centres,” where professional staff can support self-study, to supplement courses, reducing the need for additional teacher hours. Where this occurs, it is important to ensure that these new educators meet certain standards of quality. This can be done through providing them with specific training on teaching language to migrants or by pairing them for a student-teaching period with an experienced educator (Ramboll, 2017). Academic partners should be engaged to ensure that certification standards have not been excessively relaxed. For instance, the AMEP Quality Assurance provider delivers regular professional development workshops to trainers and assessors.

Box 11.2. New tools, new trainings

Germany has developed digital tools that can be easily incorporated into the classroom or used for homework outside of class. However, having observed that teachers of the courses were often reluctant to use digital tools, Germany plans to mandate 16 training hours for teacher training on online tools. It will also ask teachers to introduce the tools in the first 100 “learning hours” of the migrant’s language modules. The vhs-Lernportal, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and implemented by the German Adult Education Association (DVV), also focuses on the development of teacher handouts and support materials. Based upon the high demand for these courses and materials, Germany perceives a long-unmet need for training in this area. Since implementation of the new, virtual, cost-free training programme in 2020, 2 400 courses have already been formed.

The Directorate of Reception, Support for Foreigners, and Nationality of the French Ministry of Interior, which has been charged with teacher support, also responded to the increased demand for distance learning caused by COVID‑19 by recognising the need to incorporate feedback received on its digital offerings into future training of its language teachers. Switzerland also adapted teacher support measures in response to the pandemic, implementing webinars to present online tools and pedagogical methods and quickly upgrade the technical knowledge of teachers to best support learners (https://alice.ch/fr/themes/competences-de‑base/promotion-innovante/competences-des-formateurs/serie‑de‑webinaires/).

The United Kingdom launched online resources to support English language teachers working with refugees who arrive with very low levels of English language in 2018. In addition, a toolkit was created in 2019, designed in co‑operation with refugee and English language stakeholders, to be made available for English language teachers working with refugees.

Countries should also consider ways to make job opportunities as language teachers more attractive, through increased salary or benefits, in recognition of their professionalism. In the past, Sweden has introduced financial incentives for taking up preparation courses for teaching language to migrants (see Box 11.1). Germany increased the salary for freelance teachers from EUR 23 to EUR 35 per hour in July 2016 (OECD, 2017b), and again from EUR 35 to EUR 41 per hour in January 2021. Still, in many countries, host-language teaching jobs are characterised by part-time and temporary contracts, non-standard working hours, and lack of prestige (Kluzer, et al., 2011). Teachers, like migrants themselves, may need greater flexibility to choose when they teach and how many hours. Open resource banks, as discussed above, can relieve some pressure by reducing teacher workload outside the classroom. Continuing professional development that encourages an interpretive and reflective stance on teaching can reduce burnout, increase the teacher’s sense of value, and at the same time increase course quality and outcomes.

Notes

← 1.  Lack of technical support in the classroom is a significant barrier to ICT integration from the teacher’s perspective (Korte and Husing, 2007). Even in highly supported and resourced schools, teachers have demonstrated that, without proper preparation, “technophobia” will be a major barrier to uptake of new technologies. (UNESCO, 2004). Teachers’ age, attitudes, expertise, and lack of knowledge needed to evaluate the use of ICT in teaching are prominent factors hindering teacher preparedness (Hennessy et al., 2010).

← 2.  Interculturalism is defined as “the need to frame policy and practice in the context of serving a diverse population.” In the case of education policy, this requires the development of curricula, materials, modes of assessment, and delivery methods which take diversity as the norm.

← 3.  The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is used by the European Higher Education Area as a standard means for comparing academic credits based on volume of learning. 60 ECTS credits is the equivalent of a full year of study.