Refugees and English Language
Teachers’ Training Needs in Sudan
Outline
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Background Information
Facts about refugees
Statement of the Problem
Study
Results of the Study
Observations
Background Information 1
• Sudan has been historically both a northsouth and an east-west migration crossroad.
The constant population movement as a result
of drought, famine, civil war and emigration
from neighbouring countries has always made
Sudan a hosting country for refugees.
Background Information 2
• Sudan used to be the largest country in Africa
up to 2011, whereby the country broke into
two countries.
• The Republic of Sudan
• The Republic of South Sudan
• Up to 2011 Sudan used to have its own
problems of displaced population due to
internal strife in different parts of the country
Refugees in Sudan
• In recent years even after the end of the
Eritrean-Ethiopian war refugees continued to
arrive in Sudan.
• It is estimated that 1,600 Eritreans and
Ethiopians cross the border every month to
seek refuge in Sudan.
• This influx of refugees has become one of the
UNCHR largest and most intractable refugee
problems.
Refugees in Sudan
• Refugees exist in four distinct areas: Khartoum; the
Protocol Areas; eastern Sudan; and Darfur.
• The population of concern includes around 2.3 million
internally displaced persons (IDPs), some 140,000
refugees, 7,000 asylum-seekers and an estimated
hundreds of thousands persons at risk of statelessness.
• Most are refugees from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Chad, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Somalia.
• UNHCR works in cooperation with COR to support the
refugees.
Refugees in Eastern Sudan
• In 2012 UNHCR successfully launched the
Transitional Solutions Initiative (TSI) with
UNDP and the World Bank, in close
partnership with the Sudanese Government,
to promote self-reliance among some 77,000
long-staying refugees in eastern Sudan.
UNHCR also began to implement a project
with IOM and the local authorities to address
the trafficking, smuggling and kidnapping of
refugees and asylum-seekers in eastern Sudan.
Refugees in Eastern Sudan
• Refugees and the local community in eastern
Sudan face acute poverty and lack of access to
health care, education and employment.
Refugees also face difficulties in integrating
locally, and there is no possibility of voluntary
repatriation at this time. Persistent drought has
degraded the land and shrunk pasture lands,
leading to malnutrition among refugees and host
communities. Meanwhile, the 1,800 new
refugees and asylum-seekers arriving each month
brave often violent traffickers, smugglers and
kidnappers.
Statistics
• Eastern Sudan’s refugee population, November
2010
• Nationality Number %
• Eritrean 75,5723 94.6
• Ethiopian 4,197 5.3
• Somali 46 0.1
• Sudanese 28 0.0
• Other 4 0.0
• Total 79,847 100.0
Statement of the Problem
• In recent years the profile of the refugees has
changed, they are younger and move mostly with
their family. They emigrate for economical
reasons.They take Sudan as a transit country in
which they stay for a short time to move then
northwards. English language, as the lingua
franca of the world, plays a very important role in
future life of these refugees especially for the
asylum seekers who mostly go to Europe and
United States.
The study 1
• The presentation is based on a study carried in
the year 2011/2012 to investigate the training
needs of English language teachers who work
in refugee schools in Gedarif State in the
Eastern State. The UNHCR funds education in
refugee camps through its implementing
partner, Sudanese Commission for Refugees
(COR).
The Study was carried in
9 refugees camps with a
total 14 schools.
The study 2
• The study was carried in Gedarif State
• Two tools were used in collecting the data
• The first tool was a questionnaire disturbed to
30 English language teachers working in
refugee (Eritrean)schools for basic level.
• Interviews of key personnel in COR (Sudanese
Commission for Refugees)
The results 2
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Nationality of teachers
Sudanese 25
Eritrean 5
Academic qualification
Secondary School 20
University degree 9
Postgraduate 1
100% of the students are Eritrean
The results 1
The results 3
• Type of training (single short training courses)
• Teaching Readers 3
• General English Language 18
• Spine 4 (The Sudanese English language text
book)
The results 4
• Training needs
CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning)
Teaching the language skills and sub-skills
Classroom management skills
Teaching literature /Readers
TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test)
Teaching in low resourced classrooms
Raising Students Motivation
Teaching English Primary Essential
Teachers’ Comments
The majority stated that they:
• need more than one or two short training
courses.
• English should be taught in earlier
grades(currently is taught in grade 5)
• Teachers were not qualified enough to teach
English for refugees.
• Special programmes designed for teaching
refugees English are needed.
The results 5
Interview
• There is no specific curricula or training
programmes for refugee schools.
• The Ministry of General Education is
responsible for the training programmes for
the refugee schools.
• No special curricula for refugees school.
• COR is responsible for supervising the
schools.
• UNHCR is responsible for funding
Observations
• 75 % of the teachers are Sudanese while 100%
of the students are Eritrean.
• Cultural differences present a huge obstacle in
the classroom
• English is a third language for the refugees.
• Training of the teachers is not built on real
needs.
• Coordination between the different bodies is
nil.
Observations 2
• Arabic language is essential for survival
• English language is also essential for survival and
occupational success.
• Due to the fact that no plan or policy was developed
for English language teachers training, the results of
the study can be very informative in leading to better
planning and good practice.
• Identify ways of improving provision based on the
needs of refugees.
• Develop better ESOL services at the transitional
country.
Final comments
Shields and Price:
• “We found that English language speaking
fluency is the second most important
determinant of occupational success, after
possession of a degree”.
• “Our most statistically reliable estimate
suggests that being fluent speaking English
language raises the mean occupational wage
by 16.5 %”.
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