Denise E. Murray
National Centre for English Language Teaching and
Research
Macquarie University

Country
Australia
Total
Population
2001
19,386,700
Total
Population
2000
19,169,083
Number of
Immigrants
2000
Number of
Refugees
2000
92,272 59,700
Number of Asylum
Seekers
2000
12,510
Canada 31,592,805 31,281,092 252,088
New
Zealand
United
Kingdom
United
States
3,864,129 3,819,762
59,647,790 59,511,464
44,598
125,090
278,058,881 275,562,673 849,807
123,300
4,800
137,000
513,900
24,730
3,030
128,600
580,900

• National program (Adult Migrant English
Program —AMEP)
– National curriculum framework
• Competency-based
• Text-based syllabus
• Learning outcomes assessed by tasks
– Service delivery result of competitive tender process – public and private providers in all states and territories (including regional and rural)
– Citizenship course
– Youth-specific course in development

• Non-proficiency – 10% reduction in earnings
(Aust)
• Higher levels of host country language proficiency (Aust)
– Higher participation in labor force
– Important for highly skilled occupations
– Literacy needed for promotion and advanced levels of work
• Language difficulties serious issue for social interaction, accessing services & confidence (Aust, NZ)

• Clients
– Three streams
• Refugees and humanitarian (22%)
• Family (62%)
• Skill (13%)
– Around 35,000 learners
• 142+ language backgrounds
• Major source countries: China, Vietnam, Iraq,
Lebanon, Sudan

• National program (Adult Migrant English
Program —AMEP)
– National curriculum framework
• Competency-based
• Text-based syllabus
• Learning outcomes assessed by tasks
• Scaffolding
– Service delivery result of competitive tender process – public and private providers in all states and territories (including regional and rural)
– Citizenship course

• Delivery modes
– Full-time classes
– Part-time classes
– Distance learning
– Home tutor scheme
– Independent learning centres
– Bilingual classes
– Bilingual aides
• Support: counselors, childcare, speakers
(often multilingual)

• National Research Centre
– Research
– Professional development
– Publications
– Resources http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au

• Professional Connections website
– Feature spot
– Conferences
– Professional links
– Professional reading
– Teaching resources
– Citizenship website
– Assessment task bank

Date/type Goals
•1978 Galbally
•1985 Campbell
•2000 Reach & retention
•2000 & 2006 client satisfaction survey
•Longitudinal study of migrants (1993/4,
1999/2000)
•Other Research
•Galbally – review
•Campbell – appropriateness of curriculum model
•Reach & retention
•Client satisfaction
•Improvement of delivery & services

Date/type Goals
2002 Research study Learners’ English language learning experiences
•Formal
•Informal

Focus on access:
• Establishment of wide range of post-arrival services
– Extension of full-time and range of advanced course
– More workplace and Home Tutor Scheme
• Stable triennial funding through AMEP
• Increased job security

Focus on quality of program delivery:
• Teachers supported learner-centered, learner-negotiated curriculum
• Teachers found too much demand on time and expertise
• Perceived lack of continuity in program
• Recommendation to develop curriculum guidelines with clear learner pathways

• 28% clients left program – no 510 hours or functional English
• Largest withdrawals – Family Migration
– Young women – Vietnamese & Arabic communities
– Older adults in Chinese groups
– Young adults from former Yugoslavia
– Young adult Arabic speaking males
• Reasons for withdrawal
– Gaining employment
– Family/childcare responsibilities
– Fast pace of class
– Discouraged by slow pace of progress
– Wanting single-sex class
– Lack of understanding of entitlement

• Reasons for not beginning classes
– Priority given to meeting other needs (eg, finding employment)
– Misunderstanding of regulations
– No culturally appropriate childcare
– Lack of confidence in ability to cope with formal learning

• Overall students satisfied with services provided
• 79% - AMEP helpful to feel more confident living in Australia
• Some students less comfortable in mixed classes
• Some students less happy with outcomes in writing in English

• An optimistic story
– Migrants come for positive reasons, mainly related to family and quality of life
– Recent migrants (especially Cohort 2) are very highly educated, mostly have good English, are healthy, if stressed, have quickly found jobs and suitable housing and mostly have adequate incomes
– Many are well supported by family and friends on arrival, including the sharing of housing for those with lower incomes.

• The hard bits
– Some migrants are having a difficult time
– Hard to find good housing, a job, struggling on a low income and suffering quite high levels of psychological distress
– Initially, life is much harder for Humanitarian migrants, but they are still very happy to be here.

•
61.7% joined in first year in NZ
•
Learners wanted more English language support
– Own community
– Government
– Wider Kiwi community
• Learners saw own responsibility
•
Providers
– Learners diverse
– Learners need flexible learning arrangements
– Non-participation because of
• Lack of confidence
• Family attitudes
• Religious belief
– Larger role for government – free ESL provision
• Call for national policy

• Age
– Perception of age
– Memory
– Responsibilities
– Mixed ages
– Influence of prior learning and experiences
– Preferences: e.g. younger learners enjoy computer based learning - the older ones don’t
• Gender
• Speaking Vs literacy
• Use of L1

• Youth
– Unaccompanied minors
– School or AMEP?
• African refugees/humanitarian learners
– Diverse communities—highly educated, minimal schooling
– Unrealistic expectations
– Survivors of torture and trauma
– AMEP teachers friendly and supportive - learners rated teachers positively - cf ‘strictness’ of teachers in previous education
– Not always sure of the ‘seriousness’ of learning in
AMEP classes

• Pre-CSWE
• Less focus on literacy for all
• SPP – additional 100 hours
• Youth SPP – additional 400 hours
• Bilingual provision
• Pre-vocational and vocational courses
– First aid
– Driver education
– IT
• Youth-specific curriculum

• Ideology
– assimilationist or settlement
– cheap labour or reaching individual potential
• Literacy or ESL?
– conflation
• Provision
– 510 hours
– de-professionalised field
• Assessment
– formative - progress
– summative - high stakes
– pathways