Archived Information

Australia's Migrants and Refugees: Opening the Door to Lifelong Learning

**Susan Chou Allender**

**Adult Multicultural Education Services**

**Australia**

### 

### Abstract

This context paper has been written to provide background for my
Immigration Workshop presentation on *Australia's Migrants and Refugees:
Opening the Door to Lifelong Learning.* In keeping with the theme of the
conference, it focuses on groups of migrants and refugees with low
educational attainment and limited first language literacy.

The first section situates Australia's immigration program within
national economical development. The second section outlines the
development of policy and programs relating to language and literacy
education for migrants and refugees. It describes how policy and
institutional approaches recognize diversity in the design and delivery
of services.

The third section summarizes research undertaken within the Adult
Migrant English Program to identify groups of adult learners with
special needs and the learning barriers that face them. These studies
focus on how characteristics, expectations, and precious experiences of
learning influence migrant learners' attempts to interpret and cope with
the curriculum, teaching methodology, resources, and tasks of the
Australian language classroom. The section also details policies and
practices developed to overcome these barriers and improve the
effectiveness of learning. Actual exemplars of curriculum, successful
classroom practices, and resources will be discussed at the workshop.

####### Historical Context

######## The Australian Postwar Immigration Program

In 1945, the Australian Government launched a large-scale planned
immigration program aimed at building the country's postwar
infrastructure. Over the last five decades 5.5 million settlers from 160
different countries have established new lives in Australia (York
1995:7).

From the end of the Second World War and into the 1960s, Australia
welcomed large numbers of assisted immigrants, refugees, and displaced
persons from the UK and Europe---many unskilled and from rural
backgrounds. The profile of migrants changed in the 1970s following the
Vietnam War with the entry of large numbers of Indo-Chinese refugees. By
the 1980s, the immigration program reflected a considerably greater
diversity, with arrivals in any 1 year

coming from over 120 source countries from Asia, the former USSR,
Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Intakes also reflected
increased skill levels and higher qualification levels. Although the UK
continued as the largest single source country, by 1993--94 the
proportion of settler arrivals from mainly English speaking countries
had fallen from two-thirds during the postwar years to one-quarter of
the overall intake, and 5 out of the top 10 source countries had shifted
to the Asian region.

By the 1990s, economic circumstances in Australia had greatly altered.
Three successive recessions led to large numbers of retrenchments, low
employment growth, and a high level of unemployment. The restructuring
of industry to achieve global competitiveness exacerbated retrenchments.
Hardest hit were the manufacturing, mining, and construction
industries---sectors that had absorbed large numbers of unskilled
migrants. Among the first workers to lose their jobs were many postwar
entrants who had low levels of literacy in English and had difficulty
retraining in the competencies required for the new workplace. Many had
immigrated from Italy and Greece over 20 years ago and had chosen to
work long hours in factories, rather than study English, to establish a
future for their families. \[The 1996 *Survey of Aspects of Literacy*
reports that 79 percent of people aged 55--74 years from non-English
speaking backgrounds have been identified as having very poor literacy
skills (Crawford 1997, 4--5).\]

Migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds swelled the ranks of the
unemployed. Overseas born men and women from Vietnam, the Middle East,
North Africa, and Lebanon were significantly over-represented among the
long-term unemployed (Federal Race Discrimination Commissioner 1994).

Not only did migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds lose jobs
earlier and at a faster rate than the Australian born or migrants from
English speaking backgrounds, their recovery was also considerably
slower (Ackland and Williams 1992, 29--30). Those without formal skills
had difficulty finding work in a dramatically changed industry context
where growth had shifted to new service and knowledge industries.
Reliance on new technologies and high-level communication skills
virtually excluded them from these growth areas. New recruitment
practices utilized resumes, formal interviews, and written tests to
select applicants with good literacy and numeracy skills.

Continuing high migrant unemployment has led to both a reduction in size
as well as a rebalancing in the composition of the immigration program.
More emphasis is now given to the selection of skilled and business
migrants with good English language proficiency rather than *family
reunion* categories.

The new immigration program has also introduced the principle of user
pays to a range of services, including up-front fees for English
language tuition for some immigrant categories and the exclusion of some
categories from income support during the first 2 years of settlement.
The refugee humanitarian program remains unchanged, with those entering
under these categories continuing to receive full benefits and support
from government.

#### 

#### The Adult Migrant English Program 

The Australian Government established the Adult Migrant English Program
(AMEP) as an integral part of its postwar immigration strategy to
facilitate the settlement process. Unlike the United States and Canada,
the Australian orientation program focused on English language
development rather than direct training for naturalization (Martin,
quoting McCusker 1998, 4--5).

The first English classes were conducted for European displaced persons
in 1947 at the Bonegilla Reception and Training center for Migrants in
rural Victoria. The program expanded over the next decades, with
flexibility as a key feature. Intensive full-time classes and bridging
programs for professionals were added to the earlier suite of evening
continuation classes. Formal courses were taught in migrant hostels,
community centers, church halls, and venues accessible to local
transport and at times, which suited the clients. Industry based
programs, later named *English in the Workplace,* were organized from as
early as 1952 for employees in public sector industries and large
manufacturing companies (Martin 1998, 7). Evening and Friday
night/Saturday morning classes provided flexible options for employed
migrants who had no access to workplace provision. A Home Tutor Scheme
organized regular home visits and informal one-to-one tutorials for the
housebound, particularly women. Distance Learning mode catered for the
needs of those isolated by geographic distance, transport difficulties,
work, health, or family commitments.

The AMEP was a partnership between the Commonwealth Government and the
States/Territories, with Commonwealth Department of Immigration
providing funds and policy directions and each State Department of
Education establishing a specific-purpose organization called Adult
Migrant Education Services (AMES) to manage and deliver the program.

A series of Commonwealth Government reviews of the AMEP (Galbally Review
1978; Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs Review 1981;
Campbell Review 1985) led to substantial upgrading of post-arrival
services to cope with the dramatic explosion in size and diversity of
the immigration program.

A network of adult language teaching centers was established wherever
large communities of migrants settled. The Australian Second Language
Proficiency Rating (Ingram and Wiley 1979) was developed to provide a
common language assessment scale. The teaching workforce was
professionalized through the generous policy of study leave for teachers
to gain specialist qualifications in teaching English as a Second
Language (ESL). An alliance was established between AMEP providers and a
key academic center for teaching and research, now known as the National
Center for English Language Teaching and Research. Teachers working
across State and institutions, supported by academics, collaboratively
took on curriculum development and classroom-based action research. The
AMEP developed a distinctive learner-centered needs-based communicative
methodology, much in line with developments in international Teaching
English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), gradually distinguishing
itself and taking on a leading role in this arena.

Growth and professionalization of adult TESOL took place in an
environment of relative autonomy from other developments in education
because the portfolio of Immigration rather than Education managed
program funding, until the 1990s. Unhampered by various structural and
ideological changes in State education, AMEP providers continued to
forge strong professional links across State boundaries and implemented
a nationally consistent approach to learner assessment, curriculum,
methodology, and research. Unlike mainstream education, students and
teachers in the AMEP could move across courses, providers, and states
with a fair degree of continuity and coherence.

Despite its high professional quality, English language tuition for
adults remained marginalized in the migrant settlement program, outside
mainstream education. Both Commonwealth and the state governments
regarded it as part of immigration services rather education. There was
no mechanism to accredit courses, issue credentials, or transfer credits
into higher education or vocational programs.

######### Current Context

######## From Margin to Mainstream 

In the 1990s, a convergence of factors provided the impetus for moving
English language teaching from the fringes into mainstream vocational
education and training reform. Research undertaken during the
International Year of Literacy uncovered the extent of adult illiteracy
among the Australian born (Wickert 1989), raising considerable concern
in the community.

The restructuring of Australian industry served to highlight vital, but
hitherto hidden, links between language/literacy skills and employment,
productivity, and training. Companies discovered that, even after
streamlining their workforce, many core operatives still required
literacy assistance to be able to undertake retraining and implement new
work-team responsibilities. A survey by the Victorian Automotive
Industry Training Board in 1991 found that 78.9 percent of English
speaking shop-floor operators and 95.1 percent of those from non-English
speaking backgrounds required professional assistance with writing to be
able to attempt the Vehicle Industry Certificate (Sefton and O'Hara
1992).

##### The Australian Language and Literacy Policy

##### 

##### Australia's Language: Australian Language and Literacy Policy, a white paper released by the Commonwealth Government in 1991, changed the national approach to language education by clearly situating it within the core of labor market strategy and the National Training Reform Agenda. The 1991 policy transferred a substantial portion of funding for English language and literacy from the migrant settlement program to mainstream vocational education and training.

Under the National Training Reform Agenda, government and industry
initiated a major program of reforms, to ensure the immediate relevance
of vocational education and training to the needs of the industry. These
reforms provide the current policy for the provision of English language
teaching.

New work patterns with responsibilities devolved to work teams, new
technologies, and new products for new unpredictable markets have
increased the demand for complex language and literacy skills. Workplace
English language programs integrate language and literacy development
with vocational skills, occupational health and safety, quality, and
team building modules to ensure that workers from all language and
educational backgrounds are able to access Industry Certificates, career
paths, and improved award payments.

Competency based ESL Certificates have been developed and mapped against
the national qualifications framework to ensure portability and
articulation into other vocational Certificates. Vocational competencies
and job-search skills are integrated with English language programs
provide a 2-week component of work experience to familiarize job seekers
with current technologies and Australian work culture.

##### Institutional and Program Arrangements 

The Australian Language and Literacy Policy established shared portfolio
responsibilities for ESL and literacy. The Department of Employment,
Education, Training, and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) has taken on
responsibility for training provisions for both employed workers and the
unemployed. Language and literacy training for employed workers is
provided through the *Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL)*
program. A variety of labor-market training programs and services assist
disadvantaged job seekers develop language, literacy, numeracy, and
employment related skills.

Within each of these programs, variations in client background and needs
are recognized through offering a range of targeted programs, as well as
adjustments in eligibility criteria, compliance requirements, and
specification of outcomes. Increasing emphasis is also given to flexible
delivery and user choice as conditions of funding or in the purchase of
services.

*Settlement Provision: The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP)*

Adult migrants and refugees with English language proficiency below
functional level, assessed against the Australian Second Language
Proficiency Rating scale, are eligible for 510 hours of ESL tuition.
They are required to register with the program within 3 months of
arrival, start their tuition within 1 year and complete within 3 years.
Course provision within the AMEP is based on a nationally accredited
competency-based curriculum framework, covering the first 3 levels of
the Certificates in Spoken and Written English (CSWE) (NSW AMES 1995).

The CSWE framework provides learner pathways that have flexible entry
and exit points, recognize prior learning, and allow for variation in
learning pace, course length, and intensity, and delivery mode. The
framework describes learners according to three dimensions: (a) their
language proficiency level, (i.e., *stage),* (b) their learning pace,
(i.e., *band)* and (c) their needs and goals in learning English, (i.e.,
*learning goals).*

The different learning pace of learners is recognized through three
Bands. Band A tends to have limited learning experience on formal
settings, (i.e., low levels of formal education and literacy in first
language). Band B learners generally have some learning strategies
and/or resources, having accessed secondary education in their home
country and are literate in first language. Band C learners have high
level of learning resources and some postsecondary education and/or
technical skills training. Learning pace, course intensity, and
methodology are varied to match learner groups.

*AMEP Client Profile*

Information extracted from the national AMEP database (NMIU 1998)
indicates that in 1997 there were 39,129 language learners in the
program. Clients in the Refugee and Special Humanitarian (30.4 percent)
and Family (49.6 percent) categories made up the vast majority of
participants.

The top five countries of origin of 1997 participants were the Peoples'
Republic of China (25.5 percent), Vietnam (9.1 percent), Yugoslavia (8.8
percent), Iraq (5.5 percent) and the former USSR (4.2 percent). The
major refugee and humanitarian groups were born in Yugoslavia, Iraq,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Vietnam, USSR, Iran, Croatia, Somalia, Sri Lanka,
and Burma. While females made up the majority (60.4 percent) of all AMEP
participants, they represented only 46.5 percent of the refugee and
humanitarian cohort.

Analysis of educational background shows that 12.9 percent had 0--7
years of formal schooling, 76.1 percent had 8--12 years, and 7.1 percent
had over 12 years of education (4 percent not stated). The breakdown for
refugee and humanitarian clients reflects similar proportions.

A significant majority entered the program at pre-intermediate levels of
English proficiency. Mapped against the Certificate levels, 64.1 percent
of clients entered at Stage 1, 24.6 percent at Stage 2, and 11.3 percent
at Stage 3. Clients with a Band A profile comprised 24.5 percent of all
new enrollments, most of them entering at Stage 1.

#### Labor Market Training 

In the early- to mid-1990s, two-labor market programs provided training
programs that catered for job seekers from non-English speaking
backgrounds who had special learning needs arising from limited first
language literacy and minimal formal schooling.

*Special Intervention Program (SIP)*

The *Special Intervention Program (SIP)* was set up specifically to meet
the needs of job seekers that are disadvantaged by:

-   English as a Second Language needs;

-   Literacy needs;

-   Outdated work skills; or

-   Employment-related personal development needs.

Assistance of up to 52 weeks of full-time training within a 2-year
period was provided to equip job seekers with the basic skills they
require to undertake further training or to access employment.
Professional assessments were undertaken to determine the individual's
major barriers and ensure appropriate placement according to these
needs.

The program offered 12 different types of ESL courses, including 5 ESL
literacy courses to cater to adults with low oracy/low literacy,
retrenched workers with intermediate oracy but low literacy, long term
residents with oral proficiency but low to intermediate literacy. At the
other end of the spectrum there were courses for the professionally
qualified residents seeking advanced level English to reenter their
profession. SIP also offered a range of numeracy and literacy courses
for proficient/mother tongue English speakers.

The Special Intervention Program provided a pathway for many recently
arrived migrants who were exiting the AMEP settlement program, but
required further English tuition to become truly job competitive. The
program was subsumed in 1996, along with a range of other targeted
assisted schemes under the streamlined Job Seeker Preparation and
Support program.

The *Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs
Annual Report 1996--97* reported that 87,127 job seekers were assisted
under various training components of Job Seeker Preparation and support
in 1996--97 (1997, 124). Those from non-English speaking backgrounds
"formed about 18 percent of the (Commonwealth Employment Service (CES)
client) register in 1996--97 and achieved about 13 percent (48,000) of
all job placements made by the CES. This group received about 10 percent
of total labor market assistance in 1996--97" (1997, 114). The report
also noted that 21,060 disadvantaged job seekers from language
backgrounds other than English gained employment or study-related
outcomes as a result of case management services (1997, 114).

######## *Labor Adjustment Programs*

Labor Adjustment Programs were organized specifically to assist
retrenched workers form the Textile, Clothing, and Footwear and the
Passenger Motor Vehicles industries to retrain in new areas. These
rapidly declining industries had high concentrations of postwar
migrants, who upon arrival went straight into factories where they
remained until the recessions of the late 1980s. An analysis of the
participation of migrant women in labor-market programs (Junor et al.
1994) indicated that 1,794 non-English speaking background women
participated in the Labor Adjustment Programs, making up 43.6 percent of
all participants in 1993--94.

For many of the retrenches, this was the first opportunity to actually
attend formal English classes. They had learned a spoken form of English
on the job, oftentimes by communicating with other postwar migrants, but
needed to develop skills in reading and writing. Although many of the
learners in the Labor Adjustment Programs were older, they were highly
motivated language learners and took great delight in participating in a
formal classroom setting. For some learning to read and write in English
opened up new forms of communication with younger generations of their
family. The language courses helped them to explore realistic productive
and employment options by involving them in volunteer work, craft
stalls, job-search skills, and vocational-skills training and work
experience.

Labor Adjustment Packages were discontinued in 1996. Earlier research
into the participation of migrant women in labor-market programs
acknowledged their positive outcomes, with a 66.7 percent success rate
in 1993 compared with the 54.8 percent success rate for non-English
speaking background women and 44.6 percent for all participants in the
Special Intervention program (Junor et al.1994, 54, 90--90). The study
commissioned by the Association of Non-English Speaking Background Women
of Australia noted "*concerns about the brevity, quality, and
discontinuity of the English courses provided under the SIP in 1993, 25
percent of SIP ESL classes ran for 6--13 weeks, and another 70 percent
ran from 13--26 weeks"* (Junor et al. 194:47). This contrasted with the
Labor Adjusted Program provision of 52 weeks of English language
followed by 52 weeks of vocational skills training.

*Job Network*

In May 1998, a new arrangement for assisting job seekers with employment
services called *Job Network*, comes into operation. Under this
arrangement over 300 private, community based and government service
member organizations will be contracted to assist job seekers into
employment. Under the most intensive form of support, called *Intensive
Assistance,* member organizations will be paid up to almost \$10,000 if
they are able to place disadvantaged job seekers in employment for at
least 26 weeks. It will be up to the contracted service provider to
arrange language and literacy tuition, other forms of support, or
individual clients.

#### On-the--job Training: Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) Program

#### 

#### The Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) program funds specialist literacy and language provision in companies and industry sectors to help their operative workers access accredited vocational-skills training on the job. Training involves the concurrent development of language, literacy, numeracy, and vocational skills as interrelated elements of the learning program. Language is contextualized to meet the requirements of the job. Concurrent language and literacy support ensures that workers with limited competence in English, numeracy, or literacy is able to access and complete relevant vocational certificates. The attainment of Industry Certificates provided such benefits as improved pay rates, employer and peer recognition, and confidence to take on additional responsibilities.

Planning and delivery are supported by a workplace consultative process
to ensure the on-going support of key stakeholders, particularly senior
managers, and in some cases, on-site unions. Enterprises are expected to
provide a percentage contribution to the costs of tuition.

In the first 3 years of its operation (1992--95), the program provided
\$32.8 million and reached 1,606 workplaces, delivering 2.5 million
hours of training to 48,428 participants (Baylis 1995,15). The
post-implementation review of the program concluded that it acted "as a
catalyst for furthering the reform process in many enterprises,
promoting the development of a training culture at work and influencing
current workplace communication practices" (Baylis 1995, 1).

Workplace personnel identified four types of benefits:

-   achievement of work related credentials;

-   increased confidence and orientation to work;

-   improved participation at work; and

-   enhanced career pathways.

Evidence indicates a continuing need for language and literacy support.
*One Size*

*Fits Some* (Mawer and Field 1995) reports that while 50 percent of
Australian-born workers have undertaken some training over the last few
years, only 35 percent for non-English speaking backgrounds workers have
had similar access, with the discrepancy being even greater for migrant
women. It is encouraging that an increasing number of Industry Training
Advisory Boards have recognized language and literacy development as a
training priority.

Exemplar: Adult Learners with Special Needs

A study commissioned by the government in 1995 to report on the adequacy
of adult English language and literacy provision showed that clients
with special needs were unlikely to achieve the target exit level of
proficiency (NCELTR 1996). Program outcomes reported by the 1994 AMEP
Review (McNaught and McGraw 1997, 32) indicated that while 78 percent of
clients received an accredited award and 37 percent exited at the
optimum target level of Certificate III, Band A profiles received no
accredited award and only 8 percent attained the target Certificate III
outcome. The study *Language Services for Non-English Speaking
Background Women* (Plimer et al. 1996) also highlighted the limited
progress made by groups of vulnerable learners, particularly women.

The following section summarizes classroom based action research
undertaken in the AMEP settlement program to identify groups of adult
learners with special needs and the precise nature of the learning
barriers that face them. These studies focus on how characteristics,
expectations, and previous experiences of learning influence migrant
learners' attempts to interpret and cope with the curriculum, teaching
methodology, resources, and tasks of the Australian language classroom.
The section also outlines policies, practices, and program arrangements,
which have been, developed to overcome these barriers and enhance
learning. Exemplars from these investigations as well as teaching and
learning resources developed to address these learner needs will be the
focus of the workshop presentation.

###### Classroom-Based Research and Curriculum Strategies

Much of the work on migrant and refugee learners with special needs has
been brought together by in a report *Investigating Learner Outcomes for
Clients With Special Needs in the Adult Migrant English Program.*
Learner characteristics, which have been found to impact on the pace

and success of formal language learning (McPherson 1997, 1), include:

-   no formal education;

-   limited formal education (i.e., less than 7 years);

-   no experience of formal learning as adults;

-   disrupted education due to war or other political crisis;

-   functionally illiterate in first language;

-   from non-roman script backgrounds;

-   elderly;

-   suffering severe effects of political torture and trauma; and

-   cultural backgrounds and educational perspectives significantly
    different from those of Anglo-Australian culture.

In the AMEP, learners with one or more of these indicators are
acknowledged as having special needs and therefore require instruction
which takes account of these needs. An explicit pathway, referred to as
*Band A* in the *Certificates of Spoken and Written English,* is now
incorporated into the AMEP curriculum framework. Learners are offered a
range of course options which vary in length, learning pace, intensity,
focus, and delivery modes to best meet their disparate needs and
backgrounds.

#### Learners with Minimal First Language Literacy

Methodology emerging from various case studies of learners with limited
first language literacy (Huntington 1992; Khoe and Kightley 1986; Green
and Piperis 1987; Hood and Kightley 1991; Achren 1991; 1994; Ramm 1992,
1994) emphasize the need to focus on the learners' immediate personal
experiences, cultural backgrounds, familiar topics, and concrete, real
world material rather than abstract and decontextualized themes.

Careful analysis of learner responses to pedagogic practices common in
language classrooms reveals that some of these activities assume too
much shared cultural knowledge. The use of graphics and written work
sheets which are intended to reinforce language and aid comprehension
can confuse learners and thus become in themselves barriers to learning
(Achren 1991). The introduction of abstract notions such as the alphabet
and decontextualized vocabulary as preliminary steps to literacy can be
devoid of meaning (Hood and Kightley 1991). Even simple line drawings
may not be as transparent as teachers think for learner groups who do
not have the same cultural frames and life experiences (Ramm 1994).

Special learning sequences need to be planned which begin with concrete
experience and slowly build up to more complex and abstract concepts.
Ramm (1994), for instance, recommends using real objects to set an
immediate and meaningful context, gradually replacing them with photos
or realistic pictures, then substituting these with more abstract
diagrams and graphics. Huntington (1992) illustrates sequential course
design based on a language experience approach to reading and writing
for preliterate adult among refugees. Bilingual assistance is seen as
invaluable in clarifying assumptions and interpretations of meanings.

#### Learners with Minimal Formal Schooling 

Learners who have had limited previous experience of formal education
have difficulties managing information input, organizing learning
material, following verbal and written instructions, and processing
large chunks of new language (Badenhorst 1994, Hajncl 1994). They are
distressed by error or by failure to recall learned language. They
appear not to utilize information processing skills or pneumonic devices
used by those with higher levels of education.

These learners benefit from the inclusion in the curriculum of formal
learning skill development, including techniques for study management,
problem solving, memorizing, categorizing, the use of reference tools
such as dictionaries, and the explicit transfer of skills to other
contexts. The constant recycling of language and skills, the inclusion
of physical activities and frequent changes of activities were also
considered beneficial. A study of nonlanguage outcomes in the AMEP
(Jackson 1994) found a strong interrelationship between the acquisition
of learning skills and language-specific gains.

#### Aged Language Learners

#### 

#### English classes offer elderly migrants the opportunity to decrease their isolation and facilitate their access to services and community activities. Studies of aged second-language learners have established that the right physical and learning environment can compensate for physiological and sociocultural variables such as perceptual acuity, psychomotor coordination, and language-memory that are likely to affect their performance and progress (Er 1986, Aggarwal 1985, Green and Piperis 1987). Recommendations include highly contextualized language relevant to the learners' experience, concrete tasks, multisensorial modalities, recycling of content at increasingly deeper levels, and optimal physical conditions. Learner anxiety can be reduced by creating supportive relationships within the class, slowing the pace of instruction, putting the emphasis on receptive rather than productive skills, and downplaying the role and formality of assessments.

####  

#### Learners with Experiences of Trauma

#### 

#### A substantial number of refugees arriving in Australia are survivors of torture and other forms of traumatic experiences. The long term effects of these damaging experiences oftentimes impact in varying ways on the learning of English, with key factors relating to the survivors' confidence and self-esteem as learners, their motivation to learn, and their attitudes towards the target language. Difficult settlement, which may include financial problems, unemployment, children's adjustment to schooling, and experiences of racism and discrimination, inevitably affects learning of the host language. Chronic psychological symptoms, such as memory impairment, short attention span, severe anxiety, and limited concentration, can override positive motivation and impede learning.

#### 

#### Teachers in the AMEP have worked with specialized agencies like the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture to learn how to provide supportive learning conditions and programs which take account of the complex and diverse needs of these learners.

##### Program Arrangements

A variety of program arrangements have been introduced in response to
the growing awareness of the needs of vulnerable learners. Key
principles in designing appropriate options and *differentiation,
flexibility,* and *continuity* (Plimer and Candin 1996). Flexibility of
delivery for the target group refers to client choice in terms of
location, access, intensity, mode, curriculum, and methodology.
Differentiation and continuity require that provision remains
contextualized within the mainstream framework and does not, in the
process of accommodating special needs, set up new barriers to
mainstream access.

#### Special Preparatory (PREP) Programs

The call for small classes of around 10 students in a quiet and pleasant
environment close to learners and their community has led to a
resurgence of community based classes reminiscent of the earlier
decades. These new classes, however, have a sharper focus and are better
informed about the needs of the target clientele. *Special Preparatory
(PREP)* Programs have been established for clients identified as "at
risk," particularly refugees from the former Yugoslavia, Africa, Central
America, Cambodia, Irag, Afghanistan, and Vietnam. Ethno-specific
classes have been organized in transit flats, Maternal and Child Health
Centers, Migrant resource Centers, Community Health Centers, and local
schools and libraries for Somali, Iraqi, Afghani, Khmer, Arabic, and
Turkish women.

Most of these classes comprise small groups, provide bilingual
assistance and on-site child care, and are conducted on weekends or at
times to suit the women and their family commitments. These classes
integrate settlement, parenting, and health information with language
and literacy skills. They involve partners in the community, including
key members of the learners' own communities, as well as other service
providers, advocates, and volunteers. *English on Air*, which provides
bilingual talk back lessons on ethnic radio has captured a large
enthusiastic listenership among elderly Cantonese and is well into its
third series.

Teaching methods are designed to build confidence and promote success in
the classroom, thereby reducing learner anxiety. Careful attention is
given to lighting, temperature, acoustics, and seating to create a
comfortable, safe, and supportive physical environment. Special
professional development programs have been developed in conjunction
with agencies such as the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture,
to train teachers in mainstream classes to recognize distress symptoms
and access professional assistance when needed. Teachers are also
trained to evaluate suitability of topics, resources, and activities and
to implement appropriate classroom strategies (e.g., working with
aggression, distress, and inattention).

The curriculum framework used in PREP classes is the same nationally
accredited competency-based curriculum used across the AMEP; this
ensures that learners have continuity of content and are eventually able
to articulate into mainstream programs. The methodology is considerably
more contextualized, concrete, multisensorial and "hands on." Careful
consideration is given to appropriate and transparent visual aids,
diagrams, and experiential learning. This approach was first developed
in the 1980s in programs for young refugees and unaccompanied minors who
were identified as being "at risk" because they were unable to access
mainstream schools in Australia (Chou Allender and Davison 1988).

##### Policy Initiatives

Current immigration policy distinguishes the Refugee and Humanitarian
Program from the rest of the Migration Program. Special provisions allow
refugees extra time within which to take up their entitlement to free
tuition in recognition of the special psychological and other barriers
they might face during their initial year of settlement. They are also
given greater flexibility in attendance to allow them to withdraw when
they feel the need for a break without losing their entitlement.

#### Additional Funding

On top of the entitlement to 510 tuition hours, refugees can now have up
to 100 additional hours. This extension is provided in recognition of
the special needs of the increasing numbers of survivors of torture and
trauma and refugees with little or no formal schooling. Guidelines for
the application of these additional hours are being negotiated with
language and service providers to ensure that the policy provides the
flexibility to meet the diversity of clients' needs.

Funding for Special Preparatory (PREP) Programs for Refugee and
Humanitarian Entrants was introduced to cater in particular for the
needs of women with low levels of literacy, few years of education, and
low levels or no formal occupation. This client group was found by a
review of *Language Services for Non-English Speaking Background Women*
(Plimer et al. 1996) to be least advantaged by the AMEP. The PREP
programs emphasize community-based delivery in partnership arrangements
while maintaining a requirement for appropriate curriculum pathways and
quality assurance processes. The courses aim to prepare students for
entry into mainstream language courses in the AMEP.

#### Benchmarks

Benchmarks on language gain developed by the Department of Immigration
and Multicultural Affairs for the AMEP likewise reflect a recognition
that language gain is heavily influenced by factors such as previous
level of education and literacy in other languages.

Based on the analysis of the competency achievements of clients in 1996,
the Department has developed preliminary client performance targets.
These targets are significant in two ways. First, they recognize that
measuring success simply in terms of the attainment of a Certificate did
not sufficiently recognize learner progress and achievement; they thus
measure achievement more finely in terms of actual competencies gained.
Second, the benchmarks are differentiated according to the three learner
Bands, thus recognizing that factors such as previous experience of
formal education, first language literacy, and age impact on the pace of
learning.

Considerably more work is being done to validate this approach to
measuring program outcomes. It is nevertheless important to ensure that
the diversity of client need is supported not just in terms of
differentiating service delivery, but also in how we define and measure
the benefits they produce for the clients. "*Just as one single measure
cannot address all purposes for assessment, neither can one measure
address all aspects of learner growth and ability*" (Burt and Keenan
1996, 10).

##### Issues 

#### Measuring Effectiveness

Most of the Band A learners, particularly because they enter at Stage 1
with minimal English if any, will not achieve the target outcome of
either Certificate III or functional proficiency when they exit the
AMEP. All the research into their learning needs stress the need for
time---time to get their families and lives together, time to heal and
build up confidence in a future, time to bridge the massive chasm
between their old and new lives, and time to learn how to learn. These
tasks are all essential ingredients for successful settlement. Language
courses contribute to settlement related outcomes as well as to language
development.

A study of *Non-Language Outcomes in the Language Classroom* (Jackson
1994, 11) identified eight categories of outcomes including confidence,
knowledge of social institutions, cultural awareness, and learning
skills. Jackson found these gains to be most noticeable and significant
for learners with special needs. Similarly the 1995 Review of Workplace
program reported that "*increased confidence, as a result of work
related English language and literacy training, was the most highly
valued outcome by workplace personnel since it facilitated the
implementation of workplace reform*" (Baylis 1995, 2).

Indeed, the concurrent development of these other, albeit less tangible
skills and qualities would seem essential for the achievement of
language gains. It is thus important to measure the effectiveness of the
learning experience of Band A learners in terms broader than language
gain or competencies/Certificates achieved (McNaught and McGrath 1997,
34--35).

#### Learning Pathways

Language and literacy development requires a long-term commitment for
individuals. The high cost of sustaining this long-term commitment has
been alleviated in some circumstances by government services and
augmented for some individuals. Labor market programs have provided a
learning pathway for many registered job seekers that needed to continue
learning English. These pathways will be affected, for some individuals,
in the transition to new employment arrangements. It will be important
to monitor how well the new arrangements are able to assist job seekers
that are disadvantaged by their language and educational backgrounds to
acquire the relevant literacy and vocational skills they need for
employment.

Opportunities for adults requiring slower paced provision over longer
periods to continue their learning may lie, rather, in the Adult and
Community Education (ACE) sector. This sector conducts training that is
informal, welcoming, noninstitutional, and personal---features that make
it a key success point for many disadvantaged learners. Managed and
owned by local communities, ACE providers form a widespread network of
learning centers, neighborhood houses, and community organizations.

"While ACE has in the past been predominantly associated with leisure
and recreational activities of little relevance to people from different
linguistic and cultural backgrounds, the inclusion of pathways which
include English language literacy and vocational education and training,
signals the increasing relevance of the ACE sector to the ongoing
settlement and vocational education and training needs of migrant
Australians" (FECCA 1996, 6).

In comparative terms the ACE sector is not well resourced, and pressure
to compete for mainstream vocational education and training funds is
causing the sector increasingly to formalize the nature of its
provision, thereby threatening its diversity. The trends towards "user
pays" which shifts costs of education and training to individuals is
likewise causing anxiety in the sector, which caters predominantly for
women on low incomes for whom cost is a major barrier. "*Public funding
of ACE remains critical if the goal of lifelong learning is to be a
reality for all Australians, particularly for those where adult learning
provides pathways out of disadvantage*" (FECCA 1996, 50).

#### Alternatives to Employment 

While some migrants and refugees with limited language skills,
especially women, may find casual employment in low-skill areas, many
are likely to join the ranks of the long-term unemployed. The increased
demand for literacy and other systemic barriers to employment are
causing migrants to turn away from the job market and establish their
own businesses.

Australians born overseas from non-English speaking backgrounds have
shown a higher propensity to work as employers or self-employed than
Australian-born persons or English-speaking migrants (ABS Brisbane 1992,
54--5). Ethnic small businesses make up one half of the small businesses
in many states (Collins 1997, 12--13). "*Immigrant women, including
those of Asian origin, are engaged in a diverse range of business
enterprises, from dressmaking, computer programming and consultancy,
tourism, arts and crafts, and various professional and trade services.
These businesses contribute significantly to the economy by generating
income for the women and their families, as well as creating new jobs,
training opportunities, and opening up international markets*"
(Marshallsay 1996, 8).

##### Research has shown that ethnic small businesses tend to employ from their family or from their ethnic communities. Collins suggests that strengthening existing ethnic small businesses and supporting more job seekers from language backgrounds other than English to make the transition from unemployed to entrepreneur would have spin-off benefits in reducing the high unemployment rates of those who are unable to compete for jobs in the open market because of limited English proficiency (1997, 26--28).

##### 

##### A New Paradigm: Productive Diversity

To make better use of the tremendous resources bought into the country
by its immigration program, Australia needs a new paradigm. Instead of
viewing people with limited English as dysfunctional and unable to
contribute productively to the national economy, the community should
recognize and value the skills that they do not possess. This approach
underlies the government's *productive diversity* policy. It is also
consistent with the findings of a task force report commissioned by the
previous Government on Leadership and Management Skills (Karpin 1995)
which underscored the economic potential of the language and cultural
skills that exist within Australia's diverse community.

Over a third of migrant workers from non-English speaking backgrounds
are over-qualified for their jobs and underpaid for their skill levels
(Flatau et al. 1995). "*Many have solid technical, language and cultural
skills appropriate to the multicultural nature of their workplaces, are
comfortable with different perspectives and communication styles, and
would be good trainers, team leaders, and assessors*" (Mawer and Field
1995, 49).

Australians who speak the languages of Australia's trade partners, come
from these countries, understand their cultures intimately, and have
continuing personal networks, have key roles to play in Australia's push
into world markets. Unfortunately, the take-up rate by business has been
slow to date and the potential to maximize competitive advantage offered
by the country's linguistic and cultural diversity remains largely
untapped (Hay 1996, 13).

#### 

#### Prognosis for the Future

Labor market statistics clearly establish that new arrivals are
particularly vulnerable during the initial settlement period. Those who
speak no English at all have a 70 percent unemployment rate in their
first year (ABS Brisbane 1992). However, indications are that migrants
do adapt to Australia and that, over time, their employment rates fall
to levels comparable with those born in Australia (ABS Brisbane 1992,
Ackland et al. 1992).

The prognosis seems to be even brighter for the children of migrants and
refugees. A study of second-generation Australians indicate that they
have achieved educational credentials well beyond their parents'
generation, as well as third or earlier generation Australians of the
same age group. They also have a "striking degree of upward mobility"
and manage to convert their tertiary qualifications to occupations
commensurate with the qualifications (Khoo 1995, 11--12). The selection
this year of the daughter of one of the Vietnamese "boat people" as
Young Australian of the Year, is symbolic of this optimistic outlook.

While these trends are encouraging, the path to successful settlement in
this highly literate, technologically driven society will nevertheless
be long and painful for the learners described in this paper.

######## Principles of Good Practice 

The Australian experience indicates that it is possible to develop
curriculum practices, program arrangements, and policies that can
effectively address the educational needs of language learners with
limited first language literacy and minimal formal education. A number
of general principles can be drawn from the exemplar discussed in the
paper.

It is important to define the precise nature of learning barriers.
Identifying the target group of learners as "slow" is not as meaningful
as it is to discover, for instance, that classroom routines which
involves teachers take for granted are unfamiliar to the learners and
actually cause confusion. *Action research,* which involves teachers in
a cycle of observing, reflecting, and improving, is an effective way to
find out how learners think and react to classroom practices. A formal
structure to support action research and collegiate participation can
assist teachers to identify common patterns and issues.

Pinpointing specific problems makes it possible to develop appropriate
strategies to address them. It is feasible to teach learners how to
understand and use formal learning tools, activities, and processes. The
same approach can be used to introduce them to new learning
technologies. These decoding and encoding skills are essential for
survival, not only in the classroom, but also in other areas of life in
literate society. They give learners control over their own learning.

Differentiation, flexibility, and continuity are key principles in
establishing program arrangements. It is important to have a policy and
program delivery framework that is broad and flexible enough to
accommodate diversity within the mainstream (i.e., to ensure that no
groups are marginalized). Differentiated forms of provision, outcomes,
benchmarks, and ways of measuring benefit and achievement should match
the diversity of client need, within this framework. Policies and
funding guidelines, which recognize diversity, are powerful mechanisms
for promoting and rewarding innovative approaches to the customized
delivery of services.

### Conclusion

There are many social benefits to improving participation of all members
of the community in lifelong learning. Participation in education
changes people lives and improves their life chances, enabling them to
develop to their full potential, achieve security for themselves and
their families, and contribute productively to their communities.
Australia has had a long and proud tradition of opening its doors to
individuals and families who have been displaced by war

and other traumatic circumstances. It is striving to honor this
commitment by ensuring that the settlement program opens up to them the
opportunities that come with having the skills and confidence to learn
in new ways and to continue learning throughout their lives.

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