Prototyping Social Innovation in the Midst of a Pandemic: Transnational English Classes for Refugees & Migrants in Cyprus
By: Tiziana Heck
Tags: Online Learning, Social Innovation, Community Engagement, Cyprus, Refugees

The COVID-19 crisis was trial by fire for Project Phoenix’s social innovation playbook, and we are proud to say that we succeeded on our first attempt. While many legacy institutions have found it challenging to adapt their functioning into the digital realm, Project Phoenix’s recent experience in Cyprus, with online English-language classes for refugees and migrants, has shown us that embracing technology and leveraging our networks is the best way forward in times of crisis. Tiziana Heck, our Research and Innovation Coordinator, and Hrishabh Sandilya our Director for Development on the ground in Cyprus, weigh in on how we did this.

A poster for the classes

In mid-March 2020, a few days into the lockdown in Cyprus, we realised that our regular channels of communications and programming with our fellows were going to have to come to a halt, given the strict movement restrictions in place. We were particularly concerned about the mental health of our fellows (and friends in the migrant community) because many of them had been left in the dark about what was going on. They were essentially without information and without access to the support systems and local networks that have kept them going in their long wait as asylum-seekers.

A screenshot from our first class

Working closely with our fellows and the leadership of Caritas Cyprus, our closest and most valuable partner in Cyprus, we were quickly able to identify that over the next few months many in the migrant community were going to be missing valuable professional skills development opportunities, amongst other things. Caritas and other organisations providing these opportunities had to halt their trainings due to the crisis. And, as a result, there was a general concern about how to ensure that migrants (particularly new arrivals from Francophone West Africa) were receiving enough English-language training to communicate their needs, in a crisis situation.

With a clear gap identified, we attempted to come up with an innovative solution that would work within the different systemic constraints that we were faced with: language learners of different levels and capabilities, who had limited access to technology and high-speed internet, so were going to be using their smartphones.

The WhatsApp Group for the classes

Hrishabh

“It was all pretty fortuitous. I had just had a long chat with my mother Asha Sandilya earlier in the week. She is a former Professor and ELT professional who has been working with the British Council and Cambridge English on their English-language exams and teacher training in India.

She mentioned that she and her colleagues (all ELT professionals) wanted to do something positive, since they all had time on their hands as their work was paused. So, I pitched the idea of online classes and asked her to gauge her colleagues’ interest ”.

We brainstormed over a few days — Asha and her ELT colleagues, the Phoenix Team, Elizabeth Kassinis (the head of Caritas Cyprus) and some of Caritas’s former teachers, and came up with a plan for ‘Survival English’ classes, with a focus on vocabulary-building and spoken English in crisis and transitory situations.

The classes launched in late March and run for four days a week for 60 to 90 minutes. We are happy to say that we have a core group of about 15 learners, of whom three to five attend class everyday.

They are an enthusiastic bunch from West Africa (the DRC, Uganda, Cameroon & Ghana) along with a few from the Middle East, who are based in Nicosia and Larnaca. We use Google Meet as our tech medium and it provides a reasonably stable technical solution for an interactive virtual classroom that works even on a 3G data connection.

A screenshot from one the classes

The topics of the classes vary on a daily basis. A weekly schedule may entail vocabulary classes on food and health on a Monday, city services and asking for directions on a Wednesday, and the future tense on a Friday.

Each week the students are informed of their new schedule in a Whatsapp Group Chat with their teachers, which provides another space for direct language exchange, homework and an opportunity to stay connected outside of the classroom.

So far, the learners have participated with great vigour and are using the opportunity to spend their time in lockdown productively and form new friendships with each other. The small class sizes allow the teachers to design engaging activities for their students and to cater to their specific needs, despite the distance.

Franklin (21) based in Larnaca

Franklin from Cameroon

“I am originally from Cameroon and have participated in the online English classes from the beginning.

I am currently working on improving my knowledge of English grammar, which I struggle with at times. It is better to learn and stay at home, then to sit around and to do nothing during the lockdown. I look forward to learning Greek to be able to better connect with local Cypriots, when you can offer those”.

The interactive online classrooms are a prime example of the promise and potential of the use of innovative approaches in the development sector. Harnessing technology and leveraging social networks and capital to provide sustainable solutions to migrants, the story of the ‘Survival English’ classes is one of the few positive stories coming out of this time of crisis.

It is a story of how humans from all over can come together to make a difference in each other’s lives in a time of crisis, using the resources of a 21st century world.

Adib Modak, one of the ELT professionals leading the classes, weighs in on his approach (video) and what drove him to participate.

Adib Modak, one of our teachers talking about his experience with the classes

We are immensely grateful to all of the ELT professionals who helped realize this project — Asha Sandilya, Adib Modak, Geeta Sundaram, Aparna Gurbaxani and Anshuman Khurjekar and we look forward to working with them over the next few weeks.

And inspired by the success of the English classes, we are currently working to offer Greek lessons, as well, to support our migrant friends in their integration journeys into the local community. We also hope to be able to offer meditation and mental health exercises in the near future.