Communication is an essential part of daily life. From daily tasks like visiting the supermarket, booking an appointment with a GP or medical practitioner or dropping children at school, through to securing employment and the ongoing interaction required to perform in a role, we all need to communicate.
The inability to communicate effectively with communities where you live can lead to social exclusion, economic disadvantage and restricted access to important resources and information. Communication is fundamental to the existence and survival of individuals, groups, societies and nations, and a shared language is the most common tool for communication. For refugees and immigrants arriving in a new country the language barrier can often seem the hardest mountain to climb.
English Language Partners (ELP) has 21 centres nationwide teaching English for work and everyday life in New Zealand. Their commitment is to help new Kiwis learn the English they need to participate and live independent lives.
Luke Scowcroft manages the Nelson and Marlborough branches of ELP and looks after a passionate team of individuals committed to working with refugees and migrants to help break down the language barriers and assist with assimilation into a new society and new way of life.
Most of the people who ELP work with in the Nelson/Marlborough region are former refugees and migrants from either Myanmar or Colombia. Myanmar has 115 living indigenous languages and one extinct language, so even though refugees are emigrating from the same country, they may not be able to communicate amongst themselves effectively. In the Nelson region Luke says they have refugees who are Chin, Karen, Chin Hakha and Zomi among others, and each of these groups has a very distinct culture and often a different religion.
The Myanmar community is well established in the region as Nelson has been welcoming refugees from Myanmar for many years.
“A lot of the learners that we work with are older people who have come to New Zealand as part of the Family Reunification Programme. Many have very low levels of literacy and numeracy and often this will be their first time learning to read and write, with many learners only completing the equivalent of a primary school education in Myanmar.”
Luke says that during the 2024/25 year, the region will welcome 95 former refugees to Nelson and 80 to Blenheim through the Refugee Quota programme alone, with the majority from Myanmar, including Rohingya people.
Blenheim is already home to a number of Rohingya people, many of whom fled (and continue to flee) Myanmar due to the Rohingya genocide. With their citizenship revoked in their home country, they are now considered stateless.
“Immigration New Zealand considers the settlement process very carefully and takes account of issues like employment opportunities and availability of support services as well as existing communities. In addition, we have great support for our work programme from the Nelson City Council who not only provide additional funding but also assist with the provision of support that is geared towards establishing social connection, which is a huge contributor in the development of language skills.” The Council provides venues for lessons and other settlement activities.
“Our team doesn’t just teach numeracy and literacy, we also work with refugees to help with a variety of settlement tasks, such as understanding correspondence, civil participation support with things like navigating the election voting process and assisting with meeting administrative and legislative requirements, like filling in census forms if required,” Luke says. “We also run a class in the community centre for mothers with preschoolers and we provide a babysitting service three times a week so that parents can have time to get together and practise language skills.”
A key initiative in terms of learner success for ELP in Nelson has been the integration of migrants into the learning experience, not just as students, but as tutors, supporters and teachers.
Luke says they have employed two women from the Chin community to help with childcare during lessons and they are now a valued part of the team. In addition, they have employed three cultural language assistants who help with lesson delivery using the learners’ first language. An example of this philosophy is the employment of Surat Alam, who assists with delivery of summer classes designed to provide a boost of intense learning for students before the main learning term starts, and who continues to work in class with learners throughout the year.
“These employees have all been through our language programme,” Luke says. “For us it’s a way of providing further, tangible support, and for our team members it’s a way that they can give back to their communities, which is hugely important for many of our learners.”
Luke says a large number of the Colombian immigrants who have settled in the region have found work in the Marlborough wine growing sector and ELP works with WineWorks Marlborough to deliver English courses for their staff.
“Colombian immigrants generally have higher literacy and numeracy skills when they arrive in the country, and they don’t tend to have cultural and religious restrictions that can impact employment opportunities in the wine sector. They are also often younger than our refugees from Myanmar and able to work in a more physical role.”
ELP offers intensive ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) classes three to four times a week in a range of locations around Nelson and Marlborough.
“We also offer IELTS (International English Language Testing System) support for refugees and immigrants planning on undertaking higher education,” Luke says.
The IELTS academic test assesses English-language proficiency at an academic level to determine whether individuals are proficient to study at either undergraduate or postgraduate level, or to work in a professional setting. ELP in Nelson offers two hours of free online training a week to assist individuals reach the required level. They have also joined forces with REAP Marlborough to assist migrants to get their driver’s licence, with ELP providing support for the theory exam and REAP then providing free driving lessons for the practical component.
Luke says the refugee and immigrant community has brought richness and diversity to the community and there is a great deal to celebrate.
“At the moment we are planning for the Nelson multi-cultural festival in March. There will be food trucks, dancing and other cultural celebrations. Several of our Colombian graduates will be providing one of the food trucks, a small business that they have established in the region. Last November we also hosted a celebration of learning where some stars from the local Mako rugby team and the Whakatū Girls Rugby Trust gave our learners a taste of rugby skills before sharing a lunch and performances from our learners. It was a great event and fabulous celebration of the diversity in our community and the very special contribution our immigrant community makes to that.”
Surat Alam
Surat Alam and his wife have been in Blenheim for two years. Surat is Rohingya and originally from Myanmar, although he left there as a 17-year-old and sought refuge in Malaysia. After just one week in Blenheim, Surat started English lessons with English Language Partners. He had absolutely no English when he arrived in Aotearoa but has become an excellent speaker.
Surat says he wanted to learn English as quickly as possible so he could get ahead, settle in and communicate with his new community.
“Like most people in the Rohingya community I had never been to school before as we are not allowed to attend school in Myanmar. Most Rohingya people have no education at all. When I was in Myanmar I was unable to work and spent time fishing with my father.
“My teachers from English Language Partners used a range of teaching methods to help us learn English, including visits to key places outside the classroom so we could learn simple everyday words and our teachers would bring items from home into the classroom to help with translation and learning.”
Surat is now working with English Language Partners three days a week and acts as a translator in the classroom. In addition to that he works a night shift at local firm Talleys and assists the local branch of Red Cross by providing translation services.
“I wanted to give something back to my community and working with English Language Partners helps me to help others learn English. Once they have that skill, they can go on to get work and settle in more easily.”