The linguistic integration of migrants affects every aspect of settling in a new country (employment, health, etc.). The aim of this collection of texts is to propose a number of specific measures member states can take to help adult migrants become acquainted with the language of the host country. The main focus is on organising language courses that meet migrants’ real communication needs. It is not enough for authorities simply to consider the technical aspects of such courses, they should also design and conduct them in accordance with the fundamental values of the Council of Europe. A number of issues concerning the linguistic integration of adult migrants are presented here, beginning with the notion of linguistic integration itself. Family reunion, the nature of citizenship and the function of language tests, among others, are dealt with from the point of view of language and language use. Readers are invited to reflect on the type of language competences that need to be acquired as well as an appropriate use of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The collection also sets out approaches and instruments designed to assist in implementing effective policies.

Adult Language Education and Migration: Challenging Agendas in Policy and Practice provides a lively and critical examination of policy and practice in language education for adult migrants around the world, showing how opportunities for learning the language of a new country both shape and are shaped by policy moves. Language policies for migrants are often controversial and hotly contested, but at the same time innovative teaching practices are emerging in response to the language learning needs of today’s mobile populations. This book: analyses and challenges language education policies relating to adult migrants in nine countries; provides a comparative study with separate chapters on policy and practice in each country; focuses on Australia, Canada, Spain (Catalonia), Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, the UK and the US. Adult Language Education and Migration is essential reading for practitioners, students and researchers working in the area of language education in migration contexts.

Language skills foster, among other things, social inclusion, access to education and employment. Within this context, non-literate or low-literate migrants have specific educational needs. This reference guide is meant for language educators, curriculum designers and language policy makers in their endeavour to design, implement, evaluate and improve curricula tailored toward the specific needs of non- and low-literate adult migrants. This group of migrants faces the complex and demanding task of learning a language while either learning to read and write for the first time or developing their literacy skills. They rarely receive adequate instruction in terms of hours of tuition and targeted teaching approaches, whereas they are very often requested to take a compulsory written test. The reference guide contains: a definition of target users and learners; the rationale related to the development of the descriptors; principles for teaching literacy and second languages; scales and tables of descriptors; aspects of curriculum design at the macro, meso and micro levels and recommendations on assessment procedures and tools within the learning environment. The guide also contains descriptors that build on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and the CEFR Companion volume up to the A1 level for adult migrants, with special attention given to literacy learners.

Report on the 2018 Council of Europe and ALTE survey on language and knowledge of society policies for migrants Migration is one of the most contentious issues in current international politics. To better understand this issue, the Council of Europe conducted an extensive survey among Council of Europe member states on requirements regarding language and knowledge of society that migrants must meet to obtain access to the country, residency or citizenship. This report, based on that survey, will be relevant to anybody interested in migration and language policy. It pays particular attention to vulnerable learner groups and the degree to which member states provide migrants with adequate learning opportunities. In addition to discussing current trends, it also shows that language and knowledge of society requirements were gradually made stricter between 2007 and 2018. Based on the survey results and on available research, the authors formulate a number of policy recommendations, emphasising the importance of providing adequate learning opportunities and warning against requirements that might hinder, rather than foster, integration.

The story of West Indian immigrants to the United States is generally considered to be a great success. Mary Waters, however, tells a very different story. She finds that the values that gain first-generation immigrants initial success--a willingness to work hard, a lack of attention to racism, a desire for education, an incentive to save--are undermined by the realities of life and race relations in the United States. Contrary to long-held beliefs, Waters finds, those who resist Americanization are most likely to succeed economically, especially in the second generation.

The European Language Portfolio aims to foster the development of learner autonomy, intercultural awareness and plurilingualism. Teachers of particular languages working on their own can use the ELP to promote learner autonomy, but the goals of intercultural awareness and plurilingualism invite us to use the ELP in all foreign language classes at all levels in the school. The guide introduces the language education policy that underpins the ELP, explores the key concepts that it embodies, and explains how to plan, implement and evaluate whole-school ELP projects. The ten case studies published on the project website illustrate various dimensions of ELP use and include practical suggestions and activities for teachers and learners.

Migration is an old, perhaps perpetual, phenomenon. Currently, it is an urgent challenge involving huge numbers of people who leave their home in search of a better life. Differences in language, customs, and norms are often joined by specific manifestations of xenophobia born of particular differences between host countries and their current influx of migrants. In a pronounced way, then, migration reveals important societal questions・of solidarity, of identity, of transition and transformation, of human rights and obligations. The explorations in this collection highlight individual stories of migrants, showcase innovative research methods, and explore concepts and theories that might be usefully applied toward learning needs in a migration society. Including insights from scholars across 14 different countries, this book offers an international perspective on the role of adult education in addressing migration. Such international comparisons hold great potential for seeing new possibilities in any single country, whether in Europe, North America, or across the world.