NILE | Teaching English to Refugees and Migrants

NEW COURSE: Working with refugees and migrants is different to any other type of English language teaching. It is hugely diverse, potentially challenging, and extremely rewarding. In this course, you will learn core skills for teaching in all kinds of refugee and migrant learning contexts, in the UK and internationally.

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This special course is a partnership between NILE and TERM, Teach English to Refugees and Migrants.

Is this course for you?

Location: Online

Experience:
English language teachers who are new to working with refugees and/or migrants, or who are considering doing so in the future.

Language Level: B2 or higher

Course dates:
15 September - 19 November 2025

Certification:
NILE Certificate

Course Length: 8 weeks

Course fees:
Course fee: £545

Minimum age: 18

Max class size: 18

Tutor-led and highly interactive

Live and asynchronous eLearning platforms

Specialist ELT eLibrary

Accredited by AQUEDUTO

Course content

Introduction to refugee and migrant learners

Principles of trauma-informed practice

Course and lesson design

Adapting published materials and creating your own

Teaching pre-A1 and A1 refugee and migrant learners

Seven steps to creating a safe classroom environment

Managing differentiation and cultural differences

Dealing with challenging and unpredicatable classroom situations

How to look after yourself as a teacher

In this course, you will start by exploring how to understand your learners’ varied backgrounds and how this will affect your class. You will learn the impact of trauma on the brain, and how to manage the many ways trauma can manifest within the classroom. You will discover how to design courses, lessons, materials and activities that take into account your learners’ specific needs, whether they be emotional, cognitive, linguistic or cultural.

You will become aware of what to do when specific challenges arise in your classroom, and how to avoid burnout. You will assemble a knowledge bank you can take with you into any refugee and migrant educational environment. Ultimately, you’ll enter the classroom with confidence, knowing you have the skills and training you need to get the best from your learners, and yourself.

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Further Information

NILE Online courses are highly interactive and learning takes place through varied and engaging multimedia content and the collaboration between participants from different contexts. All participants work on the same unit in the same week but there is a high level of flexibility within that time period to help you fit studying around your life and work. The interaction, via forums and other collaborative tools built into the platform, helps and encourages you to share ideas, ask questions, explore concepts and build up a community.

You need a computer, a headset (with microphone) and an Internet connection. Much of the course can be done on a mobile device, but a computer is needed for certain activities and tasks.

Participants have access to NILE's extensive ELT e-library and an innovative social and cultural programme. All NILE Online courses include an element of professional language development, i.e. language related to course content and/or the classroom.

Course Tutors: Stephanie Lam and Chris Moore

Chris Moore & Stephanie Lam

TERM directors and lead trainers Stephanie and Chris have over 35 years’ collective experience teaching, designing, managing and supporting teachers on English language programmes for refugees, migrants and asylum seekers across the UK.

Stephanie has been teaching English to refugees, migrants and ex-prisoners for 25 years at two Immigration Removal Centres in the UK. She is adept at managing a drop-in class with a different mix of learners each session, from all backgrounds and all levels of English, and is an expert on managing stress and trauma in the ERM classroom. She’s also a published author, journalist, and experienced public speaker.
Chris has been teaching, designing courses, training language teachers and running schools since 1989. He's managing director of Specialist Language Courses, and has created and managed a wide range of online courses for refugee and migrant learners since 2018.
Chris works closely with three Strategic Migration Partnerships, plus RefuAid/Breaking Barriers, the Lincolnshire Refugee Doctor Project, and NHS England on their Displaced Talent programme for refugee nurses. He also served 6 years as Trustee and Board Member of Eaquals, and is Director of EALTHY, the global association for the professional development of teachers of English for Healthcare.