Breaking the Language Barrier: A scalable model to provide high-quality English courses enabling female refugees to access higher education

As the world gathered in Geneva for the second Global Refugee Forum, we were reminded of how important it is to work together to identify and implement effective and sustainable solutions to support refugees and host communities.

On this occasion, Jesuit Worldwide Learning pledged to provide scholarships across its transformative higher education programmes over the next four years, to strengthen refugee self-reliance and enable them, as well as host communities, to thrive.

We were energised to see a number of our students partake in the Forum and linked events, engaging in high-level dialogues with a range of stakeholders, making critical contributions to conversations around issues that concern them. We were also thrilled to have them among us, along with representatives from our partners Cambridge University Press and Assessment and Loyola Idiomas, at our linked event on facilitating access to higher education for female refugees through English Language classes.

‘Breaking the Language Barrier: A scalable model to provide high-quality English courses enabling female refugees to access higher education’ brought together representatives from universities, education initiatives and NGOs engaged in the field of education. Experiences shared during the session will hopefully support the strengthening of activities of those engaged in similar efforts, or inspire those who wish to do so. We learnt that the key elements to an effective English course are a high-quality curriculum, rigorous testing and professional development opportunities for facilitators; strong partnerships are needed to provide all of this. The opportunity to network after the session sparked a desire among participants to find synergies and establish new collaborations to further enhance the breadth and quality of support JWL provides to its Global English Language facilitators and students – ultimately leading to even higher quality English learning, in preparation for their professional and academic journeys.