Responding to the language needs of adult refugees in Ireland: an alternative approach to teaching and assessment

Integrate Ireland Language and Training (IILT) is funded by the Irish government to provide intensive English language courses for adult immigrants with refugee status. This paper describes IILT’s approach to teaching and assessment. It begins by explaining how IILT’s courses are organized and summarizes the pedagogical principles that shape their content and delivery. It then describes the European Language Portfolio (ELP) and explains how IILT has used different versions of the ELP to implement its pedagogical principles and support the development of its distinctive ethos. The views of four teachers are briefly cited, together with examples of learning procedures and outcomes. Finally, the paper explains how the self-assessment culture promoted by the ELP has been accommodated to the portfolio assessment procedures of Ireland’s Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC). This accommodation allows IILT’s learners to receive FETAC certificates: their language learning supports their integration into Irish society but also begins to integrate them into the Irish system of further education.