What does ERM mean, and why do we use it?

ERM stands for English for Refugees and Migrants, and it needs a distinct focus.

Refugees and migrants have many different backgrounds, journeys and stories. However, their shared experience sets them apart from other learners, wherever they are.

Refugees and migrants have unique learning needs. And they require a teaching approach that reflects this. Teachers cannot simply use the same methods that may have served them well in mainstream education or other English language teaching environments with different learners.

While there is alignment with national frameworks for in some countries, such as ESOL in the UK or AMEP in Australia, refugees and migrants are a global audience. ERM classes are taught on every continent.

This is why we use ERM: English for Refugees and Migrants.

ERM classes take place in a multiplicity of settings – from refugee camps to online meetings rooms, schools, colleges and universities, community centres, churches and libraires, to prisons and detention centres.

ERM courses are just as varied – from basic literacy to communication skills for integration, employability, exam preparation to enter education or work, informal conversation, cookery, and gardening clubs, to courses on housing, employments and healthcare rights.

The unique and global nature of ERM means we need to think about teaching refugees and migrants in a distinctive way.

This is why we started TERM.

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