What is functional English?

ERM, or English for Refugees and Migrants, is different to traditional English language teaching.

In ERM, we have to prioritise functional English. That's because refugees and migrants need language to survive and thrive in the new country they find themselves in.

Functional English is practical, necessary English that learners need to get by in their new lives.

For beginners, this might include:

• Buying a bus or train ticket

• Visiting the doctor

• Getting something in a shop

• Talking about things in your house

At higher levels, this might include:

• Writing a CV

• Making a complaint to a business

• Using both formal and informal English

• Making an enquiry about accommodation

Functional English classes incorporate the teaching of grammar and vocabulary. But functional needs come first, especially at the lower levels.

When you design a course for your ERM learners, whether you work in ESOL in the UK system or elsewhere, you need to put functional English outcomes at its heart.

Consider what's essential for your learners to know. And then work out how they're going to learn it.

Of course, grammar is important, as is pronunciation, intonation, spelling, and many other aspects of the English language.

But the challenge and the reward of teaching ERM isn't that English is a nice-to-have. It's a must.

In our course, Teaching English to Refugees and Migrants, run in partnership with NILE ELT, we place functional English at the heart of our training on course and lesson design. It also affects which materials and activities you choose.

If you want to know more about how we can help you incorporate functional English into your teaching (or into your teachers' teaching), then email us back and let's see how we can help.

Or sign up for our online tutored course starting in September 2025. We still have a few places left, so now's your chance to join before the course fills up.

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