Author Description

Refugee Action has been working in the UK with refugees from Viet Nam since 1981. The Reception Centre in Derby, called 'The Cedars', was opened in the same year to provide temporary accommodation for 'family reunions' arriving to join relatives already settled in Britain. This report describes the background to the education programme for adults and its operation. The Centre, a self-financing project, provides accommodation for up to 70 newly arriving refugees and since 1981 over 500 refugees have passed through. The Cedars caters only for those whose relatives do not have room for them in their homes, with the average length of stay 4 months. Of the refugees who have passed through The Cedars, about 300 were over 18 years of age and approximately 70% spoke no English at all on arrival. The adults came from a wide variety of backgrounds, with two-thirds from South Viet Nam and the rest from the North. The aim of the education programme is to offer all adults - regardless of their age, sex, or educational background - English language tuition which is relevant to their individual needs in resettlement; and to give information about life in the UK and about the 'system'. The author describes the teachers, their training, the structure and organization of classes, cultural orientation and the materials and facilities. She includes the programme's syllabus and analyses the main problems faced by the programme, especially the language learning difficulties after the refugee camp experience.