ReGap learning materials

Activity Employment – Finding a job

Section: Finding a job

Target group: Migrants and refugees in search for a job

Objective: Enhancing lexicon on finding a job; communicative expressions in formal settings in relation to job findings (describe your own skills, understand the requested documents etc.)

Tools: Videos on employment centres in the hosting country language (e.g. for Italy Samira at the employment centre); or photos showing interviews at the employment centre of your country; or leaflets about the services provided by the employment centre of your country.

Examples (for Italy):

Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsEBjpQTlyY)

Leaflet  http://romalabor.cittametropolitanaroma.gov.it/sites/default/files/Pieghevole%2007.06.18.pdf)

Cards to be distributed among students (see tables 1-2-3 below)

Duration: 45 minutes.

Background: before showing your students the tool you have selected, briefly recall the information about the CV sections and how to find a job in your country.

Step 1 – brainstorming: Both the video and the photo/leaflet are meant as tools for brainstorming and for eliciting students’ knowledge on the topic (lexicon about employment, communicative expressions to be used in an interview, but also possible previous experiences in an employment centre of the hosting country).

• if you choose the video, ask your students to watch it at least twice (one time for global comprehension and the second time to take notes on the most relevant information)
• if you instead choose the photo/leaflet, let the students work in pairs and discuss the image/information included in the tool selected.

Step 2 – wrap up in plenary: in plenary, discuss with your students about the meaning of the selected tool and their previous knowledge on the topic. This phase is crucial in order to understand how to set up the role-play activity, according to the students’ language knowledge level and their possible experiences in an employment centre.

• if students have low language skills and/or have never experienced an interview at the employment centre, present to them the most important words related to the topic and explain how the employment centre works. You can prepare printed version of the words and dedicate a couple of minutes each to read the word aloud, or to use the word in a sentence. See table 1.

Step 3 – setting up the role-play activity: divide your students in pairs, possibly with the same level of language knowledge. One student will be the interviewer at the employment centre, the other student will be a person who’s looking for a job.

• For students with low language knowledge skills: provide them with some basic guidelines on the implementation of the role-play (e.g. repeat the useful words to use and add a list of useful expressions, indicate briefly how to interact with each other, basic issues that have to be addressed in the role-play – such as, personal data and main skills/qualification of the interviewed). See table 2.
• For students with high language knowledge skills: students will develop the role-play in autonomy but they will be however asked to plan it in a structured way (e.g. starting with the interviewer personal data, the documents necessary to apply for jobs, then talking about previous jobs, skills acquired during education/previous jobs etc.). See table 3.

Step 4 – role-play plenary session: ask each pair of students to perform their role-play in plenary (students should not read notes!!). Take notes about good communicative strategies/expressions and about relevant mistakes. But please do not interrupt nor have judgmental facial expression.  Encourage weak students to have a go first and then the others. Give time to start (count in silent to ten before talking again).

Step 5 – feedback: provide your students with a general feedback on the strengths and weaknesses that you have observed during the role-play – you can do it orally or using the blackboard. Do not focus on the student but on the mistake. Explain why there’s a problem and how to solve it. If possible, ask collaboration of other students.

Table 1 [pdf file]

Table 2 [pdf file]

Table 3 [pdf file]

Activity: Learning and practicing health related keywords

In this activity, the learners learn and practice keywords from the Health Glossary by picking and explaining words from a box in various ways. They could either be two and two together, or in one (bigger) group.

Preparations

1. Print the table with words (PDF document below) in as many copies as needed (single page print), use a scissor to cut every row (word and explanation), and fold each piece of paper along the dotted line. You now have the health word on the one side, and the explanation on the other.
2. Please add other relevant words if suitable (there are some empty rows as well)
3. Put the words in a box/bowl/hat or similar.

Activity

Difficulty Level 1 (easiest)

1. Remove the most difficult words from the box.
2. One of the learners pick a word from the box and read it out load
3. The other tries to explain the meaning of the word. If needed, the person who have the keyword and explanation can help
4. Repeat point 2 and 3 with a new participant.

Difficulty Level 2 (more difficult)

1. One of the learners pick a word from the box and read the explanation
2. The other tries to guess or find the correct keyword. If needed the person who have the keyword and explanation can help
3. Repeat point 2 and 3 with a new participant.

This activity can be varied in a number of ways, by for instance include role play.

Table with words [PDF document]

Activity: What do you know about Social security and welfare?

Participants will be welcomed to the activity. Brief introduction of the participants and objective of the activity.  10 minutes

Firstly, they will have a relaxed conversation with the facilitator/s as a warm up. They will be asked what they know about social security and welfare programs.  10 minutes

After that participants will be introduced with the topic Social security and welfare by the facilitator (he/she can use videos  etc.). The facilitator will explain the different kinds of social security and welfare programs. Then they will be briefly introduced with the section: What is social security and welfare? from the course Social Security and Welfare.  10 minutes

Every participant selects from the types of the benefits of social security and welfare programs written on the paper. The participants should think about the selected topic and how it is regulated in their country. They will have directions by facilitator before the start of the activity in order to have good discussion and to have same approach with other groups. 15 minutes

After that, there will be plenary discussion and review. Every participant will present his/her topic selected previously and should explain how it is regulated in their country. Summary of this activity will be that all participants will share their knowledge on the topic and will compare the social security and welfare programs/welfare benefits with other countries. 15 minutes

The activity is explained in this PDF document with explanation and table.

Activity 1: Introduction: Education is a Human Right

Background: before showing your students the video selected, briefly recall the information about Education is a Human Right and how it is important for social inclusion.

Step 1: the video

• watch the video https://youtu.be/wiLOBe2ptw4 at least once, together in class (students can take notes about comprehension difficulties language or topic related).

Step 2: conversation between students

• Reflect about the importance of education.
• Share experiences about access (barriers and opportunities) to education in the host country.
• Share expectations about access (barriers and opportunities) to education in the host country.

Activity 2: (Session 2.3) Learning the language

Step 1: briefly recall the importance of language learning for social belonging and ask students to:

• Share experiences relating to the main advantages of learning the host country language.
• Share fun experiences of social interaction during language learning

Step 2: Build with students a common thesaurus of vocabulary needs to deal with day-to-day tasks in the host country (example: go to the supermarket, go to the pharmacy, greeting and having small talk with neighbours).  The thesaurus should be translated from the student’s mother tongue to the host country language.

Activity 3: (Session 3) Access to education and training

Step 1: Present to your students the activity of sharing experiences and thoughts.

• Individual presentation of participants
• ReGap platform: Ask the participants to enter the ReGap platform and open the Education course, section 3
• ReGap platform: Presentation of section 3.1. and show the video on the importance of language learning, on learning outside the school, continuous training and education as an opportunity for a better future
• Summarize the main ideas of the video and explain that the next focus is the explanation of some aspects of the Educational System
• ReGap platform: Show video on section 3.5 ‘3.5 Organization of the educational system’

Step 2: Debate in a group, about the suggested topics, which may be adapted by the teacher:

• Go to questions 1 and 2, previously introduced in Menti.com, and give the participants the access code XX XX XX

Questions:

• Identify two types of support received in the host country to know your way around the educational system
• Identify two difficulties you experienced accessing the educational system
• Link to learning opportunities that exist outside school, as well as to strengthen social integration and a sense of belonging
• Go to question 3, previously introduced in Menti.com, and give the participants the access code XX XX XX

Question:

• Besides school, in which situations and where did you have important learning experiences for your integration in the new society?
• Summarize the main ideas and thank the participants

Download document with the activities and tables here

Activity 1: Sex vs. Gender (section 3)

Target group: Adult migrants and refugees of both genders.

Objective:

• To share experiences, discuss and deconstruct gender stereotypes;
• To identify the main differences and similarities between cultures (e.g., differences between birth countries and host country)
• To raise awareness of gender inequalities on different contexts and different cultures, including on host society;
• To explore strategies to fight gender inequality ;
• To promote awareness on gender rights;
• To contradict gender prejudice and discrimination

Time: 45 minutes

Sharing experiences individually or in small group

Discussion about the following topics:

• representations about what it means to be a man and a woman;
• impressions on what it means to be a man and a woman in the host country and differences/similarities with the birth country;
• areas of everyday life (Education, Employment, Health, Rights, Family) where there are differences regarding being a man or a woman.

 Step 1: Before the general discussion with the whole group, the moderator should ask participants to reflect on the previous topics individually or in small groups of 4-6 participants; those small groups should be, if possible, heterogeneous in terms of gender, age, culture, migrant/refugee status.

Step 2: General discussion with the whole group about the previous topics.

Discussion of stereotypes

Step 1: A group of sentences or ideas regarding the topics will be selected by the teacher and shared with the whole group.

Step 2: Each set of related sentences should be discussed avoiding judgments or criticism, adopting a culturally sensitive approach.

• “Women are dependent, passive, emotional, timid and weak.”
• “Men are independent, active, logical, dominant, strong and violent.”
• “Men and women have the same rights in the host society but still don’t have the same opportunities”
• “Many women and men share the domestic chores both in the host and birth society”
• “In the host society, more women perform traditionally male occupations but still earn less money than men”
• “Women on host societies have more support in a domestic violence situation”

Step 3: At the end, the discussion should be concluded with a reflexive question and providing further information if needed regarding European and host society’s (country specific) laws, data/statistics/facts and figures, and institutions/services.

Activity 2: Sexual and gender-based violence (section 6)

Target group: Adult migrants and refugees of both genders.

Objective:

• To identify and list common types of SGBV against girls/women and boys/men in different cultures
• To identify main causes and implications of SGBV for men and women during life span
• To explore prevention and intervention responses, in particular in Europe and in the host country
• Facilitate the contact  with  services focused on sexual and gender-based violence

Tools:

• Videos about sexual and gender-based violence already produced on host society (country specific):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Hd1PPRppw

https://www.cig.gov.pt/acoes-no-terreno/campanhas/campanha-minutos-igualdade/

• emoticons signs to express “agreement” and “disagreement”
• websites and other information material related to the topic of SGBV on the host country and/or specifically designed for migrants and refugees
• PowerPoint presentation with ‘statements’ and ‘facts’ for step 2.

Group dynamics

• people stand on different sides of the room according to whether they agree or disagree with the “statement”. After the discussion, they are asked to reposition themselves or stay in the same place, to demonstrate having maintaining or changed their opinion.

Time:1h30

Please download the document with explanations and emoticons here.

Activity: What do you know about Human Rights?

Participants will be welcomed to the activity. Brief introduction of the participants and objective of the activity.  10 minutes

Firstly, they will have a relaxed conversation with the facilitator/s as a warm up. They will be asked what they know about human rights and respect of human rights.  10 minutes

After that participants will be introduced with the topic human rights by the facilitator (he/she  can use videos etc.).  The facilitator will explain the different kinds of human rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the most important document for the Human Rights. Then they will be briefly introduced with the section human rights from the course Justice and citizenship.  10 minutes

Follows division into groups. Every group selects the human right they like the most to work on. They will make a discussion into group from the offered topics/human rights by the facilitator written on the paper. They will have directions by facilitator before the start of activity in order to have good discussion and to have same approach with other groups. 15 minutes

In the end, in the plenary they will discuss about the group topics and share their knowledge for the human rights. Also based on the discussion they will select which one is the most important for them and why. 15 minutes.

The activity is explained in this PDF document with explanation and table.