We write for new arrivals, migrants and refugees/humanitarian learners of English, who have come here to settle.

That’s a very different cohort from International students. International students are often studying international curricula, whether it’s Cambridge or IELTS preparation, and there are many wonderful books by huge international publishers, aimed at exactly this market. There are also many ‘graded readers’ – cut-down versions of the classics, or original thrillers, or ‘story of the movie’ books. International learners are well provided for!

Our students are very different. They are studying a TAFE-style curriculum, based on a range of practical ‘Everyday English’ units OR they are at school or Intensive English Centre, working towards mainstream participation, studying the local EAL curriculum. They may be dealing with literacy in our script (and in a left-right text direction) for the first time. They are focussed on settlement – how they can live well and get work in this new country?

The problem!

Those huge international publishers are not able to create special resources for Australian migrant English learners – it’s too small a market to be viable for them. The same goes for local publishers… it would be a huge commitment, especially when the curriculum is updated or changes so frequently. Teachers have relied on institutions creating resources (NCELTR, AMES), but these too have disappeared or changed. We do now have AMEP Online for adult learners, providing online curriculum-based resources and beginner level workbooks – and if you know of other major projects happening anywhere, please contact us and we’ll update this page.

The solution!

Over the last 20 years, experienced teachers and writers have decided to strike out on their own and create the resources they longed to see – resources that feature learners that look like our learners, topics that relate to settlement or ‘Aussie English’, or ‘add-on’ resources that can be used with any curriculum, to make learning more engaging and memorable.

These are the resources you’ll see featured here – Australian resources for complete beginners, resources that focus on Workplace English, resources that focus on songs or story or games as a way to foster learning, resources that use mobile phones to help with learning in or out of class.

It hasn’t been a ‘windfall’ for any of us, but it has been hugely rewarding to know that we are making a difference, and to get reviews and feedback on how well the resources work.