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

These learners are not ‘International students’, who have come to Australia to learn English. 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’ from publishers like Penguin or Cambridge. These may be 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 alphabet (and in a left-right text direction) for the first time. They are focussed on settlement – how can they live well and get work in this new country? How can they understand our Aussie language and culture?

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 TAFE curriculum is updated or changes so frequently. Teachers have relied on institutions creating resources (NCELTR, AMES), but these have now disappeared or changed. We do have the government-funded AMEP Online for adult learners, providing online curriculum-based resources and beginner level workbooks. 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.