Refugee Language Program
Advancing access to language skills
Refugees often arrive with nothing – no friends, family or the language skills they need to find work and accommodation. Many of our students come from violent, war-torn countries where they accumulate physical, emotional and psychological scars they continue to carry as they start their new lives in Australia.
Our program provides opportunities that aren’t available to them anywhere else. As well as free English language classes, we aim to break down social barriers for refugees by introducing them to Australian ideas and customs, and providing reading materials, social activities and volunteer mentors. Wherever possible, we guide these students in finding work.
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The Refugee Language Program offers face-to-face tutoring for a wide range of language abilities on Wednesday evenings at Sydney University. The next program will run from 17 July to 4 September 2024.
We also offer community one-on-one tutoring with a designated tutor. These sessions usually take place at a local library or public meeting place. Tutoring via Zoom is also available.
Our students have come from more than 60 different countries including Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, China, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
Our tutors and mentors are university staff, students, alumni and local community members and like our students, they are a joy to work with.
If you have any questions about volunteering as a tutor or applying to be a student, please email the program coordinators at RLP.admin@sydney.edu.au.
To refer a client, please download and complete the student application form (pdf, 150KB) with them and email RLP.admin@sydney.edu.au. We will contact your client so we can assess their language skills and place them in a class or on our waiting list.
Applications for volunteering in 2024 have closed. If you would like to be contacted about volunteer opportunities with the Refugee Language Program in 2025, please follow the link below and complete the online Expression of Interest (EoI) form.
External Engagement Officer, Strategic Partnerships and Engagement
Phone: +61 2 9036 4305
We depend entirely on private donations to fund our work.
By supporting the Refugee Language Program, you will be offering refugees access to important opportunities, and giving asylum seekers and refugees the chance to make a home in Australia.
