Fáilte Isteach project providing weekly English classes to migrants and asylum seekers

A community-based project is doing more than welcoming migrants and asylum seekers to Ireland, it is helping them to improve their command of the English language.

Fáilte Isteach is a national programme of Third Age, a not-for-profit organisation working for social inclusion across all groups and ages in Ireland, and is run in partnership with other community groups.

There are 132 branches in every county in Ireland where 1,100 trained tutors, mostly older volunteers, provide weekly English classes to more than 3,800 migrants from 90 different countries.

During the current academic year, more than 72,000 hours of tuition will be provided by Fáilte Isteach that has provided a model for similar classes in Germany and Italy.

Fáilte Isteach works with Syrian refugees and is currently providing tuition to migrants in six direct provision centres across Ireland.

The programme, established in 2006, was launched nationally in 2008 following a successful pilot project in Summerhill, Co Meath, involving 12 volunteer tutors and seven students.

Chief executive of Third Age, Aine Brady, said dozens of voluntary and community groups were working quietly away to support migrants in the most practical way possible.

“People talk about the need for migrants to learn the English language and to foster understanding, connection and integration at a local level. This is already happening, and Fáilte Isteach is proof of it,” she said.

Since the start of the new academic year, we have been visiting our branches, welcoming new people onto our courses and supporting out volunteers with new materials and online lessons.

Since the start of the new academic year, we have been visiting our branches, welcoming new people onto our courses and supporting out volunteers with new materials and online lessons.

Migrants attend the free conversational English classes to improve their language skills and to get help with form filling, writing curriculum vitae and drafting letters to increase their employment opportunities.

They also get help on managing day-to-day tasks such as shopping, banking and generally interacting with the community.