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    Supporting the linguistic integration of refugees from the Ukraine

Supporting the (linguistic) integration of refugees from Ukraine

These dedicated webpages focus primarily on guidance and resources to support the linguistic integration of refugees from Ukraine in schools and in the workplace. It is targeted at policymakers, school principals and teachers (of all subjects), as well as at Human Resource staff and labour market support services. It is a work-in-progress; new resources and other relevant information will be added as they become available.

Webinar “Supporting the linguistic integration of young refugees from Ukraine”

Has your school opened its doors to refugees from Ukraine? What impact has this had on learning and teaching?  Do you feel confident in supporting learners who struggle to understand you or to make themselves understood?  Do you have access to appropriate resources?  

This webinar will provide you with guidance and teaching resources to address these new challenges and ensure a welcoming atmosphere, conducive to learning. You will discover how best to value this linguistic diversity in your classroom in ways that also foster the development of the language of schooling. 

Target group: pre-primary, primary and secondary teachers (of languages and other subjects)

Recorded 12 May 2022

Webinar in English: www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Wa1lU2PWY
Download: powerpoint presentation

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I strongly condemn the Russian military attack against Ukraine in flagrant violation of the Statute of the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights. This is a dark hour for Europe and everything it stands for.

declared the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić on 24 February 2022.

Guidance for policy-makers and school principals

Council of Europe Recommendations to National Authorities

Please note: the Recommendations below were developed as part of the LIAM project within the Council of Europe’s education programme.  The ECML has, in some instances, made minor revisions to the original text and has included further guidance and links to resources for teachers.   The ECML would like to thank the LIAM expert group for making these recommendations available.

Generic recommendations
Recommendations in relation to teachers

European Commission

Policy guidance on supporting the inclusion of Ukrainian refugees in education: considerations, key principles and practices


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Supporting the inclusion of displaced children from Ukraine in education: considerations, key principles and practices for the school year 2022-2023

This Commission Staff Working Document aims at pooling the currently available collective experience and knowledge and provide information on good practice and practical insights to support EU Member States in the inclusion of displaced children from Ukraine in education. 

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Eurydice’s report "Supporting refugee learners from Ukraine in schools in Europe 2022"

This short report focuses on some of the policies and measures developed by top-level education authorities across Europe that aim to assist schools in integrating children and young people from Ukraine. This includes recent policies and measures specifically targeting Ukrainian learners, and policies and measures targeting all newly arrived learners that were in place prior to the current conflict.

View report

Additional CoE tools to help those providing language support
to children arriving from Ukraine

The Council of Europe has developed a set of tools to support member states in their efforts to respond to the challenges faced by those who are providing language support to children arriving from Ukraine as the children adjust to their new environment and their new schools. Some of these tools have been written recently with this purpose in mind. Others are adapted from the Toolkit for adults which was developed as part of the Council of Europe’s Linguistic Integration of Adult Migrants (LIAM) project, This is  available on this website. 

These tools have been created and selected as being especially useful in the early stages of language support with newly arriving refugee children. They are designed to assist organisations, teachers and volunteers who are providing language support for refugee children arriving from Ukraine with no knowledge, or very little knowledge, of the language of the new country. These nine tools have now also been translated into the languages of the neighbouring countries receiving the largest numbers of fugitives from the war in Ukraine: Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak/Czech.


Tool A offers general guidance on how to help children arriving from Ukraine to manage their spoken interactions with other children and people from the locality.

in Hungarian
in Polish

Tool B contains recommendations for teachers and volunteers on issues relating to the background of these children and their most urgent needs.

in Hungarian
in Polish

Tool C invites reflection on the language support likely to be needed by children arriving from Ukraine and how it can best be provided. It also offers advice to people who have little or no experience of helping people to learn a foreign language.

in Hungarian
in Polish

Tool D offers guidance on how to interact with such children during initial individual meetings with them.

in Hungarian
in Polish

Tool E is designed to help those providing language support to gather information about the competences of children arriving from Ukraine in the languages which they know and about their interests and priorities. This tool includes a short questionnaire designed for that purpose.

in Hungarian
in Polish

Tool F suggests some simple ways of giving these children opportunities to talk about themselves and their experiences. It includes lists of useful language functions and expressions (with translations in Ukrainian) that the children can learn to use for this purpose.

in Hungarian
in Polish

Tool G suggests ways of helping children arriving from Ukraine to make sense of their first reactions to their new circumstances and surroundings and to adjust to them.

in Hungarian
in Polish

Tool H provides some guidelines for teachers who are helping these children to adjust to the language used in the teaching of school subjects, as well as specific suggestions about how teachers can adjust their oral communication to make it easier for the children to understand.

in Hungarian
in Polish

Tool I offers guidance on setting up activities which take refugee children out into the community and enable them to use the language they are learning in different settings.

in Hungarian
in Polish

Linguistic integration in the workplace

How to help adult migrants develop work-related language skills - a quick guide

Some migrants arrive with the language skills they need to secure quality employment. Many other migrants arrive with limited language skills – for these migrants, support to develop work-related language skills is vital. This short resource offers practical guidance on how to provide that support.

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Communicating with migrants - guide for staff in job centres and public services

This short guide offers strategies and practical tips for managers to help staff support clients with limited language skills. And it offers help for all staff to reflect on communication styles in an increasingly diverse world.

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Council of Europe initiatives

Educational initiatives of Council of Europe members states

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Education in time of crisis

Emergency measures for Ukrainian refugees and their host countries: Protecting Democracy through Education

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