Language integration

IN a groundbreaking move, the Instituto Cervantes and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees signed an agreement to help foreign refugees in Spain learn Spanish on Monday, March 6.

tors, a total of 742,212, came from the UK, while France and Germany contributed 485,116 and 478,258 visitors, respectively.

But it’s not just the usual suspects that are showing up in droves, the number of visitors from the USA has surged by 102.8 per cent, while Italy contributed with a growth rate of 78.6 per cent.

The total spending by foreign visitors also reached €5.218 billion, up by 71.7 per cent.

As for the most popular destination, the Canary Islands took the crown with 29 per cent of the total, receiving 1.2 million visitors.

The Director of the iconic Spanish language institute, Instituto Cervantes, Luis García Montero, and the UNHCR representative in Spain, Sophie Muller, signed the agreement, the first partnership of its kind.

The agreement aims to develop programmes that help refugees and asylum seekers in Spain to learn the language, using teaching materials adapted to their linguistic needs.

The course uses a range of different online language learning materials to deliver a 30 hour course to the refugees.