Lifelong Learning Programme

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basic information

Title of the Project
Autonomous Language Learning
Brief description
This project developed foreign language courses for 4 LWULT langauges (BG, LT, RO, TK)in a Blended Learning format. The Blended Learning format is based on a number of face-to-face classes and more hours spent by the learner online. Besides the courses, the project also designed teacher and student guides and tutorials for how to study more efficiently online
Country
Romania
Year
2009
Target Language
Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Turkish
Sector
Adult Education
Further Information

THE INITIATIVE PROMOTER’S PERSPECTIVE

Background

The project was for adult learners who have had an initial introduction in one of the languages (Turkish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian) and who want to progress from a survival level A1 to a greater competency (A2 Common European Framework). Diaspora, businessmen, expats, tourists, as well as people who are interested in languages, are all part of the targeted sector.
One of the main reasons for developing this project was to make available language courses for a series of LWULT languages as foreign languages for which no methodology was available. The innovation was mainly about the teaching format (Blended Learning) and the correlation of the course content with the CEFR.
The courses concentrate on helping students become autonomous learners by providing practice and experience in autonomy, during the course.

Weekly offline classes are included with the course tutor. These will introduce new topical issues connected to linguistic structures, clarify online issues brought up in the previous week and reflect on the process of learning.
The target languages of the Blended Languages Courses are:
• Turkish
• Romanian
• Bulgarian
• Lithuanian
The courses are based on
• Authentic situations
• Learner needs
• Culturally specific situations
The course materials focus on building basic survival skills in each language, follow CEFR recommendations to develop student autonomy. Unit by unit students work in class and online through the course. Collaboration in class and online with their tutor and other classmates is a fundamental element of the courses. To ensure effective autonomous learning, students are regularly encouraged to reflect on learning styles and strategies.

Objectives

• encourage and support linguistic diversity throughout the European Union;
• contribute to an improvement in the quality of language teaching and learning;
• promote access to lifelong language learning opportunities appropriate to each individual's needs.
• Encourage the learning of LWULT languages and facilitate the access to those languages to immigrants, diaspora, students etc.
• Create a methodology for teaching LWULT languages in blended format.

Approach

The Four language courses (Turkish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian) have been built by language specialists with skills in:
• Creating language courses and materials
• Technology and online language learning platforms
• Blended learning
Each of the four languages includes a specialist from the country, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and Lithuania. Their knowledge includes an understanding of the language teaching of their language.


The project has also built guidelines, templates and common instruments for each of the courses so coherent courses are built. In addition, the experts in blended learning have added their knowledge in to the process.

The language course builders have looked to add voluntary collaborating institutions and experts to the process. Each course unit needed piloting and volunteers to help with this. See here.

The courses, in construction and completion, were piloted in the expert's institutions and in the voluntary piloting institutions.

Results

4 Blended Learning language courses for LWULT European languages
A teacher guide and a student guide for facilitating the access to the courses and for familiarization with the BL methodology.

Why the European Language Label?

We have applied for the Label as the project has developed a very innovative product – a BL course for Romanian as a foreign language, correlated with the descriptors from the CEFR. We believe that this product shouldn't d be widely disseminated and made available to an audience as wide as possible. Our initial expectations were thus mainly correlated with finding a dissemination channel for the project and the Label gave the project the visibility it needed.

Activities following the award of the European Language Label

We have disseminated the information regarding the award of the Label at European level – through our contacts database and through the networks of the partners involved in ALL. The project has also been presented in events related to language learning and foreign language methodology, with a focus on the innovation it brought and on how the BL methodology can be transferred.

Assessment of the Impact of the European Language Label

The main benefit of the project being awarded the ELL was an increase in visibility at national level (as the project was developed with a team of international experts).

Recommendations for future applicants for the ELL

In order to develop high-quality projects, we believe that project coordinators should implement projects based on a careful planning, employ diverse teams of experts from relevant areas for the products to be developed and focus on bringing innovation in their field.

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Comments on this Case Studies

Your comments are welcome


Date: 2014.10.14

Posted by Ken Lodge (Ireland)

Message: This is an example of a positive initiative in which the students learn how to become an autonomous learner. At the same time, it promotes languages that perhaps are not so commonly studied.

Date: 2014.03.25

Posted by Carmen Antonita (Romania)

Message: The idea of the project is very interesting because it promotes access to lifelong language learning and encourages linguistic diversity.The concept of Blended Learning is also very important as it promotes the learning of four different cultures and languages through specific situations.

Date: 2014.03.24

Posted by Andrei Sorin Toma (Romania)

Message: The multilingualism has been throughout the last years a great way of encouraging cultural interaction, linguistic diversity and improvement of the quality of language teaching and learning.
The \"Autonomous Language Learning\" project comes with interesting and useful idea regarding language learning. I think that the initiative with Blended Language Courses is a great one considering the fact that there are courses in four different languages, languages that are not very common .Very good initiative also for the guide for teacherr and for the survival kit.

Date: 2014.01.26

Posted by Ilaria Conti (Italy)

Message: The concept of this initiative is interesting, first because it is based on the blended learning which is in my opinion the best solution in comparison with online Learning that often is not adapted. The second reason is that it take into consideration languages that are not very common and I think that it is very important to promote the learning of languages and cultures that are less known like these included in this initiative. The third reason is the possibility of using the guide for teachers because often the innovative language courses are unclear and difficult to use for ordinary teachers. So thank you for this initiative.

21 December 2014

Audio- video presentation of the NELLIP project

An audio- video presentation of the NELLIP project has been created and made available in the Information section of the NELLIP portal. To access the presentation please click here: http://nellip.pixel-online.org/IF_intro.php.