Case Studies

EuroCatering was conceived as a language learning tool for trainees in the Hotel and Catering industry based on the analysis of trainees’ needs while on placement abroad in the hospitality sector. It is web-based, freely accessible and available in 7 languages: English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Galician, Slovenian.

The main aim of the EuroCatering project was to provide a pedagogical tool for the acquisition of language skills for VET trainees in the Hospitality sector, Kitchen and Restaurant Service.This was based on an analysis of the linguistic and cultural needs of trainees in work placements abroad, trainers in work placements and educators.
The end product had to be colourful, attractive and interactive, as learners easily drop out. It had to be divided in short units, for concentration reasons, but also for the learners to be able to review a specific unit the day before they start working in that specific area.

Researched and developed by a team of 7 different nationalities, Belgian, Irish, French, English, Spanish, Norwegian, Slovenian, of language teachers, trainers and administrators in vocational training institutions, the target group are all trainees and workers in the restaurant and catering industry.
The basic concept behind the project is to put the learner in a real-life situation. The kitchen and restaurant areas are shown on a flow chart with 34 different scenes representing the different activities the learner is confronted with in his job. All material is authentic (pictures, sound files, images, characters) and has been created for the purpose of this project.
Quality evaluation has been assured at different steps by professionals of the catering area. The product has been extensively tested at different steps and on different occasions by partner institutions and other potential users.

Results :
1. A professional glossary of 2000+ restaurant and culinary terms in 7 languages, written, audio and visual.
2. An online language course in 7 languages for self-study or teacher-led learning In 34 sections, each scene in the kitchen and restaurant stimulates acquisition of specific terminology supported by real-life dialogues with attractive characters and backgrounds.
3. Several adds-on for each language: cultural elements, gestures on videos, ...
The project has been awarded the European Language Label (ELL) in 6 different countries : Slovenia (2008), Norway (2009), Belgium (VL) (2009), Ireland (2010), Spain (2010) and Belgium (WA) (2011). It has been awarded the CALICO-Award in 2010 (Texas, US) and has been nominated for the ELL of the Labels to be awarded in Limasol in September 2012.
From the very begin, the basic idea was to develop a concept that can be transfered to other areas or disciplines and can be extended to more languages. It will be extended to 5 more languages (DE, FI, IT, Gaelige and PL) and the reception area will be developed in a new project, to be ready by October 2013.

With the positive reaction from most of the National Agencies, most partners were invited by their NA to apply for their national ELL, which they did. The success was unexpected : 6 ELL-Awards and one American award. Here are some of the jury's comments:
1) European Language Label – Belgium (Wallonia), May 2011
The jury unanimously decided to award the 2011 ELL for Higher Education to EuroCatering Language Training for the user-friendliness and online accessibility of a language tool destined to better prepare future trainees in the catering industry. Moreover, the product offers the possibility for extension to other professional areas and languages in addition to the 7 languages already offered.
2) European Language Label - Ireland, 2010
In their report the Irish jury highlighted amongst others the following aspects of EuroCatering: "EuroCatering provides an attractive resource to non-academic, vocationally-oriented language learners both for independent study and for classroom based sessions. Users of the new resource have found it user-friendly and relevant to their vocational needs. Added value comes from the wide variety of languages on offer, including lesser-used languages such as Galician".
3) CALICO's "Access to Language Education" Award, 2010
EuroCatering Language Training was selected out of nine "very sophisticated, high quality websites" from all over the world. One aspect the selection committee appreciated was that EuroCatering Language Training provides learning materials and instructional support with respect to seven different languages, planning for more in the future. They applauded the level of collaboration visible on the website's structure and the list of partner institutions from several European countries. Another significant factor was the focus on meeting the need of a segment of society beyond the usual school circles, reaching a group not usually noticed or served by academics and educationalists. For the selection committee this "exemplified the foundation of the award and its name, offering a living, concrete manifestation of Access to Language Education". The free website provides employees and trainees in the catering sector with support for improving their language skills in an immediate and stressful work situation. "It is wonderful that you provide that support with a level of high quality and sophisticated pedagogy informed by the latest research in language learning", the CALICO-selection committee concluded.
4) European Language Label – Belgium (Flanders), 2009
The jury describes the course as user-friendly, highly emancipatory and accessible for a wide target audience, and praises its multi-lingual approach. Innovative for the jury is the fact that the course also focuses on non-verbal communication. According to the jury, EuroCatering Language Training encourages European mobility and concentrates on the students' needs.

With the ongoing new project (EuroCatHos), extending EuroCatering to 12 languages and developing the reception area, dissemination is an important activity for all partners : each of the 9 partners have organised a dissemination meeting in their country, partners particiate in International conferences (ICT for Languages in Florence) or in national actions for language learning promotion.
Partners have tried (and succeeded in) valorising the language course as integrated parts of course programmes, eg: at Galway GMIT (IE) Modules ’French & Spanish for Foodies’ BB in Culinary Arts and HC in Arts in Hospitality Studies.

The impact of the ELL is huge: it gives the product a good reputation and seems to have a very large effect on the dissemination of it.
There are so many language projects in development with EU subsidies and people do not always know about them, even the NAs. There was a lack of concentration of the information about the end products.

Once your project is awarded a ELL in a country, it gets better known, as it is automatically disseminated by the NA itself.
All language projects (wheter pilot projects, transfer of innovation, KA2, ..) are subject to an evaluation by experts at the end of their completion. It should be advisable that NAs encourage all projects that get a positive end evaluation (at least 70%) to apply for the upcoming ELL call in the country.

Eurocatering promotes new approaches to language teaching and learning by using a web-based model for teaching seven languages with a focus on vocabulary and skills needed in the hospitality industry. By focusing on very specific learning targets (the hospitality sector) Eurocatering Languages also serves language teaching for specific purposes. The project, offering language materials and training in seven languages, also contributes to the promotion of multilingualism

The ELL Agency in Walonia (2011): user-friendliness and online accessibility of a language tool destined to better prepare future trainees in the catering industry
The ELL Agency in Flanders (2009):
The jury describes the course as user-friendly, highly emancipatory and accessible for a wide target audience, and praises its multi-lingual approach. Innovative for the jury is the fact that the course also focuses on non-verbal communication. According to the jury, EuroCatering Language Training encourages European mobility and concentrates on the students' needs.