Case Studies

Since the '60s Austrian society has become more and more heterogeneous both culturally and linguistically. While these realities were ignored to a certain extent in the beginning, in the meantime it has become clear that it is important to deal professionally with cultural and linguistic diversity. "PH goes East" is intends to set a mile stone in this context, aiming at developing relevant language competences for the world of work.

- Awareness raising to languages and cultures of Eastern Europe, with a focus on similarities and differences between the target language and culture and Austrian culture
- Familiarisation with migration backgrounds
- Dealing with multilingualism in and outside the classroom
- Looking at the cultural context and developing a better understanding for children whose first language is not German
- Communicative use of language in and outside the classroom
- Basic language content, necessary for successful communication
- Developing the 4 language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing)
- Increasing awareness of contrastiveness in oral and written communication
- promoting linguistic diversity in multilingual and multicultural educational environments.

The innovative dimension of this project consists in offering language courses with a focus on East European languages, combining new methodological approaches with awareness raising to cultural aspects. The insights derived through this targeted training are meant to help future teachers to deal more professionally with children who have another mother tongue than German and who come from another (non-Austrian) cultural background. The project is intended long-term, as it offers 'tasters' in typical migrant languages. Teachers from all possible levels and various types of educational institutions are invited to attend.

Results reach from teachers' personal success stories in dealing with pupils of various linguistic and cultural backgrounds, to extended partnerships with a wide range of institutions, as well as to extensive media coverage (locally, at national level, but also in neighbouring countries) and the broadening of the course offer as a result of increasing demand.

• enhancement of quality of language teaching
• focus on evaluation of performance of language teaching and learning
• focus on teacher training
• promotion of new approaches to language teaching and learning
• promotion of multilingualism
• focus on the development of tools for monitoring progresses in the field of language learning
• focus on linking between VET qualifications that include language skills and the CEFR
• promotion of the development of teaching material for the learning of less widely spoken languages

- promoting the learning of less widely taught and learned languages, alongside the learning of widely used languages;
- promoting plurilingualism and multiculturalism among young people with a migrant background;
- encouraging positive attitudes to linguistic and cultural diversity and providing inspiration and a model of best practice for other initiatives.