Effective guidance for successful integration of foreign communities through language acquisition Erasmus Project

Project Title

Effective guidance for successful integration of foreign communities through language acquisition

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Migrants’ issues; Access for disadvantaged; Integration of refugees

Project Summary

The goal of the project “Effective guidance for successful integration of foreign communities through language acquisition” (WHATtoDOif) is to help newly-arrived foreigners, migrants and refugees to get oriented in the host-country economic, education, social and other systems, thus preventing their social exclusion or heavy dependency on their ethnic community. In order to address this goal the project stipulates to deliver the following intellectual outputs:
IO1: Migrants Info & Glossary Compass – based on research made at the first months of the project with members of foreign communities in partner countries. It will take a look at main life areas of foreigners (e.g. job market, schooling/education, visa, children care, health care, housing and realities, etc.). The Compass will contain results of this research, short description of each dimension and basic problematic situations that have been identified from research within each dimension, experienced by foreigners living in partner countries.
IO2: Solutions map – on the basis of the identified most common problematic situations, basic “What To Do If” scenarios/appropriate solutions to each troublesome situation in each country will be defined. The collection of appropriate solutions will accompany the Compass and will be published online linking each problem to a relevant solution.
IO3: WHATtoDOif Language Package – Each “appropriate solution” will be accompanied with a language learning unit containing basic phrases and terminology related to the issue. Each learning unit will be related around one issue defined in Output 1.
IO4: WHATtoDOif Video tutorials – Video materials describing the Solutions map. Each video will be prepared in all partner languages as well as in all languages of selected migrant communities. These videos will be filmed in partner languages as well as in languages of selected migrant groups. The videos will accompany Output 2 (for some foreigners, it could be easier to listen to the instructions rather than to study the text, because of their weak literacy skills) and can also be used as part of IO3.
IO5: WHATtoDOif Web Repository and Mobile application – This application connected to the web page of the project will contain all outcomes from IO1, IO2, IO3 and IO4 in an easy-to-use structure, where each troublesome issue (IO1) will be linked to appropriate solution (IO2), related learning unit (IO3) and video tutorial in a related language (IO4). The application will also be available on mobile phones, so the users will be able to work with it on a daily basis and use it at the moment they need to find a proper phrase or term.
As a result of the project migrants will improve their knowledge on the thematic areas selected by the consortium regarding the local system in partners’ countries. In addition, migrants will be provided with useful glossary and video tutorials that will support their communication and interaction with local employees when explaining their needs, and therefore the project will have an impact on their language skills in the local language. Last but not least, migrants will be more confident on how to find solutions for specific problems they might face while trying to organise their life in a new country.
The WHATtoDOif outcomes will also support language educators working with migrants by equipping them with new attractive methodologies and products. The existing language materials are often not adapted for migrants, the content is too complicated, grammar-oriented and does not provide motivation for learning. In this project, the materials will be directly related to problems migrants face in their interaction with local public authorities, and private institutions as well.
The products that will be created by the project will be of valuable support for all those organisations working for/with migrants (NGOs, volunteers, migrants’ associations, etc.) as they will be equipped with a guide with useful information on how the local system is functioning in important areas for a migrant’s life. They will be able to use the guide to provide guidance to migrants and suggest it to them for download on their mobile phones as an application. All organisations delivering language lessons will be provided with a set of tools for language teaching purposes.
Countries beyond the partnership will also benefit from the results because of the multilingual character of the outputs and the need of such resources due to similar challenges Europe-wide. WHATtoDOif is poised to have a long-lasting and far-reaching impact as a project bringing together different institutions, which actively contribute to migrant’s integration into the European society. Their close cooperation and partnership, as well as involvement of new stakeholders at national and European level, will result in creation of Europe-wide network of education providers sharing knowledge and best practices in intercultural research and integration training.

Project Website

https://www.whattodoif.eu/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 237306,06 Eur

Project Coordinator

EUROPEAN CENTER FOR QUALITY OOD & Country: BG

Project Partners

• Associazione INNOVAMENTIS
• The Mosaic Art Sound Limited
• Fundacja Rozwoju Aktywnosci Miedzynarodowej i Edukacyjnej – FRAME
• Spolek PELICAN, z.s.
• SYNTHESIS CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION LIMITED