Empowerment of migrant women through Literacy and Language Learning Erasmus Project

Project Title

Empowerment of migrant women through Literacy and Language Learning

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 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Migrants’ issues; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

Low-educated migrant women are one of the most disadvantaged groups in the EU in terms of labour participation and social inclusion and go through greater challenges in achieving linguistic integration to the new environment. They are so-called LESLLA (Low-Educated adult Second Language and Literacy Acquisition) learners, consisting of those who lack the ability to read and write in the script of their mother tongue (L1) or whose ability is below average primary school level.

The available programmes, including courses and assessments, which aim at full language proficiency, do not fit all populations. Such programmes need further consideration and development in order to achieve the goals of social integration. In particular, there are concerns that standard curricula, including tests and exams, do not adequately cater to functional illiterate and unemployed migrants without basic education (LIAM Guiding principles, 2015).

Furthermore, many civic integration courses are still solely focused on in-classroom teaching in the second language in highly diverse groups of students, with focus on language acquisition with a fixed curriculum, facilitators mainly native of the host country and monolinguist themselves, applying an instructive didactic style, teacher-centred approach, static lesson plans and mono-didactic methods. Thus, traditional teaching didactics do not take the specific needs of first-time women adult learners into account. As a consequence, the most vulnerable group of migrant women lack adequate support whilst living in a country with unfamiliar codes and habits, invoking stress and alienation for them and their families.

Participatory didactic methods have shown good progress in learners who have not profited from formal teaching. Active pedagogies such as relating lessons to real life, individualisation, self-directed work and collaborative learning are among the pedagogies with the strongest evidence in favour of their effectiveness on the basis of the literature review.

The aim of ELLE project is to apply innovative adult learning methods for the improvement of foreign language proficiency of low skilled migrant, refugee and asylum seeker women who have not acquired study skills, empowering them for their social and labour integration and active participation in society.
To do so, adult education experts and providers and organization supporting migrant from 5 countries (France, Germany, Ireland, Spain and Sweden) will work together to lead the project and co-create and test innovative methods and freely accessible OER, including a Training Guide (IO1) an Online Platform of OER (IO2) and Guidelines and recommendations (IO3) on Empowerment of migrant women through Literacy and Language Learning.

Adult education teachers, trainers, volunteers and educators are the main target users of the project products and final beneficiaries are low skilled migrant, refugee and asylum seeker women. During the life time of ELLE project, the partnership will directly involve 74 Adult education teachers, trainers, volunteers and educators (24 partners staff / 30 experts involved / 20 target users in pilots), 100 low skilled migrant, refugee and asylum seeker women (in pilots) and 440 stakeholders. A wider audience, of a minimum of 1000 recipients, will be reached at local, regional, national and European level through the planned dissemination activities.

The project will use European frameworks and instruments, like EQF Europass and EPALE, to boost transparency and recognition of learning outcomes on LESLLA in Europe, with the active support and cooperation of a network of key associated partners and relevant stakeholders at local, regional, national and European level involved in the project. ELLE will have a direct impact on the target beneficiaries, improving literacy skills, knowledge of national language and empowerment of the low-qualified migrant women, and in the target users, improving the teaching methods and the effective design of training programmes on LESLLA. The long-term impact envisaged is a growing participation of the low-qualified migrant women in lifelong learning and in society in Europe.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 244805 Eur

Project Coordinator

LIGUE DE L’ENSEIGNEMENT DE HAUTE-CORSE & Country: FR

Project Partners

• VOLKSHOCHSCHULE IM LANDKREIS CHAM EV
• INSTITUTO PARA EL FOMENTO DEL DESARROLLO Y LA FORMACION SL
• Asociación La Bien Pagá Espacio Escénico
• FOLKUNIVERSITETET STIFTELSEN VID LUNDS UNIVERSITET
• INNOQUALITY SYSTEMS LIMITED