FALK: First Aid Language Kit for Migrants Erasmus Project

Project Title

FALK: First Aid Language Kit for Migrants

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; Health and wellbeing

Project Summary

Language barriers have extremely negative effects on health because people who face linguistic barriers are less likely to search medical help, follow medical advice, go to follow-up appointments or receive preventive services. In addition, the lack of language skills is a great barrier to understanding the functioning of the health system. On the other hand, language and communication barriers also hinder the healthcare providers in the receiving country in ensuring proper accessibility, acceptability and quality of services offered to migrants.

To eliminate these barriers, “FALK: First Aid Language Kit for Migrants” project was aimed at making healthcare services more accessible for migrants through developing and upgrading language skills on medical issues in the host languages of 6 EU countries (TR, BG, ES, UK, CZ, CY). To achieve this end, language-specific First Aid Language Kit was developed to overcome communication barriers resulting from language differences with migrants, to reduce misunderstandings and to offer adequate medical help.

The project addressed three main target groups, namely newly arrived adult migrants, healthcare providers and language educators. The target groups were reached through many dissemination activities such as national and international meetings, project meetings, pilot workshops, exploitation seminars and multiplication events. As a result of these activities, over 2000 people (migrants, health professionals, language teachers) were directly reached throughout the project cycle. More than 300 adult migrants in each partner country were reached during the project cycle. Including social media posts, emails, newsletters, networking activities, more than 50k people were informed of FALK project aims, activities, products and its results. Especially creation of network with cooperating organizations including regional hospitals, health professionals, trainers, schools and other professionals, migration management offices. These associated partners involved in the project through development, consultations and testing of developed outputs.
As for the project activities, a network of more than 50 migrant organizations, adult education providers and healthcare providers were established throughout the project. A medical language pyramid as the first project output was developed in partner languages and selected migrant languages. As the second output, medical language study-videos were created under different titles of types of illness. For the last output, learning platform hosting all language learning products was developed for the target groups for self-paced learning. Learning platform also provides a virtual map on the healthcare systems of the partner countries. During the project, pilot workshops, dissemination and exploitation activities were carried out. Apart from those mentioned above, project implementation plan, partner agreements, quality assurance plan, internal monitoring and evaluation reports, dissemination materials were created and developed throughout the project.

One of the major impacts of the FALK project has been directly on the partners themselves. When talking with the partners at the meetings and following any exposure to the games, videos and activities that examine the issues of health care system, migrants and diversity, they have begun to examine their own approaches to these issues and their own behavior towards immigrants and adequate health care. As a result of testing the workshops with target groups (migrants and newcomers) and key stake holders (adult educators, community workers, volunteers, health care providers and students) the project partners have been able to gain a deeper understanding of how to use creative methodologies within a class room environment and to see the potential of the use of creative activities to promote better understandings of the migrants let them access better health care systems.

The network created with the associated partners is going to remain after project is finished, and the project partnership will keep the contact on regular basis. The network is and will be a guarantee for practical use of the project and wider dissemination to other professionals. Another longer-term benefit of the project is that the developed materials are available online on the project website which will be maintained or at least 3 more years after the project end. Since the project partners are very active in developing projects and opportunities for migrant integration through education, dissemination of the FALK products and linking them with new initiatives and migrant organizations in the future will continue.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 172108 Eur

Project Coordinator

Recep Tayyip Erdogan Universitesi & Country: TR

Project Partners

• Inthecity Project Development
• INICIATIVAS DE FUTURO PARA UNA EUROPA SOCIAL COOP V
• The Little Wren Ltd
• AKLUB CENTRUM VZDELAVANI A PORADENSTVI
• KU TU EOOD
• SYNTHESIS CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION LIMITED