Language and literacy learning though art Erasmus Project

Project Title

Language and literacy learning though art

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: Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Creativity and culture; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

CONTEXT
LALI addresses the needs of adults with low qualifications and low literacy levels, possibly with lower knowledge of the local language. Most adults in this situation are migrants, who have arrived recently or did not acquire the local language / literacy skills despite the longer stay in the new environment. The lack of proficiency of the dominant local language and lack of literacy are a threat to employability, to the capacity of establishing and maintaining relationships with members of the host society, in short, a threat to social inclusion. Research shows that low-qualified and low-skilled adults are economically and socially marginalized: they occupy low-wage jobs while their low competence in literacy contributes to low self-esteem. Many adults in need of such skill development lack the experience with conventional Western-style education system: many of them come from countries where education was conceived differently, or they are from generations who quit the school system at an early age. Consequently traditional classroom settings are barriers to learning.

OBJECTIVES
1. Explore the theoretical and methodological foundations of embedding language and literacy learning in cultural mediation for adult learners
2. Develop and test activities to develop language proficiency (orality and literacy) of low-skilled adults, acquiring also cultural codes valorised by host society, developing intercultural and communication skills
3. Develop and Test an IT support tool encouraging retention and improvement of literacy skills and improving digital skills
4. Develop a new assessment methodology relying on video-analysis for a precise analysis of the dynamics and impacts of such interventions
5. Develop the competencies of educators, focusing on their posture, verbal and non-verbal behaviour in working with heterogeneous groups of adults with low qualification
6. Ensure the dissemination of our methodology, create new teacher networks and open up possibilities to improve language and social skills through art mediation in Europe

NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS AND IMPACTS
Our primary target group is composed of adults with low qualifications and low language / literacy skills. During the project lifetime we’ll involve directly at least 72 adult learners, to invite them to develop language and literacy skills through encounter and discussion around art works.

The members of the secondary target group are professionals involved in language and literacy teaching, intercultural training, cultural mediation. During the project we’ll reach at least 200 professionals, inviting them to learn about the adaptation of cultural mediation to language and literacy teaching, but also to learn how to use the video as a powerful source of assessment, exploring the “active ingredients” of good learning processes, and how to develop their own skills and posture when working with heterogeneous groups of adult learners with low qualifications.

Our diverse dissemination actions will reach 5000 professionals of the education/cultural sector, to raise the awareness and transfer skills for embedding language and literacy learning in cultural and art mediation.

DESCRIPTION OF METHODOLOGY TO BE USED IN CARRYING OUT THE PROJECT
Our methodology is based on several pedagogical approaches: action-based approach on language acquisition, intercultural, non-formal pedagogy in the designing of the workshop settings, cultural mediation for the whole project concept, video assessment for the evaluation of training activities.
The core concept of this new methodology will be to create activities to do in group in front of works of art to organize verbal interactions, creating an environment for using and learning a foreign language, and improving literacy and soft skills among low-qualified speakers. In addition to museum activities, the new methodology combines workshops in classroom in order to revise the new linguistic resources and stabilize the learning through literacy exercises. The pedagogical methods will rely on techniques used in phenomenal based learning, problem based learning, anchored learning, reciprocal teaching, adult dictation and corrective feedback.

POTENTIAL LONG TERM BENEFITS
Led by our university partner we will continue the theoretical and methodological exploration of the impact and benefits of cultural mediation.
Through our dissemination and exploitation plan we will engage in new collaboration to adapt LALI methods in different museums and cultural institutions to provide encouraging, creative learning environments for a diversity of learners.
We’ll develop further the video assessment method, transferring it to other domains beyond language and literacy learning, in particular to develop assessment methods for art-based interventions. We’ll continue work on what makes the success of a learning process, what are the active ingredients at the disposal of trainers to create learning and change.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 281267,69 Eur

Project Coordinator

ELAN INTERCULTUREL & Country: FR

Project Partners

• de l’art et d’autre
• SOPRONI EGYETEM
• CARITAS DER ERZDIOZESE WIEN – HILFE IN NOT
• TURUN YLIOPISTO