Language School 2.0 : How can new technologies improve language learning, motivation and autonomy ? Erasmus Project

Project Title

Language School 2.0 : How can new technologies improve language learning, motivation and autonomy ?

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 Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Teaching and learning of foreign languages

Project Summary

-Based on the fact that our pedagogical practices in Belgium were less and less in tune with the real world’s increasing use of information technologies, we decided to take a step back and take time to study and analyse how these new communication tools could change and improve the way we teach and study languages. To facilitate this, we began by seeking out collaborative links with schools who had already begun the journey towards greater use of digital devices as an aid to teaching and learning.

-Through this collaboration we have been able to share and improve our knowledge of the effective use of digital devices in the language classroom. We then wished to publicise our findings so that other teachers could also easily and efficiently integrate these tools into their practices without repeating the mistakes inherent in the integration of any new pedagogical methodology.

-To realise this we created, developed and publicised tools to help language teachers efficiently incorporate Information Technologies in their everyday practices through the use of an online platform where users can discover tutorials and concrete pedagogical examples of how IT can improve language learning as well as learner motivation and independence.

-Twelve teachers and approximately one hundred students from four very different but innovative, in terms of IT integration, secondary schools in Northern Ireland, Catalonia, Andalusia and Belgium, came together to exchange information about their respective visions and ways of using these technologies within their different cultures and educational systems.

-The main activities undertaken included the sharing, explanation and demonstration of a wide variety of applications, the opportunity to observe how new digital technologies are used in the varied learning environments and the creation of a shared website to collate and disseminate the project’s many concrete achievements, outputs and outcomes.

-This resulted in the creation of a comprehensive website, a dedicated Twitter channel where we actively tweet and share opinions about EdTech news and debates, examples of students’ creativity using digital technology, broader staff training to include the wider staff from each participating institution and participation in a public digital conference where this ERASMUS+ project was showcased.

-In the longer term it is anticipated that each participating school will not only continue to collaborate and to develop the inclusion of digital technologies as teaching and learning tools, but will encourage other schools to also engage in the development of innovative teaching methodologies.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 68325 Eur

Project Coordinator

Athénée Léonie de Waha & Country: BE

Project Partners

• ZALIMA
• Institut Vall de Llémena
• The Wallace High School