Winning Engagement – Language Clubs & Migrant Education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Winning Engagement – Language Clubs & Migrant Education

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 2016

Project Topics

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

Project Summary

The refugee and migrants’ crisis is the largest since the middle of the last century and is perhaps the EU’s greatest challenge today with large proportions of people entering Europe, many fleeing persecution or simply seeking a better way of life. Acquiring effective language communication skills is one of the most effective and quick routes to integration and social cohesion. Good communication skills can support mutual cultural understanding and an easy resolution to issues before they become unmanageable. The objective of WELCOME was to develop informal language clubs, led by volunteers and supported by professional teachers and coaches. The clubs would cater for up to 12 learners and would be delivered in a community-based setting, being a community centre, a local children’s centre, local school, library or a church hall. The community host organisation would be responsible for the engagement of ‘hard to reach’, most at risk and disadvantaged groups of learners. The recruitment of these target groups was achieved. WELCOME specifically targeted learners who have only basic or no language skills in their host countries but needed effective communication skills to enable them to acquire and gain access to information and services, employment options, to develop digital skills and to integrate into the wider community. The summary of the completed project is that a community-based host organisation provided venues for WELCOME Clubs and to develop effective outreach strategies to engage learners. For example, the EDUCA partners recruited learners from local street. The project established language clubs in five European countries for learners to meet each week to practice their host language. The project also successfully developed training programmes for volunteer club facilitators. A WELCOME Toolkit with teaching and learning materials was also developed. The project network and website that has linked the clubs into networks across the EU is firmly in place. In summary, the project successfully met the agreed project proposal. The online resources centre, IO2 has been developed by GIDE. The Toolkit, framework and guide to setting up language clubs, namely IO3, IO4 and IO6 have been completed with a joint collboration from the City of London and Folkuniversitetet. The joint staff training videos, as part of IO5 EDUCA have been created. Intellectual outputs IO6, IO7 and IO8 have been completed. The dissemination event took place in Brussels in the presence of MEPs, key speakers, project partners and local delivery partners. A well-planned sustainability strategy was discussed and agreed with partners. The main project delivery was concluded in November 2018. All partners are committed to continue to use the developed material and they will work through their networks to continue to promote the WELCOME methodology for informal language teaching and learning. For example, partners will upload case study success stories to national and EU network and databases. The Online Education Resource that has been created by the project is available in all partner languages and will remain available for a minimum of 3 years beyond the lifetime of the project.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 235839,58 Eur

Project Coordinator

Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London & Country: UK

Project Partners

• BORGORETE SOCIETA COOPERATIVA SOCIALE
• EDUCA – vzdelavaci centrum, s.r.o.
• FOLKUNIVERSITETET STIFTELSEN VID LUNDS UNIVERSITET
• GIDE-GESTION INTEGREE DE DOCUMENTS ELECTRONIQUES