Saturday 22 September 2007

European Support for Adult Language Learners


http://dontgiveup.eu/

Don’t Give Up is a project funded by the European Union with the aim to reduce the large numbers of adult learners who drop out of language courses. The website is available in English, Spanish, Czech and Polish and the funding will come from the Socrates Lingua program that aims more generally to promote the learning of languages across Europe.

The project will investigate why adults drop-out and build up a knowledge base with strategies to prevent drop-outs.

The project will look at language courses on offer. It will examine the reasons for taking these courses, the structure and teaching of courses as well as the problems encountered by students.

The project will build the knowledge-base by carrying out surveys of language professionals and listening to their accumulated experience, creativity and ideas.

You can also contribute to the knowledge-base by visiting the Get Involved page. To directly download the questionnaire you can use this link:
http://dontgiveup.eu/fileadmin/downloads/Quest_FINAL1.doc

The questionnaire includes many areas about language schools and learning, as we know the answer to motivating students is not simple.

Socrates
Socrates is Europe’s education program and involves around 30 European countries.
“Its main objective is precisely to build up a Europe of knowledge and thus provide a better response to the major challenges of this new century: to promote lifelong learning, encourage access to education for everybody, and help people acquire recognised qualifications and skills. In more specific terms, Socrates seeks to promote language learning, and to encourage mobility and innovation.”

Lingua
Similarly, the Lingua Action is designed to encourage and support linguistic diversity throughout the Union; contribute to an improvement in the quality of language teaching and learning and promote access to lifelong language learning opportunities appropriate to each individual’s needs.

More information can be found on the European Union websites at:
http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/socrates/socrates_en.html

Details about the new action starting in 2007 can be found at :
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/static/index.htm

A database of completed European projects can be found at:
http://www.isoc.siu.no/isocii.nsf/O/socrates