Project’s Presentation

The “LoveLanguage” project is founded by the European Comission, under the Leonardo Da Vinci Transfer for Innovation Programme.

It aims at increasing motivation and interest among young males, in what language learning is concerned, trying to prevent students drop-out from language classes.

In order to achieve that, we intend to pursuit several objectives that will contribute to the development of suitable learning strategies.

This project will last for two years (2010-2012).

Objectives

In order to pursuit our main goal, we have several objectives. Thus, our main objective is to enable young male adults with particular “foreign language learning resistance” to establish their “love for language” by increasing their interest and uptake of foreign languages and to increase their participation in the lifelong learning society.

More specifically, we will:

Outcomes

This project expects to deliver a set of deliverables and outcomes that will foster the development of strategies for young male learners.

These are the expected products:

Handbook for teachers and trainers

  • The project partnership has firstly developed a Trainer’s Handbook to offer language course providers an attractive approach for young male language learners through the introduction of learning contents and materials that try to achieve the male learner’s interest. This handbook will also try to provide information and tips that refer to the specifications that some specific groups have, like the educational drop-outs, long-term unemployed young adults and socially marginalized people.
  • The Handbook also inform those who are responsible for the design of adult education courses and stakeholders in education policy, on how to induce motivation among people who, for various reasons, have until now been unwilling to take up foreign language learning.
  • This Handbook consists of several different modules that allow flexible utilization according to various specific requirements.

Toolbox

  • The Love Language Toolbox contains, as a complementary product to the handbook, a collection of materials and methods that can be used. This tool box offers language course providers attractive methods, exercises and worksheets for young male language learners. The objective is to implement learning contents that reflect their main interests keeping them motivated to learn.
  • The exercises and the methods suggested in the toolbox try to address several language levels, as well as different time frames.

3D Guidelines & Tutorials

  • The 3D guidelines and the tutorials intend to guide, to motivate and to show the variety of activities which make language learning in the virtual 3D environment so exciting.
  • The guidelines will cover the following areas: The language course map, The Second Life guide, The Moodle guide, Other web based tools (Facebook, Skype, Linkedin, etc.), Recommendations on how to vary and modify component elements of the lessons, Recommendations on how to introduce this course into existing language courses, Instructions how to start a new course from scratch.

Short film “Love Language & More”

  • The film will be produced according to a script that will cover the following aspects: Background of the project, Current situation of people who are not interested to learn a language but can be motivated when the appropriate learning contents and methods are available, Potentials of 3D interactive learning in a social community environment, Experiences during the validation phase.

Project's website!

Partners

The Project is characterized by a multiple crosswise transfer of the products of two innovative projects, and concerns three export partners, from Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia, and three import countries, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia.