Using ECML resources in different contexts
Guidelines and practical examples

How do projects relate to existing priorities and developments?

How can a project be used on a stand-alone basis or be integrated into other activities?

Which aspects of an activity or project might be used?  Which might need to be adapted first?

How might implementation take place? How might it be carried out in stages?

What is the potential impact of a project?   How might this be assessed/ evaluated?

What possible challenges might we face? How might we address them?

How can project outcomes be mediated and/or communicated with others?

How can a project be used on a stand-alone basis or be integrated into other activities?

Can be used as a stand-alone project

EPOSTL (European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages) can be used as a stand-alone activity/project, but it will still need to be adapted to the local contexts. Examples of case studies: Sylvia Velikova's article on "Using the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) to scaffold reflective teacher learning in English language teacher education", page 201.   Projects can sometimes be adapted to local contexts through regional collaborations, e.g. this short video shows how the LACS (Language associations and collaborative support) project encouraged the Baltic states to collaborate in adapting and using the ideas. Feedback from the Baltic area suggests that DOTS can be used as a stand-alone activity as it offers a rich source of ideas on a number of themes. Teachers can have access to the whole project and select what they wish to develop when preparing for lessons at home. See the practical ideas.

Can be integrated into other activities

In some projects, such as DOTS (Developing Online Teaching Skills), the focus is on tools, which can be used to teach any content at any level. It is up to the teacher to integrate their use in their teaching. Feedback from the Nordic area suggests that it can benefit from further integration into other activities taking place in the area. MORE DOTS offers support for mediating the DOTS project, bringing together specialists in language teaching, teacher training and online technology, as well as external experts dealing with formal, non-formal and informal learning, online communities and online teaching: see the following for further information on how this happens in practice.   Project materials can be integrated into various academic programmes at Masters and Bachelors levels, e.g. E-VOLLution (Exploring cutting edge applications of networked technologies in vocationally oriented language learning) case study of international collaboration on creating and marketing an EFL Online application, in Greece, Lithuania and Iceland (Case study 1, E-VOLLution, pp. 117-124). The CLIL-CD (Curriculum development for Content and Language Integrated Learning) project offers a teacher training curriculum for CLIL that may be linked to learners' curricula. Adaptable curricular models, suitable for both foreign language and content teachers are based on a set of defined target professional competences, e.g.: “ClIL teachers are able to articulate and discuss CLIL with school’s internal and external stakeholders”. The publication is proposed as a conceptual lens and model, not as a prescriptive template. It can therefore be integrated into a range of contexts.  ELP (European Language Portfolio) was used as part of a funded research project into learner autonomy in Ireland. Some projects offer resources, which can simply inform development by inspiring new ideas, even if the materials themselves are not used directly. Listen to this short video on how LACS (Language associations and collaborative support) provided new insights in Iceland. The LACS (Language associations and collaborative support) project offers support for other activities through its Directory of Language Organisations which help to build collaborations and networks, e.g. dissemination, searching for joint projects, awareness of the events, attending each other`s conferences, making presentations, sharing experience etc.