RATIONALE

Recent studies and reports* have highlighted that digital tools are still under-used to enhance language teaching and learning. This project provides training in digital literacy to empower teachers to:

• foster the integration of digital technology in specific educational contexts and approaches,

• assist learners in a critical use of online resources and tools, leading to a greater autonomy in language practice/learning.

This project will build on the findings and outputs of previous ECML as well as EU projects which have focused on specific aspects of ICT and language learning and teaching, such as social networking, telecollaboration, plurilingual online interactions, open educational resources:

• ECML projects: Developing Online Teaching Skills (DOTS & More-DOTS, ICT-REV), ECML inventory of ICT tools and open educational resources

• EU projects: Enhancing teaching and learning of less used languages through OER/OEP (LangOER), Supporting OER re-use in learning ecosystems (ExplOERer), Supporting online intercultural exchange between university classrooms around the globe (Intent), Babelweb, an Internet-based Didactic Approach for Language Teaching and Learning (DidacTIClang)

On the strength of the outcomes of these projects, this project proposes an innovative use of online technologies, combining interactional and cognitive dimensions. It aims to integrate digital technology while developing:

• communication skills

• specific skills such as linguistic and intercultural skills. These skills will be enhanced through the use of digital tools and apps such as concordance software or speech synthesis system.

This project also responds to the need to promote some of the principles of the CEFR such as the action-oriented approach and plurilingualism which are still not fully implemented.

* Guichon, N. (2012). Integration of ICT in Language Teaching. Paris : Didier.
OECD. (2015). Students, Computers and Learning. Making the Connection – Main results. Paris : PISA, OECD. See this website.
OECD. (2015). OECD Skills Outlook 2015. Youth, Skills and Employability (S.l.) : OECD
Center for Educational Research and Innovation. (n.d.). New Millennium Learners Initial findings on the effects of digital technologies on school-age learners. OECD/CERI. See this website.

Innovative aspects of the project

The main focus of this project is language pedagogy. It builds on recent methodological developments (particularly the action-oriented and pluralistic approaches) with the added-value of digital technologies. A concrete pedagogical framework will be devised allowing practitioners to develop digital tasks based on a reflective use of online resources and technologies. This is an innovative project as it combines:

• varied task-based online interactions (including communication within a group, telecollaborative tasks between groups, participation in “open” Internet environments…) to encourage learners to develop interactional skills;
• language engineering, i.e. the use of digital tools and resources (such as open educational resources (OER), concordancers, text-to-speech tools…) to foster the autonomous development of the basic skills required to engage in interactions.

In this way, language teachers can assist learners in building Personal Learning Environments using relevant resources, software and apps to move towards an autonomous practice of languages.