ARC Presentation (Action research communities for language teachers) at the C.A.R.N. (Collaborative Action Research Network) D.A.CH Symposium in Linz

Three members of the ARC team from Austria and South Tyrol attended the symposium organised by the German-language branch Collaborated Action Research Network held in Linz in Upper Austria at the beginning of January, 2017.

Through the presentation we had the opportunity to explain the specific aims of the ARC Project to a public well informed about action research but mostly working in fields other than languages. We also had the opportunity to explain the project framework and introduce the ECML to colleagues from other fields.

On the one hand, we were able to report on the development of a trialled template for a three-day workshop on action research “for beginners” as held in Sibiu/Hermannstadt, Romania in October 2016.

On the other hand, we reported on the exciting collaborate action research projects currently being developed across the ECML countries as the result of the November 2016 workshop held at the ECML in Graz.

• Does an explicit focus on critical thinking skills in our lesson planning and instruction enable students to engage in critical thinking? (with project partners from Albania, Netherlands, Malta, Latvia)
• How can pupils’ language skills be enhanced by using news media and Facebook sharing in language teaching? (with project partners from Croatia and Iceland)
• Breaking barriers: Can we identify barriers for professional learning English as a second language at university level? (with project partners from Armenia and France)
• What is the role of the teacher in university student-centered activities? (with project partners from Finland and France)
• How does teaching vocabulary learning strategies contribute to learner autonomy in CLIL & modern foreign language classrooms? (Ireland)
• Wie kann erreicht werden, dass die Kinder im Unterricht in der Zielsprache Deutsch sprechen? (with project partners from Liechtenstein, Lithuania and Romania)
• Using the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) as a self-reflection tool for improving pre- and in-service teachers’ competences. (with project partners from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia and Greece)
• Challenges of CLIL teachers
  Intercultural competences through a student- based project. (with project partners from the Czech Republic and Poland)
• CLIL in secondary vocational schools seen through students’ perspectives. (with project partners from “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and Serbia)
• Intercultural Competences through a student-based project. (with project partners from Austria, Denmark and Montenegro)
• Lehrerrolle als Ko-Konstrukteur von Wissen (with project partners from Bulgaria Switzerland, Germany, Norway and Slovenia)

During the symposium a number of collaborate action research projects from various fields were presented and the ARC project fitted well into the framework. Our approach working together across Europe on a common action research project that is implemented in completely different national contexts is of innovative character.

Although C.A.R.N. is a well established network with roots in the 1970’s, the German-language branch is relatively new and currently undergoing a dynamic phase of growth and development. The symposium was an enjoyable event characterised by a supportive atmosphere in which all participants had the opportunity to learn from each other about different professional contexts.