What is a digitally competent language teacher in adult education? In Europe, there are rapidly changing demands for the profession of language teachers in adult education which require new or updated skills and a broader set of competences. The era of digitalization is involving the field of language teaching which means that the teachers have to improve their own digital competences in education to perform on a contemporary and competitive level and enhance the experience of their students, incl. migrants/refugees, literacy learners, senior people etc. Apart from a European profile of a digitally competent language teacher, the project “Integrating Digital Education in Adult Language Teaching (IDEAL)” will develop a hands-on approach with examples and tools for language teachers on how to establish digital competence in language teaching in their daily practice. Additionally, an OER platform will provide video tutorials and additional information for language teachers all over Europe. An innovative character of the project consists in the development of project activities and outputs based on the Digital Competence Framework for Educators (DigCompEdu, 2017) and the updates of Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR, 2018). The project consortium with partner organisations from Germany, France, Poland, United Kingdom, Spain and Italy, all of them involved in language teaching activities with adults, follows the project objectives: 1) to provide language teachers in adult education with all the skills and competences needed to deliver their high quality work in the digital era 2) to support the professionalisation of language teachers in adult education, in particular with regards to the rapidly changing demands in terms of digital competence for educators 3) to provide open education and innovative practices for language teachers in adult education For this reason the project will deliver following planned activities and outputs: - Mapping content for digitally competent language teachers with the development of an overall report containing information about current situation of language education policy and programmes in the context of digitalisation, the use of digital tools in teaching process, good practices for use of digital technologies to enhance innovate education and training etc. The report will be available in six main European languages (EN, DE, IT, ES, FR, PL) - European profile of a digitally competent language teacher in adult education (in EN, DE, IT, ES, FR, PL) covering the requirements of DigCompEdu as well as CEFR with new descriptors and described in learning outcomes under the headings of knowledge, skills, responsibilities/autonomy. A self-assessment tool will also be part of the profile. - Open educational resources for language teachers available in six main European languages and containing 120 innovative and good practices and video tutorials aimed to facilitate the practical implementation of the digital contents in learning environment. - 1 Short-term joint staff training - 6 Multiplier Events: Final Conferences in all project countries The project is addressed to language teachers in adult education including those working with migrants, refugees, low-educated, seniors; literacy teachers for migrants; volunteers engaged in language teaching; adult and language education providers; language course planners/ teacher trainers; key stakeholders and decision-makers for language learning and digital education. More than 210 language teachers will directly participate in the project by self-assessing their competences, describing their needs and best practice and/or getting trained and at least 6000 people working in language teaching or being stakeholders will be informed about the project. The desired impact of IDEAL-project is to raise active participation of language teachers to strive towards becoming more digitally competent and make use of digital pedagogical approaches and methodologies, innovative tools and resources developed to effectively face the emerging trends in the education process. The innovative European profile will collate the knowledge, skills and responsibility/autonomy of a digitally competent language teacher. The availability of OER platform with innovative and good practices and videos in six main European languages (EN, DE, FR, ES, IT, PL) will ensure the transferability and sustainability of project outcomes upon completion of the project.
The updated requirements of the CEFR considers “Online Interaction” as an equally relevant aspect of communication. Therefore, language teachers have to learn how to best teach with and through digital technologies and ensure the achievement of learning objectives in language teaching. Thus, the consortium of the IDEAL project intended to: - support language teachers in adult education acquire and develop educator-specific digital competences and use digital technologies more effectively for language teaching; - provide open education resources and innovative practices for language teachers in adult education to be applied to their daily practice; - support language teachers in delivering high-quality language courses and help learners succeed in the digital era; - to develop and promote innovative project results and ensure their sustainability across Europe.
The use of digital media in language learning has increased in the last decade and is imperative for modern teaching. The EU highlighted the significance of language learning and ICT usage for educational purposes in several key policies, including the new descriptors of CEFR (2018) and DigCompEdu (2017). Partly due to the lack training programs, teachers are challenged with acquiring new approaches and skills for virtual teaching. The demand for adapting to new environments is challenging. Moreover, teachers are not always aware of the benefits of digital media in teaching, or they feel overwhelmed by the vast amounts of digital tools. This makes it difficult to identify resources that best fit a particular lesson, learning objectives, learners’ needs or pedagogical approach. Consequently, teachers need support and steps for upskilling their digital competences and to explore the potential of digital media for language teaching. This boosts didactic innovativeness, facilitates participation, improves the learning and supports learners in enhancing their digital skills while using technology in a responsible and creative way – a key competence in the 21st century.