The objectives of IILW were: 1) For participants to be better able to secure or create employment in language work 2) Inclusion:addressing language needs of all learners and those with fewer opportunities in the UK, Spain and Portugal 3) To increase skills, generational and cultural interaction and multilinguism in the EU 4) Involve and empower participants throughout. In addition to these objectives, we also noted that the need for innovative ways to reach and teach all learners means the scheme must provide training for participants to experience a variety of ways of practicing their vocation that they could not get in the UK. English academies in Seville are world class and have particular approaches for participants to bring back to the UK (such as intercambios or immersive visits). Portugal and Spain are world leaders in the integration of older and younger people. Lisbon and Seville are effective places in which all ages of participants can immerse themselves in teaching but also mix socially and learn from the city and how different ages mix. As such this was also the wider context for our objectives and what we wanted to achieve by implementing the project.
Good question and the answer is probably a blend of personal-individual, organisational and societal impulses. At a societal level, language is key to inclusion and interaction economically, socially and culturally. In the UK, recent census figures showed that across England 1.7% of the population (900,000 people) have either no, or poor spoken English. The EU has also set the goal that every citizen should have the opportunity to acquire at least two foreign languages. So whether it is helping those who have no English, providing high quality training for teachers or ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to learn another language, we need to actively address these issues together. There is also increasing age segregation in the UK. Older workers will be called upon to update and broaden their VET skills and young people face significant unemployment and problems with "career management". For the organisations involved, international partnerships are a fantastic way for each organisation to strengthen their work, build capacity and enhance their offer. Finally, there are naturally personal motivations and a desire from our team to apply for this project so that we could make a difference to the lives of the participants.