COMPASS is an initiative born from the need identified in all partner countries to motivate older learners to take a more active part in lifelong learning. Partners believe that in a more and more globalizes world, where people move and travel from country to country, foreign languages are an essential vehicle to ensure communication among societies. In order to motivate seniors to improve their foreign language skills, educators need to be equipped with the necessary techniques and strategies to do so. Older learners represent a share of the population that envisages cultural heritage as their most valued …. That makes them feel part of the society. Thus, educators should take advantage of that in order to engage them in learning processes. Partners’ goals include developing new and innovative ways to combine the above-stated working fields of foreign language learning and cultural heritage. This results in creating educational materials and methodologies leading to the improvement of teaching competences of adult educators and triggering older learners’ motivation for learning. One of the main benefits of the COMPASS project will be enhancing the motivation of adult learners to engage in lifelong learning process. At the same time, the project will raise appreciation of local and common European heritage, increase cultural awareness, foster intercultural dialogue through interpretation of common European patrimony in the context of non-formal and informal adult education. And, all this, while increasing adult educators’ professional competences and fostering older adults’ inclusion in lifelong learning by providing them with the quality learning offers and materials tailored to their needs. By developing learning materials based exclusively on the needs of older learners and developed collaboratively by them together, there will be an increase of the participation and persistence of older learners in lifelong learning and a significant improvement of their linguistic and intercultural skills. Consequently, COMPASS will provide pre- and post-project support for the extension of professional competences of adult educators and, at the same time, try to reduce disparities among older adults in access to lifelong learning. Targeting a need as such, identified as an EU-wide priority, partners will guarantee that not only national communities benefit from the outcomes of the project, but also many other educators as well as adult education and cultural centres all over Europe. The direct project target groups are adult educators (teachers, mentors, etc., esp. those working with adults over 50 and seniors. Indirectly, COMPASS will involve numerous national and international stakeholders: educational centres, organisations active in the field of adult education, bodies involved in culture and heritage activities (NGOs, civic organisations, libraries, etc.); policy makers in the field of education and culture/heritage (employees of public institutions, managers and heads of departments, etc.) Four main outputs will be developed in this project: IO1: Development of an open platform with a Tool Bank for adult educators IO2: Development and delivery of a blended course “Cultural Narratives as a motivational trigger for learning in older learners” for adult educators IO3: Development of a Digital Book “COMPASS: Constructing Identity through Cultural memory”: Easily accessible teaching/learning materials for foreign language learning, targeting older learners IO4: Development of a virtual geocaching cultural route targeting older learners The first step, which will also be the basis to develop all other materials, will be the creation of an interactive tool bank for adult educators, including practical ideas for CLIL (Content Language Integrated Learning) activities. These activities can easily be integrated through cultural aspects while teaching foreign languages. Then, an online course “Cultural Narratives as a motivation trigger for learning in older learners” for adult educators will be elaborated, deployed (including a face-to-face learning activity), and adapted to a blended learning format so that adult educators can pilot it in partner communities. The educators participating in the face-to-face learning activity will then monitor the work of informal study groups of older learners who will develop Digital Books in a collaborative process: older learners supported by adult educators will prepare foreign language materials based on cultural items of their communities. In turn, adult educators will enhance their knowledge on instructional design in informal and non-formal foreign language learning environments and, at the same time, social inclusion of older learners. Finally, based on the experience acquired and results obtained within these stages, the partners will elaborate the main grassroot activity of the project: virtual routes including the cultural items described in the digital book.
The COMPASS project aimed to motivate older learners to actively participate in lifelong learning, particularly in the field of foreign languages combined with cultural heritage and innovative digital learning methods. To enhance the motivation of older individuals to improve their language skills, educators were to be equipped with targeted techniques, with a focus on engaging older learners who view cultural heritage as a valuable asset. This was to be achieved through the creation of educational materials that improve the teaching skills of adult educators and promote the learning motivation of older individuals. Practical ideas for Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) activities, an online course to foster cultural narratives, easily accessible teaching materials for language learning, and a virtual cultural route for older learners were key aspects. Implementation involved the development of a toolbank for adult educators, the execution of an online course, the facilitation of informal study groups of older learners in creating digital books, and the formulation of virtual routes based on the project's outcomes.
The project focused on expanding the professional skills of adult educators who teach older learners. The goal was to promote the linguistic skills of older individuals, support their social integration, and strengthen their participation in lifelong learning. The approach was based on the value of European culture as a source of motivation. Project participants had observed that older adults exhibited some reluctance to engage in lifelong learning and social initiatives. Despite the EU's promotion of multilingualism, specific measures for older people were lacking. The qualification of educators working with older individuals was considered crucial, with cultural narratives intended to enhance motivation. The project responded to the recommendations of the Council for the promotion of foreign language learning. Offers were designed to cater to their needs, such as being locally accessible and using familiar learning materials. The overarching goal of the project was to improve the access of older individuals to lifelong learning by complementing traditional methods with online available training materials.