CONTEXT Language skills are a key element in the process of creation of a European Education Area. However, language proficiency levels among students are still unsatisfactory across the European Union with discrepancies between the different EU countries. TARGET GROUPS and NEEDS The direct project target groups are: - Language lecturers focusing on LSP (language for specific purposes) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) - Decision makers in HEIs and policymakers in the field of education The project addresses the following main needs: - Enhance the access to and use of quality digital technology-based language teaching sources among higher education lecturers. - Improve digital technologies-based language teaching practices in higher education focusing on the teaching of foreign languages for specific purposes (e.g. engineers, technicians, managers etc.) - Foster the application of digital technologies in language teaching at higher education level through the provision of practical indication for the purpose for decision makers at HE level and policy makers in education. OBJECTIVES The QuiLL project objective is therefore to - provide language lecturers with the skills to identify, assess, use, create digital and ICT based language teaching sources - provide decision makers and policy makers with the information and skills to enhance the implementation of digital and ICT based language teaching sources and method in the higher education systems. RESULTS and IMPACT The QuILL project will: - address the problem of the scarce existence of teaching sources within the field of languages for specific/technical purposes. - enhance HE lecturers’ digital literacy and help them to get the most of digital technologies - supply HE language lecturers with open educational resources (OER) and digital language teaching sources thoroughly identified, selected and assessed according to high quality level and focusing in particular on Language for Specific Purpose (LSP). - provide HE lecturers with the skills for developing and implementing innovative pedagogies provided by the e-learning context and for teaching with pedagogical reliable quality material, having in mind the specificities of the courses they are teaching. - address the growing demand from the labour market for specialised training in languages for specific purposes. - contribute to the implementation of digital technologies and innovative methods in language teaching at systemic level in HE In order to achieve the above-mentioned results, the project will develop 3 Intellectual Outputs and involve Higher Education LSP lecturers in their development and testing: 1) Database of On-line Language Learning Sources for Language teaching of 18 European Languages The Repository will consist of a database of selected, reviewed, tested, assessed and validated e-learning based language teaching sources addressed to Higher education students for the learning of 15 different European languages. The identification of the sources will be made by the experts of the partnership a bottom up approach and the participation of a relevant number of potential beneficiaries. 2) On-Line Training Package for the Identification, Use and Creation of ICT based Language Teaching Sources for teaching languages at Higher Education level The training package will focus on three main issues: - how to identify and select quality digital technologies based language teaching sources - how to implement and effectively use ICT based language teaching materials in a classroom based and blended based environment - how to create new and customize digital technologies based teaching sources for language teaching sources 3) Publication on the Implementation of Digital and ICT based Language Learning Opportunities in the Higher Education Systems The Guidelines will be addressed to managerial staff of Higher Education Institutions, policy makers as well as language lecturers. The Guidelines will focus on the methodologies for an effective planning and implementation of digital and ICT based solution for language teaching in the Higher Education sector.
Consistently with the context described and needs identified, the QUILL project aimed to provide lecturers of foreign languages in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) with a specific focus on those teaching languages for specific purposes with the: - Opportunity to access quality digital language teaching sources - Skills to identify, use and develop digital sources for language teaching as an integration or alternative to classroom-based teaching. - Capacity to deliver online courses or/and apply digital technology-based resources as an integration or alternative to traditional teaching methods. The specific objectives were to involve Higher education institutions of different EU countries in a common peer to peer and cooperative effort focusing on: - The transnational identification of strategies to review, compare and validate digital language teaching sources - The planning of training materials for lecturers through transnational cooperation where different points of view will be shared and intercultural suggestions will be taken into account - Mainstreaming practices for the implementation, at EU level, of digital technologies to language teaching in HEIs
QUILL project started from the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 underlining how the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic enhanced the need to improve the application of digital technologies in education. Council Recommendation on a Comprehensive Approach to the Teaching and Learning of Languages priority to promote innovative, inclusive and multilingual teaching methods as well as of language teachers’ professional development was a also a reference for QUILL project rationale. QUILL project was finally deeply rooted in the academic debate highlighting the huge potential of the new technologies to the teaching/learning process while only a few lecturers are willing to change their teaching method and open towards blended and online learning. Within this context needs analysis were carried out by all partner universities, allowing for the definition of the direct project target group of the project i.e. lecturers of foreign languages in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) with a focus on those teaching languages for specific purposes and their pressing needs for: - Access and effectively use quality digital technology-based language teaching sources. - Improve digital technologies-based language teaching practices