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Expanding Actions to Remove Language Learning Obstacles

2025-1-IT03-KA153-YOU-0003050572025Mobility of youth workersongoing
Countries: IT|TR|LT|DE|SK|PL|FR|EL · Grant: €21,229
European identity and valuesKey competences developmentNew learning and teaching methods and approaches

Objectives

Expanding Actions to Remove Language Learning Obstacles (PARLO II) will revolve around the importance of preparing and training youth workers from different linguistic backgrounds for them to encourage and facilitate language learning in their local communities. The ongoing changes and developments in language learning approaches and methodologies demand the continuous training of professionals, especially those who apply or intend to apply non-formal learning methods in education. The project idea step on the excellent feedback and results achieved by a previous PARLO mobility for youth workers, implemented in 2023. Youth workers are often unaware of their role in motivating the youth to learn a new language, and they are even more likely to lack the tools and resources to support the youth in this process. Indeed, youth workers have a fundamental role to play in the challenge of raising new generations on a multilingual basis. The reason for their crucial role is because learning English or a second official language in a country is usually offered by the school educational systems (with different levels of success among European countries). In contrast, learning a second foreign language is still left on personal interest and is often pursued by a small percentage of young people. Also, youth workers can intervene using non-formal education methods to motivate and support the youth struggling to learn languages within the formal education context. Moreover, it is essential to raise youth workers’ awareness of the difficulties a learner may face in acquiring a new language and the risks they run of failing or giving up on the effort because of that. Learning difficulties such as dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as well as psychological factors like foreign language anxiety, are some of the topics to be addressed and analysed to give an insight into the way they influence young learners and provide strategies (and tools) to help those learners overcome the challenges. Inspired by these needs, the objectives of the project are: 1- To raise awareness among youth workers and organisations on the importance of their role and position in promoting multilingualism among the youth; 2- To exchange experiences among youth workers of different countries regarding foreign language learning and the problem of language barriers in including youth in mobility and intercultural projects; 3- To provide youth workers with the knowledge to recognise learning obstacles in youth, including specific difficulties related to language learning, such as Foreign Language Anxiety; 4- To provide youth workers with tools and methodologies they can use or propose to their young learners to overcome learning obstacles and study more foreign languages; 5- To develop activities and create a booklet for youth workers to promote multilingualism; 6- To promote inclusion of youth with learning difficulties in activities which require the use of a foreign language and from which they are often excluded (or tend to avoid).

Project partners (8)