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ALL and TOOL Projects

Case studies of creativity and innovation in a

multilingual context

Aisling O’Donovan, CNAIIasi, June 2009

The Multilingual Context

• Mandarin Chinese, English, Hindi and Spanish are the world’s most spoken languages.

• 90% of the world’s 6000 languages will disappear in the next 100 years.

Languages in Danger

• 516 languages are nearly extinct.

• Languages are in danger, dying and extinct all over the planet.

• One falls out of use every two weeks.

Some GeographyRomanceGermanicCelticSlavicBalticAlbanianGreekTurkishBasqueFinn-Ugric

Some Politics

Article 22, Lisbon Treaty signed by 26 member states states that “the Union shall respect cultural, religious and linguistic diversity.”

Respect is an ambiguous term and it only affects legislation coming from the EU, not state legislation.

Charter for Regional and Minority Languages 1998

Eight fundamental principles and objectives for states to follow:

• Recognition of regional or minority languages as an expression of cultural wealth.

• Respect for the geographical area of each regional or minority language.

• The need for resolute action to promote such languages.

• The facilitation and/or encouragement of the use of such languages, in speech and writing, in public and private life.

• The provision of appropriate forms and means for the teaching and study of such languages at all appropriate stages.

• The promotion of relevant transnational exchanges.

• The prohibition of all forms of unjustified distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference relating to the use of a regional or minority language and intended to discourage or endanger its maintenance or development.

• The promotion by states of mutual understanding between all the country’s linguistic groups.

Minority or not?

While most of the languages of these projects, are in fact official state languages spoken by millions, their learners often form minority groups within other regions and countries.

Histories

• The languages of the partner countries have had histories both of being repressed and repressing.

• Partner countries have sometimes been isolated from other countries.

• This isolation has led, in some cases to difficulties in terms of socio-economic development.

Charters, treaties and agreements...

• Lofty and valid aims on a macro level, but multilingual context is politically complex.

• Proscriptive language legislation being overruled by the Supreme Court in Strasbourg.

• Elected MPs actively campaigning against the protection of minority languages.

A little Philosophy

• The project teams are all people with a passion for the learning and teaching of languages.

“Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own”Philosopher, Goethe

Multilingual Context

Politics, History, Geography, Philosophy

• Projects like TOOL and ALL, are not just professional commitments, they are deeply personal ones

In 2006, the Executive Agency, the agency that supervises the putting into the effect of EU policies, in Brussels, accepted the applications of the TOOL and ALL projects, Socrates would finance the projects under the Lingua programme.

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Joint kick off meeting

First Milestone

• With an only 30% acceptance rate of applications, this was the first achievement of the two projects

• But back to the Executive Agency…

Innovation

• The agency will only finance innovative projects

• A key brief of both projects is to be innovative

• in terms of methodology and technology

From macro to micro: the ALL Story

THE ALL STORY

ALL project map

Български език

• 9-12 million speakers

• Indo-European, Slavic family

• Cyrillic alphabet

Limba română

• 28 million speakers

• Indo.European, Romance family

• Adapted Roman alphabet

Lietuvių kalba

• 3 million speakers

• Indo European, Baltic family

• Adapted Roman

alphabet

Türkçe

• 63 million speakers

• Uralic-Altaic• Adapted Roman

alphabet

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Innovative Approach: Blended Method

Challenge

Diverse languages and learning contextsInflections, Cases, Genders, lexis,syntax, Agglutinating, Alphabets, Phonetics

Would one project approach be possible, that would suit such diversity?

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Tutor Guide: Blended Model

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One Method?

•Diverse teaching philosophies and backgrounds.

•Grammar translation, functional notional, Berlitz method, task based learning, teacher-centered learning.

•Need to unify the terms and definitions in which language learning objectives would be stated across the project in the language syllabi.

Wealth & Chaos!

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Blended Approach

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Transparent Learning Objectives

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Student Guide: CEF

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Tutor Guide: CEF

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Innovative Method: Development of learner Autonomy

Need to guide the learners through the blended learning field, to help them negotiate the different materials available on the courses

• Student and tutor guides• Transparent learning objectives in every

activity and in every unit• Orientation tutorials and units• Diary

In some languages a need to develop learning materials from scratch.

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project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

DotSub: Any Video Any Language

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Innovative: Method

• Ever-changing potential of new technologies would need to be realized.

• Need not just for the motivational and gimmick factor that pictures, sound and movies have but to use them for communicative teaching

• Need to train editors in the use of platform to edit on platform, to visit new softwares, use new cameras, to upload images, sound files, video files.

• Conversations and differing perspectives in Brussels and in Sofia.

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Videocast: Turkish course

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Technology for Collaboration

• Need to fully exploit the collaborative and communicative possibilities of technology, when neither the communicative teaching philosophy nor the use of the technology was automatic to the target course users (teachers and students). Both in some cases, not just unfamiliar but alienating to target users

• Need to write this effective use of write boards, messages, Skype and Web 2.0 to achieve learning targets into course design

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Innovation: Collaboration Online

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Every ribbon is a thought

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“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.”

Benjamin Lee Whorf, linguist of Hebrew

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Summing up!

• Multilingual context• The ALL Project Story• Ways in which we have been innovative and

creative in the project• A multilingual anecdote in TOOL, the board

and the map in 100 years?• The TOOL story…