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SILANG OBJECTIVES
siLang aims to deploy serious games towards the development of language and cultural skills among professionals, vocational workers, and students in higher education institutions with an emphasis on vehicular languages and how these are used in varying cultural and work environments. Specific objectives are:
To propose end-to-end learning activities for deployment of the serious game as a complementary learning tool in the context of structured, professional language learning courses; activities will document learning objectives, concepts covered, use of the digital tools, and projects for classroom collaboration and will support language instructors To develop good practice recommendations targeting language instructors and addressing the integration of the proposed serious game and related situated learning methodologies into wider language learning activities siLang addresses closely the objectives of the KA2 action on building language competences relevant to the workplace. The project embraces the linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe. It recognizes the diverse use of widely understood vehicular languages and introduces into language education cultural dimensions that reflect the use of a lingua franca by non-native speakers. siLang learning design adopts global use of languages and integrates into gaming role-play diverse pronunciations, expressions, and idioms, or other so called mother tongue transfer effects. For example, in relation to English, siLang does not only recognize a British or US accent, but also the real-life fact that a German person will speak with a German accent, a Spanish person with Spanish accent, and so forth. By embracing cultural and linguistic diversity siLang promotes European citizenship and social cohesion through activities that are inclusive and aim to integrate cultural values of groups with varied backgrounds. siLang promotes intercultural dialog by bringing together researchers and instructors from a number of countries towards the design of learning activities that promote and express cultural richness. On the other hand, the project promotes the quality of education in Europe by validating state-of-the art gaming technology in the context of applied training courses and services targeting professional and higher education. Better communication among professionals, which is the goal of the siLang project, further promotes increased competitiveness of the European economic area and Europe. Enhanced language skills tailored to the needs of the world of work further addresses employability issues by enhancing transversal basic competencies required for mobile workers, including both physical and virtual mobility. Recognizing the importance of instructor teacher skills up to date, providing career development avenues for teachers, promoting teacher career satisfaction, and upgrading the quality of the instructional process, siLang aims at the development of good practice recommendations targeting language instructors and contributing to the update of their skills in terms of emerging didactical methodologies such as active, communicative, task-based, and situated learning targeting language education with applications to wider learning activities. Specific activities that target teachers are foreseen throughout the project work plan that run in parallel with activities for learners, both professionals and students. These activities will result into instructional support material in the form of learning sheets, manuals, and videos for the vivid presentation of “how-to” steps on the integration of siLang outcomes into structured learning activities in classrooms. Finally, siLang promotes European collaboration through the direct or indirect engagement of 6 educational, research, and professional organizations in 5 countries, namely Greece, Norway, Estonia, Italy and Portugal. The organizations will develop a virtual network of experts and end users with a focus on professional language learning through face-to-face meetings, on-line collaboration, and on-line sharing of experiences.
