Working languages of the project: English, French
Project term: 2016-2019
Who will benefit from this project?
The ultimate beneficiary of the project will be learners whose first language is different from the language of schooling because they will be supported by subject teachers who have a much better understanding of the role that language plays in knowledge building.
Subject teachers will be better equipped to respond to linguistic diversity in their classrooms.
Whole-school cooperation will be strengthened as language teachers cooperate with subject teachers, providing them with advice and guidance on how they can support learners struggling with the language of schooling.
The project envisages two main tools for subject teachers:
- Practical procedures that will help teachers to identify their learners’ language needs in the specific subject. The ECML publication "Language skills for successful subject learning" will serve as an important tool at this stage.
- Samples of language supportive teaching materials for 12/13-year-old learners in different subjects (e.g. mathematics, history, science) which show how different scaffolding techniques can help address the linguistic needs of learners including examples of the use of the European Language Portfolio as a tool to support the linguistic integration of L2 learners.
The procedures developed will improve access to quality education for all learners by enabling subject teachers to:
- develop more inclusive, plurilingual and intercultural approaches in their teaching/learning;
to become more aware of the importance of language skills in the building of subject knowledge.