The point of departure for the not only didactic but also methodological
idea is the use of songs and Internet in order to increase plurilinguism
both in the schools and in lifelong learning courses and to promote
integration of immigrants.
In order to encourage innovation in education and to
facilitate the integration with a view to enhancing and improving
communication and intercultural interaction and understanding, this
project aims at producing, testing, optimising and evaluating teaching
material for Italian, Romanian, Russian, French, Spanish
and Portuguese
as foreign
languages linking the use of songs (particularly useful to build up
communicative skills in a foreign language and intercultural learning)
to the use of karaoke and audio visual materials put in the web.
This approach overcomes the problems caused by age and different types
of learners.
The material, addressed to teachers of IT/RO/RU/FR/ES/PT as a second
language and their students – no matter the age-
and people from various age groups wishing to learn one of the
languages for work, tourism
or immigration, will be accessible through a web portal.
The teaching materials, at CEFR A2 and B1 levels,
require learners to have A1 linguistic competence and is based on the
guidelines which explain the methodological frame, the introduction to
the method and give suggestions both on how to introduce the music
approach when teaching a language and on how to write suitable
exercises.
After being experimented to ensure suitability,
relevance and effectiveness, the materials is put
in the website
www.languagesbysongs.eu The materials can be used everywhere in
Other objectives:
to support teachers’ training
to spread the results by
means of websites, conferences, national and transnational meetings
even outside the partner countries;
to inform institutions, organisations and
authorities involved in language teaching about the validity of such
method and about the opportunity of implementing it in curricula;
to improve
quality and
cooperation among institutions involved in adult education
to promote on-line exchanges between experts from
different countries.
The main activities of this five-year project (2008-2013) are:
Creation of the web portal in six languages IT, RO, RU, FR, ES, PT www.languagesbysongs.eu which
uses interactive techniques and technologies for the management of
video and audio streaming. The portal contains five sections for
each language:
General information on the project (objectives, activities, expected
outcomes);
A Teachers’ Area containing: 1) methodological procedures on the use of
songs in the teaching/learning of a language and instructions on the use
of the teaching materials
and on the production of one’s own materials
2) a report on the results of the experimentation.
A Work Area to be used both by teachers and by autonomous learners
containing: 1) sample
songs with lyrics, video, karaoke and worksheets with exercises,
activities and practical advice for language teachers; 2) karaoke and
worksheets with exercises & activities sent by the teachers who do not
belong to the partnership but are interested in collaborating to and
developing this methodology;
A Teachers’ community Area containing information on the partners, the
authors of the teaching materials and the teachers who experimented with
them;
A Links Area containing links to websites on the learning of the above
mentioned languages, to websites on language teaching with the support
of music, texts for the learning of a language through songs, radio and
TV channels.
Production of technological and learning contents
introduction to the method
and information on the formative
and cognitive objectives;
elaboration of learning materials with guidelines for the teachers,
music themes, vocabulary, grammar contents, exercises to learn the
language with the use of karaoke, answer sheets to help learners verify
and analyse their results;
technical analysis of the linguistic input and definitions of technical
requirements; development of software and graphic design.
Experimentation of materials in the partners’ countries:
Choice of the most suitable institutions for the
piloting phase (schools, universities and adult training centres etc.);
Piloting feedback and evaluation;
Improvement and finalizing of the materials with the
results of the experimentation.
A plan for the dissemination of the results
so that the music approach combined to the use of the internet may be
adopted by a great number of training institutions and schools;
definition of a strategy for sustainability and the follow-up of the
project after its end.