Project EngLife
Strengthening Teachers' Digital Readiness for a Lifetime English Language Education
Project number: 2020-1-PL01-KA226-SCH-095824.
Project Financing: Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships in Higher Education, total grant: 242 687 EUR.
Project Duration: June 30, 2021 - June 30, 2023
The Goal
The goal of the Project is to increase the professional capacity of 18 English language teachers to teach Juniors (14-17) in secondary education with the use of education technology and train these teachers to train other teachers to implement a comprehensive, innovative approach to language teaching, the EngLife Methodology.
The Rationale for the Consortium
The COVID-19 pandemia has had a significant impact on the regular delivery of education. While it demonstrated how quickly online technological solutions can aid in times of crises, it also exposed the challenges teachers experience when online delivery is necessary.
At the same time, language learning pedagogy, due its communicative nature of instruction, has not exploited technology as effectively as pedagogy in other disciplines.
English language learning in secondary education is still largely oriented towards grammar and technical knowledge and students emerging from secondary education underachieve in real English communication.
This contrasts with the fact that communicative knowledge of English in today?s globalised environment is necessary for personal and professional growth. Moreover, for most internet users who are not native English speakers, contact with English is unavoidable also in recreational online activities.
The Consortium Partners performed an appropriate survey on teachers in their networks, which provided a Needs Analysis for the project.
We identified a need to equip English language teachers in secondary education with digital skills allowing them to work effectively in their classrooms of today.
EngLife Methodology Workshop
After producing an advanced draft of the Englife Methodology and before the semester-long testing phase 18 teachers from participating schools in the Project, who want to learn the new method and explore how to actually translate the existing courses and programmes in teaching English into the Englife approach will participate in EngLife Methodology Workshop.
The workshop programme will take two main factors into consideration - the experience of the participants as teaching practitioners and their aptitude to use digital resources as a systemic solution to teaching and learning.
The participants will not only internalise the Englife approach, but also will collectively, collaboratively inquire how the methodology can be harnessed to enhance the way others teach teens the English language in a technologically-packed world (train-the-trainer element).
It will help the participants to construct the backbone of the Online Course to be produced in the next project stage.
The Multiplier Events
Planned seven EngLife Launch Events will serve to propagate the teachers digital toolbox developed during the project and launch the complete EngLife methodology to those teachers of English at secondary schools in the project partner country who have not participated in the project or the EngLife Methodology Workshop.
It will take a form of a teachers-led workshop on EngLife methodology and other tools developed during the project.
Each Project Partner will organise such ME at its premisses. The goal is to encourage institutions and teachers not affiliated with the project to test the solutions in their own environments.
The remaining two multiplier events include a seminar to share the EngLife methodology and its impact on secondary education with the secondary and higher education stakeholders at the EU level and a final conference.
The Intellectual Outputs
The Intellectual Outputs include: an Analysis on the English Language Acquisition Potential among Teens in a Digital Era; a Seminar Module on "Mapping language teaching and learning in highly volatile times"; 3) An Assessment Tool of "Self-assessment tool for teachers"; Online database of digital resources for teaching English;
A Methodological Framework on Integrated English Learning for Digital Native Junior Students; Course Materials for EngLife Methodology Workshop; Online course "EngLife: Teaching English for a Lifetime' with train-the-trainer material - design and development; and Policy recommendations on the use of technology in English language teaching.