EU-Project: MICaLL

Moderating Intercultural Collaboration & Language Learning

The MICaLL Project

• Socrates Project / Comenius 2.1

• October 2004 - October 2007

• Goal: Innovation of the Initial Training and Professional Development of Language Teachers

• Current partnership: 6 Countries, 15 Organisations

Development of Teacher Competences in:

• Promoting intercultural communicative competence

• Design and management of international collaborative curriculum projects

Results & Deliverables

• Course Project Modules : Pre- & In-service

• A web based portal site: tools for collaborative language learning

• An organisational structure for sustainable cooperation (school e-twinning)

Why MICaLL? Inspiration & Contexts

• EU-policies & Instruments:- Education and Training 2010- Action Plan for languages - CEFR, ELP

• Teacher Training- professional competences development- experiential, workplace-based learning- collaboration with schools: theory/practice

Why MICaLL?

- Technology: 2nd generation web tools: easy access / more interaction

- Constructivism, Task & content based approaches

Why MICaLL? Call & Pedagogy

Pedagogical Approach to Teacher Training (Source: Efa)

Wiki

LanguageQuest

• ICC & classroom constraints:

’… The problem of teaching intercultural communication in the classroom is that it almost impossible to model experiential learning in role-plays.

Internet projects where they have to co-operate, to work on a common goal with learners from other cultures could eventually replace role-plays and give the students the chance to experience authentic co-operation.’

Vogel (2001)

Why MICaLL? Call & Pedagogy

• Motivation & classroom constraints

‘ Only through international activities for which the foreign language needs to be used on a daily basis in natural conversational (including virtual / internet based) settings can the students be intrinsically motivated to keep using the language in the school setting.’

Kees de Bot quoted in (Marsh, 2002, p.31)

Why MICaLL? Call & Pedagogy

• Current generation of student teachers has not witnessed relevant model teacher behaviour

• EU-Conference 2004: ‘Improving Language Education’ Theme: Teacher Professionalism:– Closer cooperation between TT and schools– adoption of innovative teaching methods (e.g. use of media,

international exchanges)– more cooperation and networking between teacher training

organisations– promotion of life long learning and participation in in-service

training (e.g. by using e-learning)

Why MICaLL? Language Teacher Education

Teacher Ed. Curriculum Module

• collaborative e-projects: task-based CALL

• formats planned so far:- LanguageQuest- Weblog- Computer Mediated Dialogue (Chat,IM, MOO)- Tandem approach

Organisation of Project Activities

The MICaLL Portal Site

Content Management System

• Based on Plone

• Open Source / Open Standards

Features of The Portal Site

• Member / Community based

• Role-related differentiation in rights and available functionality

MICaLL BlogPages

The Portal Site (2)

• Features of Workspaces for (student) teachers & trainers:

• - editors for task formats: LanguageQuest

• - communication & publication tools: Weblog, Forum, Chat, Doc etc.

• - virtual class- & project rooms:

MICaLL Workspace

Planning• 2004 -2005:

- Professional development of team & schoolbased mentors - Portal website. Version 1.0

• 2005 – 2006- Module Content development- Pilots / School try-outs

• 2006 – 2007- Production of Handbook & In-service course - Projects in Teacher Ed. and Schools- Portal website. Version 2.0

EU-Project: MICaLL

You are cordially invited to participate in our pilots and

projects!

Towards a Pedagogy for Network-based Language Learning