Website: http://www.moblang.eu/
Project Description:
MobLang aims at increasing intercultural dialogue by focusing on linguistic diversity. In specific, the project supports minoriy languages and less-widely used and less-taught languages in Europe through the development of a language learning mobile phone app.
The objective of MobLang is to promote language learning and thus intercultural dialogue in former European conflict reagions or regions with many minority groups such as the Basque Country, Cyprus, Greece, and Northern Ireland. The following mobile app versions to learn a minority or less less-widely used and less-taught language are to be developed and disseminated in the respective regions and countries:
- Basque for Spanish speakers
- Greek for Turkish speakers
- Turkish for Greek speaking nurses
- Turkish for Greek speakers
- Albanian for Greek speakers
- Irish for English speakers
In order to ensure dialogue and social interaction, the app will be integrated into a cultural and social context by offering regular Language Cafés where learners not only meet fellow learners but also native speakers of the other culture. The goal of the Language Café meetings is to practice newly aquired language skills with a native speaker, to introduce the cultura of the minority/less-used language, as well as to exchange views and ideas.
Open source concept:
The overall exploitation strategy was to follow the open content concept by making available MobLang content under a creative commons license – available on the project’s website – so as to encourage further innovative development of both pedagogical and technical parts. In addition, most of the partner organizations tried and will try to establish cooperative and supportive relationships with possible funding bodies, e.g. local mobile operators, relevant companies etc in order to sustain MobLang locally and nationally. Last but not least, with mobile technology faster advancing than anticipated at the beginning of the project, a new version of the MobLang app compatible with smartphones is currently being developed, thus contributing to the sustainability of MobLang project.
Relevant Presentations & Publications:
Briggs, A. (2011, October). New Technologies for Mobile Learning. Paper presented at the Mobile Learning as the Future of Education conference, San Sebastian, The Basque Country, Spain.
Burston, J. (2011). Realizing the Potential of Mobile Phone Technology for Language Learning. The IALLT Journal, 41(2), 56-71.
Burston, J. (2011, October). Pedagogical Aspects of Mobile Learning. Paper presented at the Mobile Learning as the Future of Education conference, San Sebastian, The Basque Country, Spain.
Taraszow, T., Aristodemou, E., Slavidou, V., Burston, J. & Laouris, Y. (2010, November). MobLang-Learning Foreign Languages via Mobile: A Cross Country Comparison of End Users' Profile, Motivation, and Preferences. Paper presented at the SALL2010 conference: Social Applications for Life Long Learning, Patras, Greece.
Taraszow, T., Laouris, Y., & Briggs, A. (2010, November). MobLang-Learning Foreign Languages via Mobile: Technical Requirements. Paper presented at the ICT for Language Learning conference, Florence, Italy.
Taraszow, T., Laouris, Y., & Papadopoulou-Paraskevaides (2010, December). MobLang-Learning Foreign Languages via Mobile: Pedagogy & Curricula. Paper presented at the Foreign Language Instructional Technology: Theory and Practice (FLIT) conference, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Taraszow, T. & Solabarrieta, D. (2011, October). MobLang: Language Learning through Mobile Phones. Paper presented at the Mobile Learning as the Future of Education conference, San Sebastian, The Basque Country, Spain.
Project Director: Dr. Yiannis Laouris
Project Coordinator: Tatjana Taraszow
Project team members: Veronika Südi, Melis Eroğlu, Elena Aristodemou