SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT:
The aim of the project is to develop the standardised curriculum of teaching less popular European languages with special regard to intensive courses and introductory modules. The curricul-um produced in the course of the project and based on the standards worked out jointly by glottodidactics experts from different countries (Slovakia, Lithuania, Belgium, Greece and Poland) would be of maximum benefit to those users who come to the target country, aiming to stay there for no longer than a year, with the knowledge of one of the leading EU languages, but without the ability to communicate in the local tongue.
Given the important role of a well developed curriculum as the medium of teaching a less widely used language, a standardised intensive course or introductory module could successfully meet the practical needs of the project beneficiaries, who undertake jobs in the target country, participate in exchange programmes, job training or internships including summer schools. For those who come to a given country to work as an employee or trainee, the course will act as an excellent supplement to their professional qualifications, it will facilitate their communication with the work local environment, where English, French or German are frequently not spoken at all or not fluently, it will also have an impact on their further education in the language of the target country. It should be also noted that knowledge of their native language is now a prerequisite to obtaining a job in the majority of the European countries.
Development of a unique curriculum will be the task of the glottodidacticians from higher education institutions either specialising in teaching a less popular language or offering intensive language courses. These institutions have been selected in such a way as to represent various profiles and curricula. This approach will enhance the product with variety and a broader selection of vocabulary from the fields of economics, politics, social life, etc.
The language teaching methodology will take the form of a curriculum paying special attention to the specific character of each language. It will be issued in a traditional printed form (including CD ROM supplement of the same content) prepared by the experts in teaching less widely used languages. The material will be available in the Slovak, Lithuania, Dutch, Greek and Polish and then translated into English to be used by a wide spectrum of beneficiaries from other European countries. The programme will cover the key elements of the practical grammar of a given language, vocabulary used in the workplace as well as at the level of everyday social and public communication. The additional element will consist in the aspects of specialised vocabulary, selected relatively to the profile of each partner institution.
The programme prototype will be tested on a group of project beneficiaries in each partner institution and then evaluated by an independent expert. The complete product will be then disseminated to other institutions in the project countries and to other partners abroad. The curriculum will have an innovative character as it can be used by glottodidactinas at different language courses, depending on learners needs. It will serve as the basis for language teaching or as a product to be modified according to the needs of various target groups and the changing character of language courses.
Didactic curriculum developed in such way will contribute towards: creation of effective teaching methods of less popular European languages with special regard to vocational groups needs, interns and exchange students to support them in adaptation to language and culture conditions of the target country; more effective studying of foreign language at beginners level; improving the competencies of beneficiaries starting a job in the target, foreign country; improving the status of less popular European languages in the context of language education of the Europeans.
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