Learning languages online – the way forward

Learning languages online – the way forward

On the 24th of June the “Learning Languages Online in the age of Mobility” (LLOM) Erasmus+ project organised a thought-provoking webinar about its main findings and recommendations.

The stage was set by two Erasmus+ Institutional Coordinators: Madeline Molineux, from the University of Limerick, and Christina Bohle, from the University of Marburg, who reflected on the need for a stronger and more open system to support the foreign language needs inherent to successfully running the world’s largest student mobility programme.

Their interventions were followed by a very rich keynote from Tapio Hokkanen, from the University of Eastern Finland, on the historical and pedagogical evolution of open educational resources, followed by a presentation on how the LLOM project has sought to harness classroom activities involving future language teachers to crowdsource high quality language learning exercises – effectively proposing a change of paradigm vis-à-vis the current license-based model available through the OLS, which would enable better quality content that is open to all learners.

The webinar concluded with a pannel discussion among Fanny Lacrois-Desmazes, from the European Commission, and Emmanuel Charrier, from University Paris 1 and LLOM project coordinator, involving questions and answers from participants from universities and national agencies.