ELDERS LEARNING ENGLISH FOR EUROPE

REPORT FOR THE

Learning/training/teaching activity in Rogaška Slatina, Slovenia, 24th October 2023 – 27th October 2023

Course: “Course on the methodology of teaching languages to the elders”

Provider: Ljudska univerza Rogaška Slatina in cooperation with the ELENE project partners

Place: Rogaška Slatina, Slovenia, Kulturni center Rogaška Slatina, Celjska cesta 3a, 3250 Rogaška Slatina, Slovenia

Duration: 4 day

Thematic field: Languages and the use of ICT applied to teaching  

Main language: English

Typology of course and main requirements for the participants: participants with experience in teaching English, with good communication skills, willingness to exchange experience, knowledge and interaction, technical knowledge and use of ICT applied to teaching, good computer skills, link to the partner organizations.  

Number of participants: 2 representatives from Turkey representing SHEM, 3 participants from Spain representing INNETICA, 1 participant from Portugal representing GLANDRIVE, 4 participants from Poland representing INBIE and 3 participants from Slovenia representing LURS.

Selection process: based on the Europass CV and through a short interview

Objectives: to train the language teachers/trainers about the English teaching methodology adapted to the profile of the elderly. This course will address number of topics related to the experimentation and implementation of R2: Manual for Trainers.

Teaching methodology: active learning and experience-based methods with focus on short series of content units, combination of individual and group practice with work on practical cases, guided visits and cultural events.

Participants learnt about:

• The use of Manual for Trainers
• The use for Manual for seniors
• ICT tools to support language teaching to elderly
• Pedagogical techniques

Activities carried out:

All the participants arrived to Rogaška Slatina, Slovenia, on 23^rd October 2023.

The LTT activities started on Tuesday, 24^th October 2023 with the initial presentation of the project, course and the timeline carried out by LURS. Next, the representative of LURS presented a practical example of the use of R1during an English class with seniors using the material from the R1, which was followed by a session How to use the Manual for trainers. In the afternoon, participants carried out a practical testing of the ELENE course book and ELENE phone app, UNIT 15: At the pharmacy during the cultural visit to a nearby village Olimje, its monastery and one of the oldest pharmacy in the world while using the ELENE material.

On the second day of the training representatives of SHEM carried out a practical example of the use of R1 during an English class with seniors using the material from the R1, which was followed by a practical testing of the ELENE course book and ELENE phone app, UNIT 17: In the city during a cultural visit to Bled and Ljubljana while using the ELENE material.  

The third day started with a practical example of the use of R1 carried out by representatives of INBIE: English class with seniors using the ELENE application and the ELENE e-learning platform. This was followed by a session on how to improve your ICT skills with the ELENE manual carried out by representatives of INBIE. This was continued by a session about how to use the Manual for Elders and what to keep in mind when teaching English to seniors carried out by the representative of LURS.  The day was concluded by a practical testing of the ELENE course book and ELENE phone app, UNIT 8: At the museum during a cultural visit to a local museum Anin dvor while using the ELENE material.

On the last day the representative of GLANDRIVE carried out a session on how to use the ELENE online learning platform, which was followed by a presentation of how to use ELENE app by a representative of INBIE. The last day session ended by the evaluation of the LTT by the participants.

Results:

• More trained teachers/trainers to teach English to the elderly
• Increased knowledge about the practical application of the R2 which they can use for their language teaching
• Increased knowledge about the use of the R1: Manual for Elders and the e-learning platform as a support tool in their classes
• Validation of the ICT tools and other developed materials with collaboration of participants of the training and the seniors from Slovenia
• Dissemination of the project

Method of validation of achieved results:

At the beginning of the LTT participants received a preliminary questionnaire with:

• questions about their competences and skills in teaching English to elders, including their knowledge about the teaching techniques and methods used for teaching English to seniors
• questions about the level of their competences, skills and experience of using ICT for teaching English in general and for teaching English to seniors
• questions about the general level of their ICT skills
• questions about their expectations of the LTT activity.

At the end of the LLT participant received a post-evaluation questionnaire with questions:

• the improvement of their competences and skills in teaching English to elders, including their knowledge about the teaching techniques and methods used for teaching English to seniors
• improvement of the level of their competences, skills and experience of using ICT for teaching English in general and for teaching English to seniors
• improvement of the general level of their ICT skills
• questions for overall assessment of the LTT and level of the expectations met during the LTT activity.

Here is a short analysis of the results:

The majority of the participants expressed an improvement in their competences and skills in teaching English. Most of them expressed that their knowledge about the teaching techniques and methods for teaching English to seniors, as well. In comparison to preliminary questionnaire, the majority of participants expressed an improvement of their competences and skills of using ICT in general as well as for teaching English in general and for teaching English to seniors; they especially attributed this to the fact that they have got familiar with the use of the ELENE e-platform and the ELENE application. All of the participants stated that their expectations of the LTT activity was met or even exceeded. 

Media posts about the event:

LURS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ljudskarogaska/posts/pfbid0VBpugVukiXdJGtjhFjAn4wgRCD3XjNmxmqE3zRsMgbQB6EcMqY2w5nLXrp6EZCs9l?locale=sl_SI

ELENE Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/eleneproject/posts/pfbid0ReBfJ7PESC3euS91t7VuNK6U9fhmB8Bdd4AYL234cHthXDXDqycyMTVN1dEBRxV1l?locale=sl_SI