PRACTICAL RESOURCES AND SOME TAKEAWAYS FROM THE PLURIMOBIL TRAINING EVENT Pille Põiklik Language Policy Department, Ministry of Education and Research
In 2020, Estonia has welcomed two European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML)1 training events that support language teachers and language education. In February, we welcomed the PluriMobil seminar in Tallinn and in March, the RELANG event in Tartu. RELANG (offered in cooperation with the European Commission) helps countries better link their teaching and testing practices to the Common European Framework of Reference. PluriMobil focuses on helping teachers support students in their mobility. Since PluriMobil involves practical materials that are more directly applicable in the classroom, the following takes a look at what it offers to teachers. The PluriMobil (Plurilingual and Intercultural Learning through Mobility) seminar was led by Kristin Brogan (Ireland) and Chantal Muller (Belgium), two members of the PluriMobil team. They were joined by 24 teachers, teacher trainers and others working in language education. PluriMobil is an ECML project which has developed materials that help teachers support students before, during and after mobility. Students have many opportunities to spend time abroad and these experiences need framing and reflection to best contribute to their developing skills. Mobility experiences are made more valuable for students if teachers can assist them in the process. Mobility is a great opportunity not just to put one’s foreign language skills to the test but also to specifically develop skills of intercultural communication. The latter needs conscious effort, starting with introducing it as a concept and providing students with the necessary language to talk about the various aspects of culture and communication they might pay attention to, focus on in some detail and later reflect on. PluriMobil materials offer five sets of lesson plans (for primary school, basic school, upper secondary school, vocational secondary school and teacher education) as well as a handbook and a quick start guide for their use. All materials are freely available on the project website (https://plurimobil.ecml. at). The lesson plans include ready-made resources that can be used in classrooms and, if needed, easily altered for specific contexts. They address all stages of mobility: they can be used to prepare for mobility, to record the experiences while on mobility, and to reflect on what has been observed and learnt afterwards. To prepare students for thinking and speaking/writing about identities and cultures as well as communication between them, the necessary first step is to have them explore their own identities and cultures. Learning about others always also means learning about ourselves. For this, tasks involving the tip of the ice berg or figures to explore one’s multiple identities can be used (Figures 1 and 2). While students are in mobility (which can also involve extended contacts with visitors here at home or virtual mobility), they could use different learning diaries to track their experiences. One example can 1
The European Centre for Modern Languages is an organisation under the Council of Europe. The centre has 33 members, including Estonia (since March 1995). The centre works at the intersection of language policy and its practice, developing resources for more efficient language education.
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