Intercambio+ VET – Language exchange in vocational settings

At the beginning of February the European Education & Learning Institute had the opportunity to meet with other partners from different parts of Europe in Lisbon within the framework of the European Research Programme Intercambio+. The project will develop and pilot innovative, sector-specific language learning materials and teaching methods and work with language schools, VET providers and employers to integrate language learning with VET and employability across 6 key economic sectors:

• Ecology and Conservation

• Third Sector and the Social Economy

• Cultural Heritage

• Digital Media

• Architecture, Construction and the Built Environment

• Creative Industries

The project has been designed to respond to employer skills needs by supporting the development of sector-specific language skills that have been identified as a key and growing skills need within the European labour market. It will do this by developing learning materials and teaching methods that are integrated with VET provision and adapted to labour market needs within these sectors. This directly addresses the VET Priority of ‘Adapting vocational education and training to labour market needs’.

Each partner will create conversation exercises within a particular economic sector, which will be modelled on the conversational guides in the last project. These are in the form of questions that act as prompts to have a conversation around a particular topic. This will allow for relevant and meaningful conversations around the occupations, which will then be translated and adapted for the other languages in the partnership.

The Intercambio+ VET project addresses the intersection between language learning and VET in a way that is fundamentally innovative and thus directly addresses the VET Priority of ‘Contributing to innovation in vocational education and training’. In particular, the project will develop and pilot new learning materials and pedagogical methods using innovative ‘Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) methodologies that will integrate language learning with work experience and VET provision. The project will also deliver innovation within VET by developing and piloting Continuing Professional Development training for language teachers that will drive innovation by facilitating integration between language learning, VET and the world of work. This will further strengthen the response to the priority of adapting VET to labour market needs by enabling language schools/teachers and VET providers to better understand the skills needs of employers in the target sectors, adapt, and improve their provision accordingly. The project will also address the Horizontal Priority of ‘Inclusion and diversity in all fields of education, training, youth and sport’ by working with language schools/teachers, VET providers and employers to broaden access to sector-specific language learning. This will facilitate the development of accessible, cost-effective methods for offering vocationally specific language learning, thus broadening access to what has previously been a high cost, specialist field of language learning. This will facilitate inclusion by enabling VET learners, including those facing economic, social and educational disadvantages to engage in specialist, integrated VET and language learning programmes that will boost their employability and opportunities to secure jobs in their chosen fields. This will also contribute to increasing diversity within the workforces of the target sectors.