Language skills are often crucial for the inclusion of people with migrant or refugee backgrounds in the country of arrival. This is why the GAME ON project, by offering an innovative approach based on non-formal learning, promotes social inclusion through foreign language learning.
This week Centro per lo Sviluppo Creativo Danilo Dolci, has concluded the pilot training courses for language teachers and educators as part of the GAME ON project.
Over the past five years, there has been an increase in migration flows in EU countries. The causes for these individuals and their families to leave their home countries usually depend on political, economic or social issues beyond the control of these individuals. Therefore, it has become urgent to promote initiatives to foster the inclusion of these people within our societies.
The project GAME ON is an initiative that proposes an innovative approach to language education, based on play as a form of nonformal learning. The goal is to promote the social inclusion of migrants and refugees by emphasizing everyday communicative situations and enabling them to develop the skills they need in their usual interactions.
Language course for migrants and refuges to foster their linguistic competences through language learning games
During last two months, participants with the A1/A2 level language, took part in a series of 8 meetings aimed at increasing their language skills with the goal of improving their vocabulary and knowledge of Italian grammar through a gamification approach that could stimulate their learning in a nonformal context. Similarly, participants underwent training focused on different topics and with six modules related to everyday life, health, market, hobbies and professional life, so as to increase their confidence with the language and achieve a higher level of inclusion.
Participants were able to learn more about their hobbies and different holidays and topics related to personal and professional life, delve into the labour market, with different games, aimed at increasing knowledge about social services and job interviews. They also learned new vocabulary about products and food stores through board games such as tombola and twister and stimulated verbal communication by learning new vocabulary regarding different household items.
Language course for teachers: train language teachers and educators through the new methodologies developed by the project!
16 hours of pilot training course dedicated to language teachers and educators took place during November. The meetings were organised in four different sessions, in which different methods and approaches related to Game Based Learning were presented to foster the inclusion of immigrants and refugees through language learning games. The game-based method has benefits on several levels compared to traditional methods. The degree to which students are more engaged, as well as the fun and motivation they accrue during the course-all of which can be beneficial to students’ learning success. The training was conducted by an Italian language teacher who explained how to develop language skills through different methodologies, including online games, storytelling, quizzes, board games, etc. Language teachers learned when and how to use these games appropriately, purposefully, and effectively to meet the needs of the student body and achieve lesson objectives.
Next steps
On 15 of December, the final event of the GAME ON project will take place at Moltivolti in Via Giuseppe Mario Puglia, 21, Palermo, to present the results and the latest updates on the issues. In addition, all the materials developed during the project and used for the training with students and teachers will be published online, so that the project can be replicated and implemented in different contexts.
Stay tuned for more information regarding the final event and project products!
GAME ON – Language Learning Games for migrants and refugees is an initiative funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships-Adults. The project proposes an innovative, non-formal, game-based approach to language education, promoting the social inclusion of migrants and refugees through language learning.
Partners
- Coordinator: IBERIKA EDUCATION GROUP gGmbH (IBERIKA), Germany
- FAM Y LIAS. RECURSOS PARA LA DIVERSIDAD. SOCIEDAD COOPERATIVA (Famylias), Spain
- AINTEK SYMVOULOI EPICHEIRISEON EFARMOGES YPSILIS TECHNOLOGIAS EKPAIDEFSI ANONYMI ETAIREIA (IDEC), Greece
- ELAN INTERCULTUREL (Elan), France
- CENTRO PER LO SVILUPPO CREATIVO DANILO DOLCI (CSC), Italy
To learn more about the project visit https://gameonproject.eu/it/, follow us on Facebook or contact Balaram.gaire@danilodolci.org.