Tools for Skills - integrated learning of English..
Tools for Skills - integrated learning of English and Forestry- Teachers training
Start date: Sep 1, 2015,
End date: Jan 31, 2018
PROJECT
FINISHED
European forestry has gone through a rapid change during the recent decades. Manual work of unskilled staff with chainsaw has been replaced by modern computerized harvesters, forwarders and skidders. This development has increased the request demand for competent and well trained operators of forest machines as well as the demand of mobility of such work force.
The increasing mobility of forest machine operators is a partly a result of frequent storms throughout Europe causing large areas of storm felled forest in a random distribution between countries.
English is the most frequently used language in manuals, spare part catalogues and computers and it is necessary to have a basic level of English to operate a forest machine and work in another country.
Service staff is a special case that sometimes without forestry experience must communicate with the drivers and understand the situation to be able to order the spare parts in English and in another language.
Language learning tends not to be the first priority for young forestry students in vocational training and it is necessary to promote increased motivation for language learning through innovative teaching methods and better links to practical use of language skills required by the labour market. These teaching methods must be developed transnationally since the forestry sector in most European countries is small and the market for teaching material in each country is limited.
Objectives: to increase motivation for language learning through innovative teaching methods
to enhance the use of content and language intergrated learning methods by providing a teachers manual and training
260 students and teachers will be involved in the activities and another 5000 will be reached through dissemination activities
The activities, methodology and results can be described as
1 A teachers manual on how to work with interdisciplinary team teaching and content and language integrated learning ,how to use the tools for skills products and how to work with the case studies
2 Updating the Tools for skills products: forest workers glossary, forest workers online training tool (www.cd.dictyon.net) .
3 The textbooks "working in harvesting teams 1 and 2" published as e-books and audio books:
4 Training of partner teachers
6 Multiplier events Teachers training courses in 7 countries
7 Blendid mobility learning for students of partner institutions
Vocational college teachers and students from the respective vocational schools, university students from the faculties of Forestry and Wood Industry, large number of professionals in SMEs and migrant workers in th forest industry will all be affected through the access of a high quality training material with a clear teachers manual that facilitates the content and language intergrated learning by introducing Interdisciplinary Team Teaching. This will increase the effectiveness, productivity and competetiveness of all parts of the European forest industry and related businesses. The tools for skills products are already widely spread over Europe and North America, Russia and other parts of the world which is continiously followed up by web statistics. The creation of a teachers manual will increase the use of the material and have an impact on the competetiveness of European forestry work force but also on stakeholders from other parts of the world.
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