Ownership and Leadership: Pathways for (Endangered) Languages' Use in School (OWL+)
At the end of March 2022, the first meeting of the project "Ownership and Leadership: Pathways for (Endangered) Languages Use in School" (abbreviated as OWL+) took place in the city of Leeuwarden in the Frisian region of the Netherlands. The meeting was attended by Sanita Martena, the project leader from Latvia and a professor at RTA.
The main partner of the project is the Frisian Academy (Netherlands). Latvia is represented by RTA, and the other partners are: Portugal (an interdisciplinary research center focusing on language documentation and social issues), Norway (Nord University), which specializes in Sámi language research and education, and Estonia (Tallinn University), which is responsible for developing a digital learning platform.
The OWL+ project aims to innovate the development of curricula regarding endangered languages, integrating them into the broader context of European linguistic diversity. The main objectives of the project are:
- to support teachers in developing and improving curricula using local resources and digital language learning methods;
- to create new opportunities for language use for speakers and learners of endangered languages through the fields of education and social entrepreneurship;
- to develop accessible digital didactic materials that can be used by various interest communities across Europe, regardless of prior language knowledge;
- to foster public understanding of Europe’s linguistic richness in a positive atmosphere, thus promoting a favorable attitude toward multilingualism in general education institutions.
The expected results of achieving these objectives are:
- An e-learning platform that addresses the current challenges in language education and is user-friendly and easily accessible for learners of regional languages such as Latgalian, Frisian, Sámi, etc.
- An online teaching module to deepen teachers' understanding of the needs of specific community speakers, how to teach these languages in their classrooms, and to help teachers include topics about linguistic diversity in their curricula. The module will be divided into content units, multimodal (with audio and video attachments), and include self-assessment tests.
- A digital handbook and a toolkit for teachers to facilitate the creation and updating of curricula in languages with limited educational resources.
Moreover, the OWL+ project plans to promote collaboration among language teachers both at the regional and international levels.
Additional information: OWL+ – Ownership and Leadership: Pathway for (Endangered) Languages’ Use in School
