Improving Communicative Competence
in Foreign Languages from a Distance

A lack of communicative ability in a foreign language can also cause the learner to be perceived negatively by the community, which would then hinder that person’s level of integration. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the number of adults seeking to boost their employability to skyrocket; thousands of individuals are now looking to hone their language skills through freely-accessible, online means.  Though it is difficult to learn communication skills in a time like this with such limited human interaction, it is not impossible by any means.  

The concept of “formulaic language” in linguistics is a familiar but underused concept in L2 teaching that can increase communication skills, yet research shows a distinct lack of teaching materials that focus on this aspect of language. Formulaic language is, simply put, co-occurring strings of words used in recurring situations; idioms, collocations, multi-word verbs, and more fall into this category. The teaching of formulaic language has been proven to increase learners’ acquisition of grammar, fluency, and even cultural awareness. 

The objectives of the projects are as follows: 

-To create a set of easily accessible teaching and learning materials that support communication skills in a foreign language.

-To promote the uptake of an effective teaching methodology across Europe in a digitally innovative way.

-To upskill foreign language teachers in providing formulaic language-based lessons for their students.

Partners:

- Eurospeak Language Schools (UK)

- Amaita Intercultura (Italy)

- Anglo Center (Spain)

- Valodu Mape SIA (Latvia)

- Innovation Frontiers (Greece)

http://icom-erasmus.site/