Searching for inspiration
Exploring inspiring spaces and practices — such as museum and library visits, encounters with artists, and collaborations with diverse associations working with heritage languages through creative and gamification-based methods — have been a continuous activity throughout the project.
This enchanting alternative space we discovered in Berlin, filled with hundreds of illustrated children’s books in every conceivable form, style, and language, has become a vital source of inspiration for the ALADIN project. The learning environment, characterized by a warm and inviting physical space that allows learners to explore freely, holds as much significance as the educational materials we utilize or the role of educators themselves.
Exploring accessible visual languages for creative opportunities
In a world where communication transcends borders, we believe in the power of visual languages to connect and inspire. Our approach embraces the diverse tapestry of artistic expression, blending visual storytelling with language learning to create vibrant pathways for families with migrant backgrounds. Through innovative art-based tools and immersive methods, we aim to cultivate an inclusive and dynamic learning environment that fosters creativity and collaboration. By transforming the way we perceive and engage with language, we open doors to new perspectives and empower communities to share their unique narratives, enriching our collective experience and understanding.
Collecting good practices and resources
Language teaching through art has already been explored in numerous initiatives led by museums, artists, and various educational institutions. We have mapped these initiatives to find inspiration not only in their content but also in the ways they present and share their work.
This work resulted in our collection of good practices, featuring a variety of resources, methods, and individual teaching and learning activities.
Comprehending the requirements and the context
To create the most effective art-based practices, we have conducted extensive background research to gain a deeper understanding of the context of heritage language teaching in France and Germany. This study offers valuable insights, including case studies and interviews that highlight the needs of both educators and learners, as well as a collection of resources for creative activities in language education.
Conducting interviews
Interviews with language learners and educators served not only as a tool to better understand their needs and challenges and adapt our methods accordingly, but also as a way to evaluate the use of the Aladin methods and learning activities.
We conducted additional interviews with participants from the co-design labs to gather feedback on their experiences and insights.
Sharing Practices
During the Aladin project, we regularly organized co-design labs where partners shared their approaches to playful language teaching with one another. Together, we explore and experiment with these methods. We then reflect on how they could be adapted to other languages, diverse audiences, different age groups, and various language proficiency levels.
Through this collaborative process, we enrich each other’s practices and expanded our shared repertoire of teaching and learning activities.
Sharing knowledge and experience
An important feature of the co-design process has been the collaboration of experts from different fields and with diverse perspectives on language learning — including teachers, artists, adult educators, parents wishing to transmit their heritage language, and the learners themselves.
This collaboration enabled us to propose a rich variety of exercises, adaptable to different age groups and learning contexts, while taking into account the diverse needs and backgrounds of both learners and educators.
Testing the activities locally
We organize several local workshops involving different audiences and languages to test the co-designed activities. These workshops allow us to try them out in practice, observe learners’ reactions, gather their feedback, and adjust the Aladin activities accordingly.
Continuous Monitoring and Evaluation of Co-creative Processes
To work and create together efficiently, we develop co-design and co-creation strategies that we refined through regular discussions and by keeping diaries of the creative process.
This approach helps us gain deeper insight into each other’s working methods, especially while collaborating remotely on various aspects — such as designing activities, preparing materials and resources, conducting local testing, and applying diverse evaluation methods.
