By Barbara Dieu · September 19, 2007
Claudia Ceraso, the Argentinian blogger behind The FCE Blog , makes a post referring to the European Day of Languages. The event, promoted by the Council of Europe, has been celebrated every September 26th since 2001 to foster plurilingualism, diversity and life- long language learning.
I notice the link announcing the event takes me to a page of European Centre of Modern Languages in Graz, Austria. This triggers memories and sends me me back in time to 2001-2003, when I participated virtually in a series of surveys and discussion forums led and moderated by Peter Radai and team around The Status of Language Educators . These outline the views, perceptions, questions and daily professional activities of language educators and the project was launched with the mission of drawing national and international attention to the profession of language education, and to its implementers, language teachers all over Europe.
The results were published in a book of the same name (French or English version available), which can be bought online or downloaded as a pdf file .
Although many of the issues brought up then, like the existence of teacher power/influence/ability to empower students/solidarity and the role of the teacher as a an agent of change in their own institutions remain the focus of many of the edublog discussions nowadays and have not been solved, I am optimistic and see an evolution.
There is a growing awareness that schooling, as it is offered now in many contexts, does not educate learners for civic participation and collaboration in a knowledge society. There is a recognition that at work, much of the learning occurs informally through conversations with experts, peers and tutors, independently from the formal courses offered by traditional training departments. Participatory media has allowed many educators from around the globe to connect to a growing network, start conversations, exchange ideas, develop professionally beyond the institutional walls and actively co-construct knowledge.
Alexander Hayes, the organizer of the Future of Learning in a Networked World , advances the following questions on the group list :
Do you believe that the future of learning in a networked world is a bleak one…..a souless online virtual connection, a facile attempt to build community where only self serving individuals oscillate in ever increasingly smaller circles with shorter interactions and a senseless lack of ‘human-ness ?
The burning questions I put forward back in 2001 are still topical:
What steps have you taken in your language classes to promote cooperation, tolerance, respect towards the other and individual development? How responsible do you feel socially?
and to them I add:
What are the key literacies needed in the 21st century and can participatory media help us, life-long language learners, develop them? How?
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Alexander Hayes
wrote on September 19, 2007:
>What are the key literacies needed in the 21st century and can participatory media help us, life-long language learners, develop them? How?<
Digital identity ( not ciphers and signs rather a critical discourse immersed in social action ) as a key facete of the curriculum just after we turn the power switch on….by providing online access ( unconditional ) which leads to an equitable array of resource and communication with other world citizens.
Vision without the omnipresence of conservative mediation.
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Claudia Ceraso
wrote on September 20, 2007:
Opening up to new languages is a good playing ground for learning to unlearn. A much needed literacy.
A language entails so many views of the world we take for granted. I believe there is no real networked world unless you try to bridge the gap of the language divide. Going beyond the lingua franca to appreciate diversity.
Thank you for the mention.
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Alexander Hayes
wrote on September 26, 2007:
Agreed.
Thank god you are all on board for the FLNW2 trip as we sure are going to need to bring that home with some others who are sitting complacently waiting for something to happen without realising that in actual fact THEY are it.
I actually got asked the other day if I thought by going to Thailand I was saving the children. From what ? With whom ? omg
Thankyou – http://learningnetworkedworld.blogspot.com/2007/09/isb-bangkok.html
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