Kennisgebied: Taal en meertaligheid
Onderzoeksthema: De meertalige samenleving
Looptijd 2022-2025
Coördinatie Fryske Akademy/Mercator: Dr. Jelske Dijkstra, Katharina Thomas MA
Partners: Interdisciplinary Centre for Social and Language Documentation (PT), Nord University (NO), Rēzekne Academy of Technologies (LV), Tallinn University (EE)
Financiering: Erasmus+ Programme - KA2 Cooperation for Innovation and the Exchange of Good Practices
Meer informatie: Projectwebsite

The objective of OWL+ is to innovate in curriculum building for and about endangered languages by contextualising them within the big picture of language diversity in Europe and by providing stakeholders with practical tools to help them foster the transmission of the language. The project will develop tools and resources to innovate school curricula and offer materials that enable teachers and educators to accommodate endangered languages in their classrooms and other learning settings. Teachers and educators will also be equipped with skills to take ownership of their cultural heritage. As endangered languages are viewed as a vital social factor for their communities, the project targets next to school staff also community leaders, which are an integral part of endangered languages’ support structure.

The project’s aims are:

1. Support teachers and community members in leading the creation and enhancement of curricula making use of local resources and digital methods.
2. Empower speakers and learners of threatened languages to create new domains of use through education and social entrepreneurship.
3. Develop and make available a set of digital didactic materials, free of charge for communities across Europe and the wider public, regardless of the nature of their interest in language.
4. Raise awareness about European linguistic diversity in an optimistic tone, fostering a positive attitude towards multilingualism in mainstream education.

Our project’s audience is primarily schools (teachers, trainees, school staff) from areas where a threatened language is spoken, as well as the community leaders (associations, councils, cultural initiative leaders) that are investing themselves in maintaining the use of the language. Our commitment is to provide them with tools to become more independent in their endeavours and to empower them to take ownership of their cultural heritage.