ICOPROMO
  Intercultural competence for professional mobility

 
Project
Description

Context
|

Aims and Objectives |

Expected
Outcomes
|

Action Plan |


Team


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description in
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flyer in
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CONTEXT

Official documents regulating foreign language teaching in Europe are placing more and more emphasis on the development of intercultural communication competencies (ICC) having in mind the social and professional performance of learners in global and multicultural societies in the 21st century.

This project will therefore focus on strategies directed towards intercultural sensitivity and on mediation competencies closely linked with language learning and the professional world.

The original contribution of this proposal lies in its intention to articulate different perspectives and experiences, at local, national or international level, either academic or professional, in order to produce a model of intercultural competence that is more holistic, combining theoretical and interdisciplinary knowledge, and that may be applied to foreign language and culture education in professional training in the social sciences.

The ICOPROMO project will build upon the Common European Framework and the European Language Portfolio and will supplement their recommendations with some guidelines and materials for foreign language/culture education that are more focused on professional training.

It will also take note of and build upon the results of previous projects carried out under the auspices of the ECML, such as ODYSSEUS and others, and of the European Union, such as COST, INCA and ORACLE.

LINK: parallel Leonardo project "ICOPROMO"

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ______________________________

General aims
This project will be concerned with social cohesion and democratic citizenship and will foster personal fulfilment, active citizenship and social and professional inclusion by facilitating managers' and workers' mobility. It intends to stimulate and facilitate on-going discussions about the goal of intercultural education in language/culture education for professional purposes.The ICOPROMO project aims to produce a comprehensive and integrated model.

Specific objectives

  • To develop intercultural communication and interaction competencies.
  • To integrate language and cultural knowledge (in native and foreign languages).
  • To be accessible and stimulating to learners whatever their linguistic level.
  • To promote simultaneously issues of language and culture awareness within domain specific knowledge.
  • To develop critical cultural awareness of both native and foreign cultures and intercultural competencies, as applied to the interdisciplinary area of the social sciences (Sociology, Economics, Business, Management, International Relations, Tourism and Social Work.).

EXPECTED OUTCOMES ______________________________

Processes:
The project

  • focuses on group-oriented (teamwork), rather than individually oriented, intercultural communication and interaction competencies;
  • identifies and recognizes non-formal learning (cross-cultural experience) and uses it as the basis for formal education and further improvement;
  • promotes life-long and reflective learning;
  • integrates language and culture awareness within domain specific knowledge;
  • supports the development of transnational, transorganisational and transdisciplinary networks (amongst all the participants in this project, mainly by e-mail);
  • intends to make academics, employers and employees interact by exchanging ideas and experiences during empirical studies and the design and assessment of the activities.

Products:
A CD-Rom and a Brochure (30 - 40 pages);
Production of a brochure and a CD-Rom with the description of the model created and samples of activities designed to enhance intercultural communication/ /interaction competencies in a professional context.

Potential Users:

  • Undergraduate and graduate students (with a background in social sciences), who are preparing for their professional careers;
  • Managers and employees, with an academic background in the social sciences, who are either preparing to work in different cultural surroundings or who need to develop language and cultural awareness to cope with the intercultural workplace.


ACTION PLAN ____________________ _________________

The project is planned to run for three years and it will benefit from the parallel development of the Leonardo project.

2004
7-8 May

1st expert meeting to

  • select and analyse main models in order to work out a comprehensive interdisciplinary model;
  • decide on a final version of a questionnaire and an interview guide;
  • plan work ahead.

    Participants:
    All team members and one consultant.

February - December
Carrying out needs analysis as well as desk and field research on training modules.

10-12 December
2nd expert meeting to

  • define the specific competencies that guarantee intercultural communication/interaction for target groups;
  • establish guidelines for the development of the ICC (intercultural competence) activities
  • design the framework for the model to be developed in the next steps of the project
  • define the profile of workshop participants

    Participants:
    All team members and one consultant.

December- June
Work on the model and on activities for the workshop and publication

2005
3-4 June

3rd expert meeting to

  • discuss the first version of the model;
  • outline the publication structure;
  • select activities for the workshop;
  • plan the workshop.

    Participants:
    All team members and consultants.

June - October
Prepare the workshop.

27-29 October
ECML workshop in order to

  • assess the provisional products(activities and model);
  • find out about other needs and interests within the field;
  • establish international networks among target groups that will collaborate with the team for the rest of the project.

    Participants:
    Graduates in the social sciences, human resource managers, intercultural trainers, coaches and mediators and foreign language teachers in higher education with a strong focus on intercultural awareness.
    Participants should have substantial experience of a second culture and a good passive knowledge of English. Knowledge of a second foreign language will be an asset. Participants who have demonstrated a strong commitment to developing opportunities for intercultural interaction in their professional contexts are most desirable candidates for this workshop.

    Task before the event: Participants are expected to familiarise themselves with the aims and objectives of the workshop on the ECML website. In addition they will be required to read background material that will be forwarded to them prior to the workshop.

    Task after the event: to provide feedback, to maintain a dialogue with the project team and the other participants, and to disseminate the outcomes of the workshop in their own professional settings.

2006

20-21 January
4th expert meeting
to

  • examine learning processes and outcomes during the workshops
  • take into consideration the feedback provided by the workshop participants to improve the final product
  • revise the Model
  • outline the publication

    Participants:
    All team members and one consultant.

17-18 February
5th expert meeting
to

  • review the progress of the project and update the project description;
  • finalise the Model
  • discuss contributions to the final publication
  • discuss the outline for the final publication
  • discuss the format and the outline of the CD ROM

    Participants:
    All team members and one consultant

9-10 June
6th expert meeting
to

  • review final drafts of the publication;
  • edit the final draft of the publication;
  • plan the dissemination of the product.

    Participants:
    All team members and consultants.


LANGUAGES
The working languages of the project are English and French.

During the workshop, simultaneous interpretation will be provided between these two languages, but participants must have a passive competence in English to be able to read and analyse documents