What’s new?

Online learning space for language teachers

After successfully launching the XR Toolkit (INSERT THE LINK TO TOOLKIT IN YOUR LANGUAGE), our international consortium has turned its attention to developing a training package for language teachers. This package aims to equip language teachers with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively use XR technologies with Oculus in their teaching practices for a specific target group (women refugee learners and other women with fewer opportunities). And it is our great pleasure to announce that this online learning space has now been finished in all language mutations!

The learning course consists of four interactive learning modules focusing on the use of XR tools and specifically on the integration of Oculus in language education to address the needs of women with fewer opportunities. Indicatively, the following thematic areas are covered:

• Introduction to XR – what is extended reality and what are the benefits of using XR for language learning

• Teaching methodologies/strategies to integrate XR approaches and technologies in language learning

• Designing lessons based in the use of XR for women with fewer opportunities, evaluation methods

• Specific XR tools (Oculus) appropriate to use

TO ACCESS THE ELEARNING COURSE IT IS NECESSARY TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT. 

YOU CAN DO SO HERE: elearning.xrwomenproject.eu

Piloting workshops

In order to introduce the eLearning platform to language teachers and women with fewer opportunities, each member of the consortium successfully held piloting workshops. 

In Prague, we have invited our participants to Spaces Smíchoff. To provide the participants with the ‘whole experience’ of learning languages through XR, we have also rented a few Oculus devices. For some participants this was the first experience with virtual reality and everybody seemed to have fun. 

What can you look forward to?

To present all the outcomes of the XR-WOMEN project we will be organizing The Final XR-WOMEN Conference. The event will take place on the 9th October 2024 in Prague (venue tbc.). Invited will be women with fewer opportunities, language teachers, members of organizations or agencies supporting/working with refugees/migrants, Educational Decision Makers/Policymakers and others. Anybody interested in finding more about language learning and teaching, or interested in finding more about using XR technologies in education will be welcomed at the event. On the program there will be presentations, discussions on language learning, talks with experts on XR technologies, and more!

Look out for more information about this event. We will be glad to have you there!

Stay informed

Follow XRWomen on Facebook

Partners social media

SEMwell facebook

CARDET facebook 

University of the Agean facebook

Academy of Humanities and Economics in Lodz facebook

Swiss Federation for Adult Learning LinkedIn

What’s new?

XR Inclusion Toolkit finished and translated

In collaboration with renowned experts in the field, our team has developed XR Toolkit with a clear purpose in mind: reducing the significant gap between refugee women, women with fewer opportunities, and language education. We understand that women who have experienced displacement, trauma, and adversity deserve the utmost support in their journey toward a brighter future.

The XR Inclusion Toolkit leverages the power of extended reality (XR) technology to create an engaging and realistic language learning environment. By immersing learners in a virtual world filled with diverse scenarios, our toolkit enables them to overcome anxiety associated with foreign language learning. With a wide range of lifelike scenarios, learners can explore practical activities and familiarize themselves with the sounds and nuances of a new language.

The toolkit comprises of 4 chapters:

• Research: mapping state of XR developments in language learning in Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, and Poland
• XR Toolkit best practices: a list of various tools and applications that foster Foreign Language Learning (FLL) in digital and XR/AR environments 
• Recommendations: meet 5 tools that we decided had the best solutions for using technology in the furthering of foreign language learning
• 5 lesson plans using XR tools

Unlike traditional language learning methods, our toolkit encourages learners to put their language skills to use in real-life situations outside the confines of a classroom. Say goodbye to tedious grammar rules and hello to language in action! XR learning environments empower students to utilize language flexibly across various contexts, facilitating a seamless transition from theory to practice.

The XR Toolkit is now available online in English – you can download it here: https://xrwomenproject.eu/toolkit/

or download it in one of four other European languages: Czech, German, Greek, Polish.

They said about the toolkit:

“Very good toolkit. Assuming that the user has at least a basic understanding of digital tools, then the toolkit is very intuitive and easy to use.”

What will we work on next?

Online learning space for language teachers

In the upcoming year our international consortium will focus on developing a training package that will equip language teachers with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively use XR technologies with Oculus in their teaching practices for a specific target group (women refugee learners and other women with fewer opportunities). This material will give the opportunity for language teachers and other individuals interested in this project to engage in testing and feedback on learning materials.

You can look forward to four interactive learning modules focusing on the use of XR tools and specifically on the integration of Oculus in language education to address the needs of women with fewer opportunities. Indicatively, the following thematic areas will be covered:

• What is XR, why to integrate XR in language teaching
• What are the teaching methodologies/strategies to integrate XR approaches and technologies in language learning,
• Specific XR tools appropriate to use with an emphasis on Oculus, lessons based on the use of XR for women with fewer opportunities, evaluation methods, etc.

Are you interested in testing and validating the learning modules? Send email to the project coordinator: insert@mail

What we offer:

• Free first access to training materials focused on the use of XR technologies in language learning

• The latest information on the use of XR technologies in language learning

Stay informed

Follow XRWomen on Facebook

Partners social media

SEMwell facebook

CARDET facebook 

University of the Agean facebook

Academy of Humanities and Economics in Lodz facebook

Swiss Federation for Adult Learning LinkedIn

Introducing our Project’s content, on how to use XR Technologies in an educational context in order to teach language and develop language skills to women with fewer opportunities and women refugees, we want to inform on what led us to this platform! This content is available and it’s free, ready to be used by teachers and educators around the world! Have a look and, maybe, you will get some good and creative ideas yourself. 

Why, though? 

Refugee women and women with fewer opportunities often face numerous challenges in local communities, including economic barriers (limited access to employment opportunities and financial resources), social Isolation (lack of social networks and non access to new networks that can be useful and inclusive for them), healthcare access, education (limitations to education and vocational training), legal and safety issues (as exploitation, domestic violence, and the general absence of legal protection). 

Social inclusion is therefore important, since it ensures that all individuals, regardless of their background, personal characteristics and place of residence, have the chance to fully participate in societal and civic activities. Equity and access, community engagement., policy and legislation, and education and awareness are just the basic aspects that are included in social inclusion. Education is the way to ensure that all individuals understand and accept their diversity, as well as what can contribute against it! 

With the use of Extended Reality (XR), that  encompasses Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) and can significantly enhance language learning, an immersive environment can take place in an education room, where learners can not only practice language skills in realistic concepts, but can be more engaged and ready for a real-life social interaction. It is also important to be exposed to cultural settings that represent the language taught, so that the learners can understand idiomatic expressions and other cultural characteristics.

The XRWomen e-learning course aims to empower refugee women and women with fewer opportunities by integrating Extended Reality (XR) tools in language education. This innovative project is divided into four learning modules, easy to comprehend and implement in educational concepts, designed to enable language learning and teaching, as well as make it more interactive.

Module 1: Introduction to XR in Language Education 

Module Introduction to XR and its Integration in Language Teaching is an introductory course to XR (Extended Reality) technology and its application in language education. It navigates into what XR is and outlines the various forms of extended reality, namely AR, VR, and MR, while explaining their distinctions. Furthermore, it explains how important XR is in language teaching and introduces ways of integrating XR for language learning.

Module 2: XR Teaching Methodologies and Strategies 

The module Teaching methodologies/approaches/strategies to integrate XR technologies (AR, VR, and MR) in language teaching and learning was developed to help discover teaching methodologies and approaches that implement  XR technologies in the language teaching and learning process. It allows users to find teaching methods for integrating XR technologies into language education, identify learner-centred approaches using XR to engage diverse learners and adapt teaching methods to incorporate XR for women refugees effectively and those with fewer opportunities.

Module 3: Practical Application of XR Tools 

Participants will be introduced to specific XR tools, such as Oculus, and their practical applications in language learning. This module includes hands-on activities and detailed guidelines on how to use these tools to create engaging and effective language lessons tailored for women with fewer opportunities.

Module 4: Evaluation and Best Practices 

The final module “Specific XR tools (Oculus) appropriate to use” on XRWomen provides information on using VR tools, such as “Noun Town”, “Mondly VR”, and “Immerseme” for educational purposes. It provides guidelines on how these tools can empower the teaching and learning process, with practical applications and assessments, adjusted for the purposes of teaching languages, and specifically, for communication improvement purposes. 

Through these modules, the XRWomen e-learning course aims to create upskilling pathways and improve educational accessibility, empowering refugee women and women with fewer opportunities through innovative technological tools and fostering their civic engagement and participation.

The XR team will present the project outcomes during an international conference organized by The University of Humanities and Economics in Lodz. Details below:

Scientific conference: Homo sapiens and the technologies of tomorrow – nature, language, culture and art.

https://www.ahe.lodz.pl/dzialalnosc-naukowa/konferencje-naukowe/homosapiens-wobec-technologii

Date: 25-26 April, 2024

We are currently living in a time in which traditional ideas about what our role in the world is are constantly being re-evaluated. Phenomena such as posthumanism, transhumanism, genetic modification, artificial intelligence, and the digital revolution, which has accelerated rapidly in recent years, are forcing us to redefine the classic nature-culture opposition and other seemingly familiar concepts. What does it mean that we are rational subjects with cognitive capacities? Beings endowed with consciousness? Are individuals capable of making moral choices? And finally, creative individuals, creators of literature, art, and culture? Although Homo sapiens still sets the rules for other species, the Renaissance-Enlightenment anthropological paradigm that placed humans at the center of reality and made them the measure of all things is no longer the only possible option. This means that humans must, as it were, ask the question anew about who we are and redefine ourselves in the face of nature, culture, and ubiquitous technology. But are we ready to face the reality that is coming? Do our culture, literature, art, norms of behavior, the languages we communicate with, the way we think, and philosophical concepts give us the tools we need to understand it properly and be able to identify the potential opportunities and threats it presents? What is the place of nature and living organisms in the world of new technologies?

The XRWomen project will be presented at the 5th International Conference “Literacy and Contemporary Society: Creativity, Equality, Social Action” which will be held on 4-5-6 December 2023, in Nicosia, Cyprus. The conference aims to highlight the dynamic, social and critical dimension of literacy in times of crisis by focusing on the theme “Creativity, Equality, Social Action”. The aim of the conference is to provide a platform for discussing ways in which individuals, groups and societies can creatively collaborate in order to highlight and maintain relationships of equality and coexistence, not only between people, but also between people and nature, matter and technology.

On 6 June 2023, the international consortium of the XRWomen project met in Prague. Co-funded by Erasmus+ European funds, the project aims primarily to promote the language skills of refugee women and women with limited opportunities using XR technologies, digital applications and tools.

Linguistics researchers, teachers and other experts from five European countries – Cyprus, Poland, Greece, the Czech Republic and Switzerland – gathered to discuss the results of their work and the next steps in the project. 

Learning a language is an essential step towards the empowerment of refugees and a prerequisite for their successful integration and active participation in local society, the international project partners unanimously agreed. They are therefore currently developing a methodological framework for integrating augmented and virtual reality technologies into host country language teaching. 

The result will be an online e-learning platform for language teachers and refugee women, which will introduce online XR tools for foreign language learning and practical guides on how to work with them in the classroom. Virtual and augmented reality tools, as well as various mobile applications, can speed up and facilitate foreign language learning not only for immigrants, but also for all those for whom traditional face-to-face classes are less accessible – whether for time or logistical reasons.

Meet the XR in language learning

Learning a foreign language has perhaps never been easier than now. Learning a foreign language through XR (Extended Reality) technology can be an exciting and effective way to immerse yourself in language learning. XR refers to a combination of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) technologies that provide an immersive and interactive environment. Using digital technologies, apps, augmentation tools, and virtual reality, we can practice conversations and new vocabulary every day independent of the teacher or classroom.

XR apps allow for interactive language practice through speech recognition and virtual characters that respond to your spoken language. This allows you to practice pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar in a realistic and engaging way.

While some apps only require a mobile phone, others require a special headset and hardware. For virtual reality (VR), you’ll require a VR headset like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, or PlayStation VR. For augmented reality (AR), you can use devices such as smartphones or tablets with AR capabilities, such as iOS devices with ARKit or Android devices with ARCore.

While XR can offer an immersive language learning experience, meeting participants agreed that it should complement other language learning methods. Regular practice with native speakers, exposure to authentic materials, and a structured curriculum are still essential components of language learning. XR can augment these traditional approaches by providing an immersive and interactive dimension to your language learning journey.

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This is the official website of project XR-Women. News about the project and its latest developments will be posted here. Stay tuned!