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- Foreign languages and employability: a complex relationship. Case study in the region of Viseu (Portugal)Publication . Delplancq, Véronique; Costa, Ana Maria; Oliveira, Ana Maria; Amante, Susana; Abrantes, José Luís; Pato, Lúcia; Amaral, Maria Odete; Relvas, Susana; Fidalgo, SusanaThe challenges of today's societies when it comes to employability and to the reality of the current labour market are more and more delicate and diversified. One of the major commitments we expect from higher education is to prepare its students to face this kind of complexity, understanding its nuances and having the capacity to adapt quickly to situations which are common in companies’ lives. From this perspective, the assessment of the impact that the mastery of FL (foreign languages) among our students can have on the different business sectors becomes paramount. It involves reorganising the work carried out with the students during their academic path and raising awareness of future professionals so they may understand the importance of obtaining and mastering communicative skills in foreign languages that will provide them with the right tools to ensure an effective response to the requirements they will have to meet when they apply for a job. The close connection that exists between higher education institutions and the business world also allows the companies to realize that they should (re)think their recruitment policy in order to take into account the importance of foreign languages. Bearing this in mind, the project "Foreign Languages and Employability" (FLE), that will be presented in this article, started in January 2017, at the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu (IPV), in Portugal. It focuses on creating a closer relationship with the local business community in order to understand its needs regarding foreign languages. The aim of the project is to strengthen the more practical aspects of the students’ education to ensure the graduates’ employability and a successful professional development. Data collection is carried out through the analysis of job offers, through the replies given to online surveys and through semi-structured interviews. The project includes representatives of the different IPV schools (Agrarian, Education, Health, Technology and Management) working in different sectors of the institution.
- The contribution of foreign languages in the development of enterprises: a review of literaturePublication . Delplancq, Véronique; Costa, Ana Maria; Oliveira, Ana Maria; Amante, Susana; Oliveira, Isabel; Abrantes, José Luís; Pato, Lúcia; Amaral, Odete; Fidalgo, SusanaForeign languages have been the subject of research due to their importance as a means of communication. In fact, the competitiveness of companies is, nowadays, influenced in part by the communication resulting from their contact with companies from different countries, which requires a thorough knowledge of the language of these countries. On the other hand, for the success and progression of workers, it is crucial they acquire and develop foreign language skills. In this context, there have been multiple efforts by the European Commission to promote language learning in Europe and worldwide. In fact, over the past few years, several studies have demonstrated the need of companies to value foreign language skills among workers and collaborators. Multilingualism becomes, therefore, increasingly fundamental to the growth of the economic power of companies, and the competence in foreign languages can be the key factor to enter the labour market. Thus, the present study aims to understand the importance of foreign languages in the development of enterprises and their workers. The research question underlying the review of literature is: “What is the perception of companies regarding the importance of foreign languages for their economic progression and for their workers? To answer this research question, a review of the literature was conducted taking into consideration documents, reports and other secondary sources. For the collection of scientific evidence, research was carried out in the following databases: Science Direct from Elsevier; PubMed; B-on; Google Scholar and in the RCAAP portal. We used as descriptors of our search the following terms: industry, foreign language, multilingualism, higher education, employment, enterprise, among others.
- JASM: Active Pedagogy for Foreign Language Learning in Higher EducationPublication . Delplancq, Véronique; Amante, Susana; Costa, Cristina Amaro Da; Costa Lopes, Ana Maria; Coutinho, Emília; Fidalgo, Susana; Gillain, Romain; Lopez, Patricia; Oliveira, Isabel; Pereira, José; Relvas, SusanaJASM project (Janela aberta sobre o mundo: línguas estrangeiras, criatividade multimodal e inovação pedagógica no ensino superior) consists of an experience of active pedagogy with students of the undergraduate course in Media Studies at the School of Education in Viseu (Portugal). The main objective of JASM is to promote the acquisition of multilingual and multicultural skills and to generate multilingual awareness. In addition to the cognitive dimension, students explore the aesthetic and emotional dimensions of language. Experiences of artistic creativity (media arts, multimedia art, among others) enable multimodal communication in English and French, starting off with information gathering pertaining to the cultural and linguistic diversity of Viseu. After conducting research on the countries of origin of the chosen nationalities as well as the underlying cultures, the students, working in groups, found out about the life stories of migrants on the basis of interviews. Experiences of artistic creativity made it possible to exercise multimodal communication. An object or a tradition mentioned in the stories told by migrants allowed them to build a fictional story around the said object or tradition. Photos were taken at all stages of this work. A storyboard of each fictional story was developed. The Korsakow system made it possible to create dynamic documentaries. The disclosure of this learning experience is made public on the project site and through an e-book.The students' language level (written and oral comprehension and expression) was assessed at the start of the project, using tests. The intermediate evaluation is of a qualitative type as well as the final evaluation (interview type, carried out with students and teachers) due to COVID-19 crisis. The progress of the learning process, as well as the involvement of the teachers could thus be documented.
- Use of cyberspace resources for foreign language learning in higher educationPublication . Delplancq, Véronique; Costa, Ana Maria; Rego, Belmiro; Fidalgo, Susana; Relvas, SusanaThe learning of FL (foreign languages) for specific purposes, in HE (higher education), when we deal with students whose nuclear field of education has little or nothing to do with non - foreign languages, still gives rise to many problems, many questions and still needs to be readjusted. On the one hand, a good education in FL is essential to provide people with a wider general culture and represents a significant added value in terms of the students’ professional careers. Mastering foreign languages is becoming an increasingly important factor to support former students’ employability, to promote the competitiveness of companies and is vital to increase mobility. On the other hand, higher education institutions are currently experiencing a new phase in which they look for new teaching and learning methods, more in line with the evolution and the needs of modern society and of those to whom it provides its services. That way, and as far as FL are concerned, students need to be placed in real communicative contexts so they can truly improve their proficiency level. Interdisciplinarity allows for a complementary and cooperative work that will involve different skills and competencies and will provide a more consistent education. This article describes and analyses work experiences that were carried out with students attending the degree in Social Communication at the Escola Superior de Educação de Viseu (the Higher School of Education of Viseu , Portugal) in 2016/17 and 2017/18 as part of a Foreign Languages Curricular Unit whose objective was/is, among others, to develop a set of communicative skills that will prepare students to deal with situations they might have to solve in their future professional context. This will be achieved making use of the knowledge and know-how acquired in other Curricular Units and making the most of the potential offered by social networks and technologies. French and English were/are the two target languages, and were handled in the same circumstances, taking into account the achievement of the common objectives that had been designed for the students who the teachers involved were working with. Teachers acted mainly as tutors and helped implement a coaching environment. The goal was to grant all the students with a B2 level in situations related to specific professional tasks.