A.) Language and intercultural training

The project will develop the methodology and materials for an online course called "language and intercultural training" (which students are advised to take prior to their departure on Leonardo mobility projects). The course focuses on "key communicative situations in the work place". The first impression students give of themselves during an internship often prepares the ground for successful collaboration. As a consequence, the training concentrates on "getting it right the first time round ", in order to avoid misunderstandings caused by a weak first impression.

In collaboration with potential employers and students, the project will identify key situations and develop an innovative media-based learning community (including interactive media applications such as “moodle” and “podcasts”) which will be tested during the pilot phase and implemented after the successful completion of the LIPS-project.

How do we identify key situations?
The key situations to be explored will be collected by the project partners in every participating country. Each station will collect 3 - 5 situations which are relevant to practical training and internships.

How do we record key situations?
The situations will be documented in the language of the country and in English. With the help of the new media, a range of photos, graphics and audio information will be collated to illustrate the situation.

How do we analyse key situations and use them for teaching?
From the three regions (Southern, Western, and Middle & Eastern Europe ), one typical key situation each will be selected for demonstration on video and teaching purposes.
We will analyse and teach the verbal, non-verbal and cultural aspects of these situations.

Results of the analysis
The main result will be three interactive video modules produced for the project. These video modules and a basic version of the online course will be available online and on CD - Rom for users with a lower bandwidth connection. Good practice guidelines will be produced; these guidelines will address the role of a foreign student in a company.